Located in Daocheng County, Sichuan Province, China, Yading is known as “the last paradise on earth” because of its majestic and poetic beauty. During their China travel itinerary, tourists often combine exploring Yading with visiting Shangri La, the legendary land.
With the desire to see this seemingly unreal beauty with her own eyes, 9x female travel blogger Phuong Quynh, owner of the Quynh Journey channel, has been planning for a year and has a memorable trekking trip to A Dinh as well as the Western Sichuan region in the last months of 2024.
Quynh said she spent 10 days in China, passing through two provinces: Yunnan and Sichuan. Of these, she spent 3 days exploring Yunnan, the remaining days in Western Sichuan and Chengdu.
“I am the one who directly planned and scheduled the trip. My group consists of 7 members, all of whom love exploring and nature. You have to love nature to be able to overcome those difficult barriers to conquer A Dinh,” Quynh affirmed.
Although she did not have much experience in long-distance trekking, the 9x girl was still determined to make the trip with the desire to admire the "last paradise on earth". According to Quynh, the results were beyond her expectations.
“Along the way, the footage changes continuously. You will experience all four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter in one day, sometimes immersed in the silvery white of ice and snow, sometimes feeling the scorching sun burning your skin, sometimes immersed in the yellow and red of autumn... and the altitude also gradually increases. The scenery is so pleasing to the eye, a trip with so many harvests for me”, the 9x girl shared.
However, besides the dreamlike scenery, A Dinh also challenges tourists with a route that is 90% mountains and high passes, both bumpy, dangerous and difficult to conquer: "Long distance, steep slopes, freezing cold, harsh sunlight, fatigue, altitude sickness, hunger... are all things I have to go through", Quynh said.
The female trekker confirmed that she had truly surpassed herself when she crossed the road from 3,000m to 4,500m above sea level: “A sedentary and skinny person like me only has a big liver. I was exhausted when climbing Kawah Ijen Lake (Indonesia), I had altitude sickness for the first time in Khardung La (India) and this time was no exception.”
With her experience, Quynh said that when her head starts to ache like a hammer, tears flow, she feels dizzy, and her heart beats fast, that's when she knows she needs an oxygen tank to breathe quickly, drink water, take medicine, breathe calmly and let her body rest.
Although she encountered many hardships on the way, Quynh affirmed that whether easy or difficult, each trip is still a valuable experience for herself to have new friends and new understanding. Moreover, it is because of this difficulty that A Dinh leaves a more special impression on tourists than all other places.
“Any comparison would be lame, but for A Dinh, in addition to admiring the beauty of late autumn - early winter, when there are both bright yellow leaves and snow covering the mountain tops, it is also an experience that I have overcome myself to have, so of course it will be more special than places with easy experiences,” said the female travel blogger.
Regarding trekking experience in A Dinh, the female tourist affirmed that everyone should prepare for themselves good health, specialized trekking shoes, heat-retaining patches to warm the body, medicines such as blood circulation, anti-high-altitude shock, fever-reducing medicine as well as vitamins.
Besides, a spirit of exploration, love of nature as well as determination and perseverance are indispensable to conquer the "last paradise on earth".
Quynh affirmed that in the near future, she will explore more Tibet, Mongolia and Xinjiang - places with landscapes that are considered unreally beautiful in China.
