Garzê Voyage Tips and guide

Contents

For the region, see Ganzi (prefecture).

Ganzi (དཀར་མཛེས་ Garzê; 甘孜: Gānzī), is the capital of Ganzi county in Sichuan Province in south-west China.

It is an important city in what is still seen by the indigenous Tibetan population as the historical region of Kham. Ganzi is in a large valley with grassy hills at an elevation of 3,400 m (11,155 ft), tucked north-east of the gorgeous snow-peaked mountains of the Gongga Shan range. Tibetan culture is abundant and vibrant here, and the friendly people won't let you go by without offering you the Tibetan greeting 'Tashi Dele'! The town is set along the main road passing from east to west towards Dege or Kangding (which is to the south). Visitors are unheard-of in the cold winter months, but if you come then, you would be the guest of the entire town!

Buses from Kangding leave for Ganzi at 06:00 for around ¥120. The ride takes 12–14 hours, depending on the condition of your bus and or the number of times it breaks down. The road is relatively good: it's bumpy, but it's 95% sealed (spring 2017). Try not to book a seat in the back of the bus, especially on smaller buses, as you'll be thrown around violently by the bumps through much of the trip. Masks may be advisable if people are smoking on the bus; but this seems less common than has been reported.

The bus station is in the center of town just south of the main road. You can hire a private van/car too.

The main street is Chuanzang Road (川藏路). You can easily visit the town on foot. For longer distances, you can use taxis. The fare should not exceed ¥6 to any place in town.

• Garze Monastery. A short walk north along the river dividing the town or the street running parallel to the west leads you to the Tibetan quarter of the town, which lays at the foot of the monastery. Follow the narrow paths between the houses to reach the site. Look out for little chapels containing giant prayer wheels circambulated by devotees on the way. Though being the most important of its likes in the Ganzi region and being more than 540 years old, Garze Monastery is not as spectacular as other monasteries in Kham, since the greater parts of its temples had been rebuilt using Han-Chinese-style white-tile facades and plastic-pane windows. Still the views over the valley from its terraces and the maze of the approach through the old Tibetan quarter plus gaudy mix of Tibetan and Chinese architecture make it well worth a visit.

(Information as of 20 June 2005)

• Den Gompa is much smaller but the structures are supposed to be more traditional. It's in the southern part of Ganzi.
• Dontok Gompa and Dingkhor Chörten make up for a nice half-hour walk across a suspended bridge over the Yalong Jiang. To reach there, head south from the bus station and follow the right path after crossing the bridge. The complex is under construction but has distinctive features to its buildings, including vertical white, grey and crimson stripes on the walls surrounding the houses. The friendly monks will show you around the place.
• There is a new Chörten built on a small hill on the eastern edge of town. The adjacent temple houses a Buddhist library. Although the building itself does not bear that ancient flair you might be looking for, its a nice place to catch views over the valley and the city.

Hailuogou Scenic Spot (Grade 5A) Helugou is located in the southeast of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, on the eastern slopes of Gongga Mountain, an extremely high mountainous area on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Located at the foot of Gongga Snow Peak, Hailuogou is famous for its low altitude modern glaciers. Hailuogou Scenic Area is the easternmost low altitude modern glacier discovery in Asia, with an altitude of 2,850 meters. Its big ice waterfall is 1080 meters high and 0.5m-1100m wide, which is the highest big ice waterfall found in China so far. The ditch contains a large flow of boiling hot and warm cold mineral springs, large areas of primary forests and extraordinarily high ice-eroded peaks, a large number of rare plant and animal resources, gold mountain, silver mountain interplay. Hailuogou scenic spot is located between the canyons. Here the terrain is complex, the climate type is special, the mountain below the long spring without summer, lush and green. The climate is pleasant, with an average annual temperature of about 15 degrees Celsius. The top of the mountain accumulates snow all year round, and the average annual temperature is around -9 degrees Celsius.

Kangding Muya Holy Land Tourist Attractions (Grade 4A) Kangding Muya Holy Land Scenic Spot is located in the “Muya Singkham” on the west side of Mount Chedo in Kangding, the world-renowned city of love songs, and is the first tourist attraction combining folk customs and natural scenery in Ganzi Prefecture, and the first one that embodies the theme of Tibetan Muya culture. It is also the first thematic tourist area in China that embodies the theme of Tibetan Moya culture.

Luding County Luding Bridge Tourist Scenic Spot (4A level) Luding Bridge, also known as the iron rope bridge, is located in Luding County, Sichuan Province, on the Dadu River, according to legend, after the Kangxi Emperor united China, in order to strengthen the cultural and economic exchanges between Sichuan and Tibet and the royal approval of the construction of this bridge, and at the head of the bridge to set up the Royal Plaque. The bridge was built in 1705, completed in 1706, is a masterpiece of ancient Chinese bridge architecture, is the State Council announced the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units. Luding Bridge is 103 meters long, 3 meters wide, 13 iron chains fixed in both sides of the bridge fall well, 9 for the bottom chain, 4 sub-both sides for the handrail, a total of 12,164 iron ring interlocking, the whole bridge weighs more than 40 tons of iron. Luding Bridge on both sides of the bridge for the traditional wooden structure of the ancient fortress, unique to China. Luding Bridge since the Qing Dynasty, for Sichuan into Tibet, an important channel and military key.

Danba County Jieju Zangzhai Tourist Attractions (Level 4A) Jieju Tibetan Walled City is located in Danba County, Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan, about 8 kilometers away from the county town, is the most characteristic tourist attraction in Danba.In September 2016, it was officially approved to become a national 4A level tourist attraction. Aju”, Tibetan language is the meaning of a hundred families. The Tibetan fortress climbs upward from the Dajin River Valley layer by layer, stretching all the way to the foot of the Kapama peaks.In 2005, in the Beauty Pageant China organized by the National Geographic China magazine, the Danba Tibetan Village, represented by Jieju Tibetan Village, was named the first of the “six most beautiful rural towns in China”.

Kangding Love Song Scenic Area (Grade 4A) Kangding Love Song (Mugu Tso) Scenic Area is located in the western part of Sichuan Province, the capital of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture - Kangding, located at the main road of Sichuan-Tibet Highway, is the “core zone of ethnic corridor” in the history of the north and south of the ethnic groups frequently migrate, is the center of the ancient Tea Horse Road, which is comparable to the Silk Road and “concentrated the best natural ecological landscape and humanistic flavor in western China”. Comparable to the Silk Road, “concentrated the best natural ecological landscape and humanistic style in western China” is the center of the Ancient Tea Horse Road, is the ancient legends, folk art, ethnic customs, ethnic songs and dances flourish in the home of love songs.

Inacheng Aden Scenic Area (Level 5A) Aden Scenic Area is located in the southern part of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, located in the eastern part of the famous Tibetan Plateau, the middle part of the Hengduan Mountain Range, bordering Muli County in Liangshan Prefecture in the southeast, neighboring Xiangcheng County in the west and Zhongdian County in Yunnan Province, and connecting Litang County in the north, with an area of 7,323 square kilometers. Its altitude is 3750 meters, the highest altitude in the territory of 6032 meters; is a plateau monsoon climate, the vast majority of the time the weather is clear, sunny, beautiful natural scenery, especially the remains of the ancient body of ice, “Inacheng ancient ice cap” known in the world.

There is a vegetable market in the center of the newer part of town, some bazaar style shopping (but prices are generally higher than for the same goods in chengdu)

Locals will take a great interest in western travelers and monks near the monastery might invite you in for tea

Small shops downtown provide typical Tibetan clothing and jewelry and accessories bought by the herdsmen and nomads frequenting the town. Look out for stores selling antiques. On the road leading north from the bus station, you'll find several shops catering for monk's outfits and religious artifacts, as well as selling the beautiful curtains adorning windows and doors in that region, there are also stores selling decorative pots and kettles. There are even shops selling traditional Tibetan hand-carved furniture which is made locally.

Supermarkets on main-street sell food and toiletries, you can also buy bottles of beer and decent Chinese wine to make up your own nightlife.

Danba Spiced Pork Shank The fragrant pig's leg is a famous product of Danba area, which is delicious and is a delicacy for festivals and entertaining guests and friends. Every winter, families have to slaughter fat pigs, most of the past pig slaughter pig four feet tied, from the chest with a knife to open a hole, reach into the chest cavity to tear off the heart and lungs joints, will kill the pig, sewing the knife mouth, and repeatedly with hay to the pig hair burned out after the dissection of the fat, lean meat peeled away. When eaten boiled half-cooked or baked skin with charcoal, cut into small pieces or torn into fans, within 100 meters can be smelled, tender and fragrant, nutritious, appetizing.

Luding walnut Luding walnut, a long history. Alpine, semi-alpine, short mountains are produced, the countryside almost every family has walnut trees. Luding walnuts to dwarf mountain oil heavy, large meat for the best. Walnuts have the effect of hair and skin care, and long-term consumption helps to improve intelligence.

KangdingWangen Kangding coriander, is the famous specialty of Kangding County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, the product is flat and round, smooth skin, no cracks, a single weight of more than 250 grams, dense meat, crisp, slightly sweet, spicy flavor, with a sweet taste and warmth, clearing the heat, nourishing the increase in oxygen, eyesight and dampness, appetizer and digestion, decoction of drunkenness and sobering up, and weight loss effect.

Luding red cherry Luding is located on the banks of the Dadu River and produces cherries in abundance, whose best production areas are along the river in the line of Tianba, pestle and mortar, cold moraine. Every year, from mid-April to early May, it is the season of cherry ripening in the place. The cherries here are the earliest to hit the market, with their large, reddish-purple color and a taste of sweetness with a slight fruit acidity. Luding red cherry Sichuan Province Luding County Agricultural Technology Extension Center is located in the southwest of the administrative area under the jurisdiction of Luding County, Ganzi Prefecture, including Tianba Township, pestle and mortar township, cooking dam township, Dewei Township, Leng Moraine Township, Xinglong Township, Luqiao Township, Gashu County Township, Lan'an Township, Dedu Township and so on. Luding Red Cherry is a geographical indication product of agricultural products.

There is not much nightlife in town. To have a beer, visit a restaurant.

Hor Ku Tibetan tea Snowy Russian Tea is produced in the southeast edge of the Tibetan Plateau in Sichuan Province, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Fuhuo County, Huo Zhang Valley area, Russian tree belongs to the wild tree growing in the environment without any pollution, for the snowy plateau area unique rare species. In the Huoer Zhang Valley area, many trees have reached the age of 100 years or even hundreds of years. For a long time, the Russian color “Hall ancient Tibetan tea” in Tibet only as a reception of VIPs, festivals and activities and exclusively for the Toastmasters, the living Buddha and the aristocracy of the luxury drink.

• Hong Fu Guest House, No.49 Chuanzang Road (from the bus station go to Chuanzang Rd, and take left turn towards the west - you will see it after 100 m on the right side), ☏ +86 836-7525330. Called "guest house", but is really a home-stay. The family is really nice and friendly. There is a big room with 4 beds, clean bathroom and hot shower in the house. It's just next to another guest house, where you can find a bed without shower but with Wi-Fi for ¥20. (March 2016) ¥30 for a bed. 
• Chengxin Binguan - Just across the street and south from the bus station at No. 27. With friendly and tidy doubles or triples. Room rates are negotiable but are listed as ranging from ¥70-150. Some rooms have en suite bathrooms, while the condition of the shared bathrooms varies. Using the shared showers is an extra ¥10. In winter, there is no running water in this hotel.
• Snowland Hotel - Just when you enter Garze from the east, you will cross two petrol stations (on your left and right). Turn right afterwards and 50 m up the street and you will see the hotel on the right. Doubles with bathroom (hot shower, squat) are ¥100, without bathroom ¥50. Internet via ethernet-cable. (March 2017)

For those looking to avoid the high foreigner charges mentioned below, walk one street east of the bus station on Chuangzang Rd to the corner on the south (right) side of the street. There are a bunch of locals hanging out there (as of May 2017) who will approach you for an unofficial bed or room in the nearby buildings (usually by making the hands-pressed-together-to-head 'sleeping sign'). Beds offered at ¥30, or bare-bones rooms with attached bathroom (hot water) but no Wi-Fi for ¥60.

• Golden Yak Hotel is inside the bus station compound. A bed in a dorm, and doubles with bathroom, that has low water pressure, go for ¥150. More luxurious accommodation offering en suite bathrooms and western style toilets is also available. The hotel also has a restaurant and tea room. Power and water is iffy in winter months. Bring a flashlight and sleeping bag. No heat. This seems to be a citywide policy as the few hotels licensed for foreigners in the town all rent at the same rate. Customer service at the Golden Yak was dour and unfriendly and the showers did not work, even in summer.
• 31.636999.99031 DzachuSama Hostel & Cafe (山泉客栈), QingKe PuDi 133, ☏ +86 836 7523882, [email protected]. Hotel owned by foreigners in a traditional Tibetan house that has been renovated. Dorm rooms, rooms with private bathrooms, or luxury suites with spectacular views. Clean rooms, clean sheets, hot showers, and comfortable accommodation. (updated Sep 2017)
• Himalaya Hotel (West of the bus station in Dongda Jie). This hotel was built in 2005 with single and double rooms, a nice tea room, medicinal herbal baths and a sauna. The hotel manager is German-speaking. 

Beware of altitude sickness if traveling here straight from the Sichuan lowlands. As in most of West Sichuan and other Tibetan regions stray dogs are common and totally unpredictable. Throwing rocks is your best bet, if you have to time to react. Wearing study boots and thick pants and socks are another way to protect yourself from injures. The area gets a lot of sunshine due to its high location in a long broad valley and temperatures change a lot during the day. Sunglasses and sunblock are a must.

There have been isolated protests against Chinese rule calling for the return of the Dali Lama including violence towards locals on behalf of the authorities and vice versa. There is a very large Chinese military and police presence in the city. Being sympathetic to the local cause is one thing but bear in mind you are putting locals and not yourself at risk. Best to stay neutral and change the topic.

There is an Internet place with decent connection speed (though no printer). It may rank as the biggest smoke den in all of China. Walk to the road bridge crossing the river in the middle of town and follow the stream north (away from the big river towards the monastery). After 300 m, you will pass a pedestrian bridge on your right hand side. Shortly after that, there is a small concrete 'picnic' sitting area on the right. The entrance to the second floor Internet cafe is up the private looking staircase just opposite that place. There are no signs advertising the service, so if in doubt just ask the neighborhood.

It appears there may be restrictions on using the internet, though I'm not sure.

Although some online discussions suggest otherwise, as of 27 May 2011, it is not possible to extend a Chinese visa in Ganzi. Reportedly, the nearest locations for visas are Kangding and Xinning.

The Agricultural Bank of China has an ATM that accepts foreign bank and credit cards.

There are small laundry shops located at numbers 223, 239 and 239 on the main strip, Changzang Road, that will wash clothes. They are easily identified by the clothes hanging from the ceiling. It generally costs ¥2-5 per article/pair of clothing and you can pick up your clothes the next day. If you're in a hurry the clothes can be dropped off in the afternoon and picked up in the evening, but they will still be moist.