On day 2 of our Jiu Zhai Gou, Huang Long, Chengdu trip with Chan Brothers, we started the day early with breakfast at 6am at Antai Jinyun Jinjiang Hotel (安泰锦云锦江宾馆）. Just before breakfast, we also strolled around the lobby a little…
We found out that Antai Jinyun Jinjiang Hotel (安泰锦云锦江宾馆）is actually located next to her sister hotel, Antai Century Hotel which seemed to be more of a business or casual hotel, with a much smaller lobby. There’s also a vending machine along with a cleaning robot at the lobby. At this point, we had yet to try out our Alipay app but we’ll explain about Singapore-downloaded Alipay in China, in a little bit. But first, breakfast time!
Breakfast Buffet at Antai Jinyun Jinjiang Hotel (安泰锦云锦江宾馆）
The buffet breakfast at Antai Jinyun Jinjiang Hotel (安泰锦云锦江宾馆）was very extensive! You’ll be able to find bread and pastries (that’s pretty much it for Western options and perhaps maybe eggs) and alot of local selection which we loved! There were local dishes such as steamed buns, baos, kway teow, bittergourd, potato slices and noodles! Our favourite was definitely the noodles where there were options such as Zha Jiang Noodles (炸酱面) as well as Beef Noodles (牛肉面) which were noodles that we wanted to try when we think about visiting Chengdu. Also, the beef noodles was prepared in the style that we enjoy – slightly spicy and oily. Though this version, as you can see from the thick layer of oil, is a tad too oily but it was SO delicious! There was latte from the coffee machine and warm soya milk that were good beverage options as well. Strangely enough, there’s chicken heart for breakfast 🤔, along with other more common Chinese fare like bittergourd and beansprouts.
After breakfast, we had the Hong Jing Tian Ginseng Drink, which was supposed to help us with altitude sickness. But if you had missed our analysis, read about our analysis of Hong Jing Tian and altitude sickness from Day 1. As we were still early (and pretty full), we decided to walk around the vicinity of
Antai Jinyun Jinjiang Hotel (安泰锦云锦江宾馆）…
During this morning walk, we were informed by the concierge to make a right turn to check out shops in the vicinity of Antai Jinyun Jinjiang Chengdu Hotel (安泰锦云锦江宾馆）which included breakfast food joints, convenient stalls and “wet market” style stalls that sell anything from meats to fruits an vegetables. It was also this time that we used Alipay for the very first time! We bought some Wang Wang (7RMB) and another snack for 4RMB. We tried both the Alipay App and OCBC App and unfortunately, OCBC App didn’t work this morning. At this point, we want to share a couple of things that we learnt about these apps:
WHAT WE LEARNT ABOUT ALIPAY AND OCBC APP FOR USE IN CHINA
1. Alipay downloaded in Singapore by Singaporeans, are not able to be used in Singapore. Strange as it may sound but after we downloaded the app and completed the registration as required – which included uploading of passport and credit card details, we were not able to use the Alipay app in Singapore. However, as shared by one of our friends, we needed to have faith and though it didn’t work in Singapore, Alipay app worked perfectly in Singapore!
2. How do you use Alipay in China? As you can see from the screenshots above, there are actually 2 ways to pay via Alipay. The first way is to scan the QR code of the merchant. Some stalls do not have the scanner and will rely on users to scan their QR code for payment – this is pretty similar to PayNow / PayLah in Singapore. The second way, which is actually the more common way during our trip to China this time, is to press the “Pay/Receive” function, which will reveal your QR code. Merchants would have a scanner and once you scan your QR code, the payment goes through. Either way, you will see the “Payment Success” page once payment goes through and at some merchants, you’ll hear the audible confirmation as well – a function that helps merchants.
3. Pros and Cons of Alipay vs Wechat. From what we observed when we used Alipay, we can see that it is a very strong and stable payment app, even for overseas users like us. Sometimes, we would need to key in our 6 digit pin which also adds to the security aspect. Most, if not all our payments went through with Alipay. In terms of embedded apps though, it doesn’t have that many “useful for travellers” apps. The only one which we think was useful is the Didi app – the Uber or Grab equivalent in China. This is pretty useful for us when we needed to get around Chengdu during our free and easy day. However, unlike Grab which also embeds GrabFood, there isn’t an equivalent food delivery app within Alipay. Wechat on the other hand has mini-programmes embedded inside that allows not only the payment function, but also the more common chat and social function as well as the food delivery function. Of course, you can choose to also download the biggest food delivery app in China – Mei Tuan. But we digress.
4. OCBC App Does Work as well! While we didn’t get to use OCBC app for payment this morning, we’re happy to report that it does work at many of the locations we visited in China. This is because of the collaboration with Alipay+ (Plus) that allows global consumers to use Alipay. So to use OCBC App for payment in China, just click on “Scan & Pay” and if QR code of the merchant is available, you can scan and pay. Otherwise, click on “Show my QR” you will be able to let the merchant scan your QR code, just like how Alipay works. Good stuff! This allowed us to have OCBC App as our “backup” app if Alipay somehow fails (or requires authentication – reported by several of our friends).
We hope this small detour gave you a better lay-of-the-land of the payment app options in China, especially for Singaporeans! *During our visit to China this time, the exchange rate was 1 SGD to 5.4 RMB.
Immersing ourselves at Kuan Zhai Alley (宽窄巷子)
On our way to Kuan Zhai Alley (宽窄巷子), our guide Xiao Zhu, continued to share with us about the geographical advantage of Chengdu. Being located at east of 2 mountains, Chengdu is actually sheltered from the strong winds and that helps to keep the temperatures moderate. Moreover, this somehow bring the rains in the evenings and in the mornings, the rains would clear up, revealing beautiful morning sunshine.
Kuan Zhai Alley (宽窄巷子), as the name suggests, refers to a Kuan (宽) or wide alley as well as Zhai (窄) or narrow alley. Hence, Kuan Zhai Alley (宽窄巷子) also has a direct translation name of “wide-narrow alley”. However, in reality, there is a 3rd lane known as 井巷子 (Jing Xiang Zi) or the “Well Alley” – probably the alley where the well was located in the past. And because it has 3 alleys or 3 lanes, it has the look of the Chinese characters “three” (三) or “River” （川). But the most interesting nickname that it has is the “Centipede Town” or (蜈蚣城) because if you take an aerial view, it does look like it has a backbone with the 3 alleys spreading outwards, resembling the legs of the centipede. This is also why, a restaurant nearby has a rooster on its rooftop, to “counter” the centipede, when it was trying to change its feng shui when business was not doing so well.
In Chengdu, there’s a saying of 南富，北乱，东穷，西贵. This saying came about because in the past,
南富 (South Rich). The South was where commerce started.
北乱 (North Messy). Criminals who committed crimes would escape to the north and seek refuge there.
东穷 (East Poor). In the 90s, because of the restructuring of the economy, many industrial workers who lived in the east were retrenched.
西贵 (West Luxe). Due to the weather, the arable lands in the west, created wealth for the region.
Xiao Zhu also shared that because of the comfortable lives that the locals largely lead, there’s a saying of “巴适” which has the same meaning as “安逸”. Overtime, “巴适” has come to be a word that refers to as good. So if a local asks you how was your trip, you’ll say “巴适”, which means good or excellent. And because there’s so much comfort in Chengdu, there’s another saying that goes “少不入川，老不出蜀” which also translates to describe that if you’re young, you don’t come to Chengdu because the life is so comfortable, you may become too relaxed and lack the drive. Conversely, if you’re old, you don’t want to leave the comfortable life here.
We reached Kuan Zhai Alley (宽窄巷子) at about 1030am and were given 1.5 hours to explore the area. The walk down Kuan Alley (宽巷), took about 10 minutes if you walk from one end to the other without stopping. The shops were mostly souvenir shops, shows that feature 变脸 (Face or Mask Changing), tea houses and alot of shops that sell panda-related merchandise. Afterall, Chengdu is also a city that is best known for Panda because of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding that has probably the largest collection of pandas in the world. This was the same when we walked down Zhai Alley (窄巷). However, 井巷子 (Jing Xiang Zi) or the “Well Alley”, there’s nothing much at the moment. Nonetheless, within Kuan Zhai Alley itself, there are also alot of instagrammable spots as well…
After checking out the shops, murals as well as the instagrammable spots at Kuan Zhai Alley (宽窄巷子) Chengdu, we headed to one of the tea houses (Tai He Rui Qi Teahouse – 太和瑞气茶庄), just to soak in the teahouse culture in Chengdu…
One of the reasons why we settled on Tai He Rui Qi Teahouse (太和瑞气茶庄) at Kuan Alley is because they have a second level tea house that allows guests to overlook Kuan Alley. However, after we were shown the teas, we were like “Wow! These teas are not cheap!”. This time, we chose the Bi Tan Piao Xue (碧潭飘雪) – Green Tea with Jasmine (78RMB) and San Hua Xiang Ming (三花香茗) – Third Level Jasmine Tea (48RMB). Both are the so-called Covered Teas (盖碗茶), which have the teas inside the tea cups and it comes with a flask of hot water that allows you to refill…
While the teas Bi Tan Piao Xue (碧潭飘雪) – Green Tea with Jasmine (78RMB) and San Hua Xiang Ming (三花香茗) – Third Level Jasmine Tea (48RMB) are more expensive (the total came up to 126RMB – $24 SGD), the teas just taste very different. We tried the Piao Xue mix and wow, it was more fragrant, yet smoother as compared to the Third Level Jasmine Tea which was a little bit more bitter. This opened up our taste buds to now “see” that there are indeed something going on deeper in the Chinese tea culture…
BUT, we also experienced something distasteful while sipping on our teas here. While taking photos of the panda bears with 2bearbear, a lady from another group, just came on by and swooped away the cuter panda bear from our seat! Right in front of us! No asking, no requests, just taking as though she had the right. Also, the group started to light up and smoke even though there was a sign that said “no smoking”. We were a little taken aback but we’re sharing just so you know that while China has progressed economically, the culture has yet to catch up – this also explains the many spitting, urinating that you’ll see, even in the urban, built-up cities.
@2bearbeartravel Kuan Zhai Alley, also known as #宽窄小巷 is actually made up of 3 streets, the broad street #宽巷, the narrow street #窄巷 and the small street #小巷 which if you take a look from the aerial view, looks like a centipede. Here, you’ll find all the touristy stuff in #chengdu such as panda souvenirs, foods, snacks, tea houses, performance spaces and lots of #instagram spots in this #ancientstreet as well For more details, visit 2bearbear.com today! #travel #traveling #traveler #travelblog #singaporetravelblog #traveltiktok #travellife #china #traveltok ♬ 热情的夏天 – 晶晶姑娘
Our next stop was lunch at Xi An Middle Road (西安中路）for some Chuan Cuisine (川菜). This location was just about 5 minutes away from Kuan Zhai Alley. At this restaurant, we had our own room with 2 tables and dishes. Dishes after dishes came and filled up the entire table quickly. We counted about 12 dishes in total. We enjoyed the sliced fish (水煮鱼) which was not too spicy and had meaty slices. Our guides also brought his own honeydew slices for us to enjoy after the meal. We like the stir-fried vegetables that tasted like Singaporean taste. There was also chicken, pork, duck – of which the pork was quite salty. Overall, we think that the tastes – as with most restaurants during this trip, have been toned down to suit Singaporean tastes. Still, great food nonetheless!
High Speed Train from Chengdu to Jiu Zhai Gou
To enter into Chengdu East Railway Station (成都东客站), you’ll have to first pass through security. There, we did a scan of our bags as well as a body search. We didn’t scan our passports here as we were travelling with a group – but it is required if you’re not travelling with a tour group. Inside Chengdu East Railway Station, there are ALOT of shops and dining areas – at each corner of the train station. You can also head to level 2 of each corner and you’ll be able to find something to eat. Food options range from local food court to Family Mart and KFC.
There’s also a Tim Hortons inside Chengdu East Railway Station. Here, we tried the OCBC App and we were able to make payment! As mentioned in our previous post about Singaporeans using Alipay and OCBC app for payment in China, you’ll have to press on the “Show QR Code” option for the merchant to scan your QR code for payment. It took sliiightly longer than usual (which was why the staff mentioned that the payment did not go through at first) but when we heard the payment successful alert on the merchant side, we were glad that now the OCBC App can be a backup to the Alipay App in China. Rate wise, it was 5.33 vs 5.38 with Alipay app.
Just before our train ride, we had to follow the instructions of our guide closely in order to enter the boarding area of the train station. As we were on foreign passports, we could only go by the extreme left lane, our guide examined both entrances (A and B side) and found the shorter queue for us to enter by. Also, because we followed our guide, we didn’t have to scan our passports (unlike if you’re travelling on your own), so we were just identified that we were with the guide and we’re through. Hence, even though we were waiting on the A19 side, we were led to the B side for the faster queue for foreigners. Phew, navigating the crowds on the high speed train from Chengdu to Jiu Zhai Gou can be really challenging!
Our train left at 3:45pm sharp and we were all located at carriage 11 with dedicated seats. The train ride itself is uneventful and views were mainly blocked because the high speed train goes through tunnels dug through the mountains. Do note that this train ride would take you from about 500m altitude in Chengdu to 1,500m altitude in Jiu Zhai Gou. Previously, with the bus ride, it would take 7 hours but now with the high speed train, it would take only 1.5 hours. But this also means that you have less time to acclimatise. Thankfully, the altitude change for this first transition is not too bad – unlike our Leh Ladakh trip where we flew immediately to an altitude of 3000m where altitude sickness almost immediately ensued (including difficulties in breathing and headache).
However, after exiting the high speed train, the chaos begins. EVERY were first jostling to get on the escalators that bring you to the level to exit the train station. Even at the tunnel that leads out of the Jiu Zhai Gou train station, everyone were cutting each other! Hence, our guide reminded us to stick to each other closely and do not allow others to cut queue. Thankfully, Xiao Zhu went all the way to the front again and pointed us to the staff to clear us through. Also, we were able to charter a bus to bring us around Jiu Zhai Gou. As the group had 22 people (including guides), we were able to maximise the capacity of the bus at 23. This means that the 5200RMB to charter the bus would be split to about 260RMB per person – very well optimised. Lastly, with the chartered bus, it also means that we won’t have to squeeze with the locals for the buses, especially within the park, which would drastically affect how we would be visiting the park. This is because with the crowds queuing for bus, we could be too late for lunch or would not be able to cover grounds for many of the attractions within Jiu Zhai Gou. We were also told that chartering the bus was not easy. Guides would have to start queuing at 2am overnight in order to secure buses for their respective tour groups.
@2bearbeartravel The new #highspeed #train from #Chengdu to #JiuZhaiGou has cut #travel time from the previous 6 hours by bus to now less than 2 hours by the #highspeedtrain. As #九寨沟 is located at altitudes above 2500m, #traveling by #rail also helps in acclimatizing – which is why unlike our previous #trip to #Leh #Ladakh by air, we didn’t experience high altitude sickness this time. Having time to acclimatise is key. Otherwise, oxygen tanks (sold at 40rmb per bottle) also helps. For more details, visit 2bearbear.com today! #highspeedrail #traveltiktok #travellife #traveltok #travelblog #travelblogger #singaporetravelblog #2bearbear #traveltheworld ♬ All To Myself – Dan + Shay
During our many bus rides, Xiao Zhu and Julian (our China and Singapore guides) sang many songs along the way. Apparently, Xiao Zhu had participated in the varsity singing competition. During this transit from Jiu Zhai Gou Railway Station to our first dinner location this evening, we saw the beautiful snow-capped mountain peaks as well as the meandering rivers. Enroute, one of the aunties in our group needed to go urgently, so we had to make a stop by the roadside. We also passed by a high-class area where Hard Rock Cafe was located. As it was dark, we saw fairy lights and high end accommodations. We also noticed that the roads were perfectly laid with nice pavements as well – definitely much better than roads along Genting or Cameron. We could see that the Government definitely poured in alot of resources.
Dinner this evening was an individual hotpot at another hotel. There were loads of meats, vegetables and mushroom. Pretty good for a restaurant in the highlands. Next, it was time to visit our first hotel – Hilton Garden Inn Jiuzhaigou…
Similar to our previous hotel, we had to surrender our passports to the hotel on our first night. Remember the “atas” area that we mentioned we saw enroute to dinner, this was the same area where our Jiuzhaigou hotel was located – Hilton Garden Inn Jiu Zhai Gou. A very beautiful international hotel. Inside our room, we found it to be spacious and had all the basic amenities such as towels, shower/coffee amenities and TV. Hot water was readily available but there was some minor clogging which we removed by just lifting the drainage. TV channels only had CCTV and Chinese regional television stations as with all hotels. Nonetheless, we were very happy with the place and we were soon to check out the entire hotel the next morning.
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@2bearbeartravel Booked our 9D8N trip to #JiuZhaiGou with @chanbrothers.sg During this trip, we visited Jiu Zhai Gou, #HuangLong, #Chengdu #giantpanda Research Base, #Emei, #Leshan , #Kuanzhaialley , #jinliancientstreet, #chunxi #IFS and also had the iconic #malahotpot before shopping at #taikooli and flying back via #tianfu international #airport It was a well paced, well planned and thoroughly enjoyable trip. If you’re thinking of visiting China and not really sure where to start, going with a reputable travel agency like Chan Brothers would definitely be a good start. Alternatively, visit 2bearbear. com for more information about what to expect for things like metro and digital payments in China! #travel #chanbrothers #traveling #traveler #travelvibe #travelblog #travelblogger #2bearbear ♬ Oh my life – Langlang
We hope you have enjoyed our coverage of our day 2 Chan Brothers 9D8N Jiu Zhai Gou / Huang Long / Chengdu tour! Stay tuned as we visit the main attraction of Jiu Zhai Gou on day 3!
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