I was honored to participate in the Rangbala Tourism Festival hosted by Rangtang County, Aba Prefecture, Sichuan, and co-organized by Sichuan Cool Guest Car Club and RV E Family Branch. I made an appointment with car friends Chenchen and Hongxin, and started a 5-day RV trip in the Rangbala Plateau. I felt the cool weather and beautiful scenery of the plateau in summer and autumn, and enjoyed the comfortable life of the RV trip.
On the first day of the trip, we departed from Chengdu at noon and drove 150 kilometers to Ganbao Tibetan Village in Wenchuan, Aba Prefecture. Everyone didn’t want to hurry, so we finished work early at 4:30 in the afternoon and set up camp in the parking lot of the Tibetan village, starting the first day of comfortable life. Riding a motorcycle up the mountain to visit the scenery of Tibetan villages, enjoying the cool weather in the plateau mountains.
On the second day of the trip, we went uphill all the way to Jingjing County, passed through the Zhegu Mountain Tunnel, lit a fire and cooked by the Malkang River at noon, and then headed towards Rangtang County along the upper reaches of the Dadu River. After passing Maerkang, the road was winding and tortuous. We could only follow the large trucks along the way, stop and go. As a result, we accidentally rubbed the sunshade of the RV against the protruding rocks when we met at the Guanyin Bridge section, causing heavy losses.
On the third day of the trip, I officially participated in the Rangbala tourism promotional activity. I went out of Rangtang County and climbed a high mountain. I wanted to climb the mountain quickly with a big foot, but it was just the opposite. My diesel engine was overloaded, the water temperature rose sharply, and the power dropped. The last gear climbed to the top of the mountain, and I was extremely depressed. Fortunately, the tourism publicity activities organized by Zangtang County were good, which allowed us to experience the strong Tibetan cultural customs and gained a lot. In the evening, the Rangtang County Propaganda Department arranged for RV riders to enjoy Tibetan meals in Zangjiale, and the happiness index was overwhelming.
On the fourth day of the trip, I got up in the morning and the weather was fine. I spent the morning in Zangjiale, and the riders were free to move around. So far, the Rangbala caravan tour is over. My car friends Chenchen and Hongxin chose to return from Luhuo County, Daofu County, Kangding, and Ya’an. All the way over the mountains and ridges, summing up the previous lessons, maintaining a proper high-acceleration climbing, my diesel car no longer has the problem of high water temperature and loss of power, and the performance is still satisfactory. At noon, I stopped to cook on the alpine lawn from Rangtang to Luhuo County. After a short break, I went to Daofu County to visit friends who aided Tibet. After that, under the leadership of my friend, I camped in Yuke Alpine Grassland in Daofu County and enjoyed a Beautiful scenery for camping in the prairie. Yuke Grassland is actually a plateau grassland. It is more than 20 kilometers up the mountain from Daofu County to Yuke Township. The altitude here is 3600 meters, and the scenery is charming. Here, the advantages of the towed RV can be fully displayed. I parked and unhooked the car on the grassland, and drove my off-road vehicle on the grassland to enjoy the fun of off-road!
My friend is a gourmet, and he is a fresh cook. Let us enjoy delicious dishes such as yak meat and matsutake stewed chicken on the grassland. And the beautiful starry sky at night in Yuke Grassland is even more unforgettable. I think, only RV riders can feel this kind of life, one word “beautiful”!
On the fifth day of the trip, we crossed the Zheduo Mountains, passed through the beautiful Kangding Yoyo City, and returned to Chengdu along the magnificent Yakang Expressway. Along the way, I also enjoy the slow life of the RV. I ran into a traffic jam when crossing the Zhedo mountain, and I stopped and went all the way up the hill. My American trailer was too heavy, and the clutch could not stand it after two or three clutches when starting on the hill, so I had to turn on the low-speed four-wheel drive. When going down the mountain, there was also a traffic jam and stop-and-go all the way. Frequent braking resulted in high temperature of the brakes. When they arrived in Kangding City, the brakes almost failed, and they recovered after the parking water cooled down. Here, I would like to warn riders who play trailers, especially those with American trailers, it is best to choose an off-road trailer with low-speed four-wheel drive, otherwise you will cry when you encounter a traffic jam on a ramp! (Finish)
