Jiajinshan: Red Army's First Snow Mountain - Have You Been There?
Every journey will have its twists and turns, big or small. Whether you’re traveling with a group or independently, you never know when an unexpected event will occur, nor do you know if it will be good or bad.
During our 317 self-drive trip with friends, we experienced all sorts of situations: a flat tire, getting lost, unreliable navigation, temporary route changes, and returning to Chengdu early. ‘Jiajinshan’ was perhaps a surprising reward among all those circumstances.
Because of the problems with ‘Beibei Holiday,’ and my concern for my female companion driving back to Chengdu, I decided to accompany ‘Beibei’ back to Chengdu and then to Seda, after finishing the Dangling Ridge hiking trip. And because we came back via Bailongshan Yingxiu area, the road conditions were truly appalling, so we decided to take a detour back to Jiajinshan.
“It was originally just for better road conditions.”
Even when Mei Ya Luo’s autumn colors hadn’t yet appeared, we didn’t expect to find anything at ‘Jiajinshan,’ but as we turned each curve of the mountain road, the world’s colors seemed to be overturned in the forests.
‘Jiajinhai’ was also a surprise.
We never thought that this small lake would become so beautiful and moving when the autumn colors were gradually increasing. Fortunately, when we got off the car to take pictures, a team of self-driving cars from Beijing also stopped nearby, and many of them were of a certain age, coming to Jiajinshan because of their emotional connection to the Red Army Long March, and we didn’t expect to gain such scenery.
The road gradually became higher, and the colorful forests were already below the mountains.
Gradually, the trees disappeared, the clouds drifted, the mountain roads were winding, and the shadows followed us on ‘Jiajinshan’ from the breathtaking autumn colors to the desolate vastness. After seeing the four Qiahuanshan peaks which were already snowless, and after the disappointment of not seeing snow in Dangling Ridge due to mist, we changed our route temporarily to Jiajinshan, and the diverse natural scenery turned out to be a surprise.
After experiencing the desolate, the clouds became denser, and the car continued to move forward, we were immersed in the deep clouds. A small ‘Jiajinshan’ actually experienced multiple landscapes, which was completely unexpected. I only thought that ‘Jiajinshan’ was just the significant location for the Red Army Long March’s snowfall mountain, nothing more.
We often go to places we can’t see the scenery we want to see, or the time is not right, perhaps due to weather reasons, or changes to the itinerary. So, we often hear people complain, but what is the use of complaining in the journey? It’s better to enjoy the moment, and to put the energy of complaints into discovering beauty. Perhaps a surprise is waiting for you just around the corner.”
