Ya'an
Ya'an, is the starting point of the Sichuan-Tibet stretch of the Tea-horse Road. The brick tea produced in Ya'an, which was called frontiers tea was carried by caravans traversing the Erlang Mountain to Tibet and further afar to India and Nepal to exchange for horses, drugs. Those trading activities went on for centuries, which boosted economy along the road and brought peace and stable atmosphere to the frontier regions.
Ya'an is one of the birthplaces of tea culture, whose tea growing history can be traced back to the Western Han Dynasty over 2,000 years ago. Tea trees planted at the Mengding shang Hill by a man who was engaging in herds were believed to be the ancestors of China’s tea. Even today, tea grown at the Mengding shan is still considered superior.
As the world- famous hometown of giant pandas, Yaan is place where the 1s panda was discovered. The number and density of the giant pandas in Yaan rank the 1st over the world.
Ya'an has a mountain subtropical monsoon climate. Spring with a lot of rain is not a recommended travel season, The annual temperature averages between 14.1 degree centigrade and 17.9 degree centigrade.
Best sights in and around Ya'an include the Mt. Erlang, Mt. mengding.
Mt, Erlangshan
Mt. Erlangshan is characterized by primitive forests, varied wildlife, rugged mountains, unspoiled streams. The view from the mountain summit is superb, with towering peaks often cloaked in mist, like a white dragon rolling in from the sea. At night, streams of cars running along the precipitous winding roads with their lights reflecting with each other are like dragons dancing splendidly.
Mt. Mengding
Mt, Mengdingshan Scenic Area consists of a royal garden where Wu Lizhen, the founder of Mengshan Tea in Han Dynasty planted seven seeds of "miraculous tea" ,some ancient stone trails from Palace of King Shu to Tiangai Temple and a tea museum.
Accomodation
Do not expect too much in comfort in accommodation while traveling Ya’an. Most of the hotels in the city only cater to Chinese visitors and English is very less spoken. The Ya'an Hotel and Ya'an Yudou Hotel are considered the best two hotels in the town.
Transportation
Ya'an is the gateway from Sichuan and Yunnan to Tibet. There are no trains or flights to Ya.an and the only practicable way is by highway. Ya'an city is served by three bus stations with the Ya’an Tourist Station most important to travelers. Tourist bus station lies at the junction of Beier Road and Yabi Road and there are arrivals from Chengdu, Leshan, Kangding.
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