Gansu-Qinghai-Ningxia Road Trip (23): Rock's Eden - Zhagana

Travel with Ctrip Season 16 - Gansu-Qinghai-Ningxia Road Trip (23) Rock's Eden - Zhagana Gannan, Gansu Sep 17-18, 2023 Overcast to cloudy, 3-20°C, max altitude 3,550m. We arrived in Zhagana at 1pm yesterday. Zhagana is located in Yiwa Township, Diebu County. In Tibetan, it means "stone box" and is a complete natural stone city. National Highway 248 is the only way to Zhagana. The road is in good condition and easy to drive on. Two stone peaks rise from the ground at the southeast entrance of Zhagana, forming a stone gate. An asphalt road runs through the middle, and the other three sides are surrounded by towering mountains, forming a paradise (Image 1). When you enter Zhagana, you will be amazed by the scenery: surrounded by mountains, steep peaks, and misty clouds (Image 2). There are four villages here: Dongwa, Yeri, Dari, and Daiba, which are built in valleys or on hillsides. The Tibetan-style wooden houses are arranged in a row, showing a simple and original style (Image 3). Each village has a temple, which shows the piety of the local Tibetans (Image 4). This is a must-see spot on the Gannan travel route, and it receives a large number of tourists every day. After years of development, the tourism facilities are relatively complete. Most of the local residents have opened homestays and restaurants, and the development of tourism has improved the economic level and quality of life. After driving into Zhagana, we drove nearly 5 km and stopped at several viewing points to enjoy the scenery and take photos. Some of the viewing points are connected by walkways for the convenience of tourists (Image 5). The highest viewing point in the area, Dari Viewing Platform (Image 6), offers a wide view. Standing on the glass platform, you can overlook the entire Zhagana (Image 7). We arrived at Daiba Village, the deepest and highest point, before evening (Image 8). The magic of Zhagana is that no matter what the weather is, it always looks beautiful. The clouds and mist linger all year round, and the villages are quiet, like a fairyland (Image 9). According to the weather forecast, it will rain during our trip in the next few days. It was cloudy in Zhagana, and we were lucky to complete the important sightseeing project smoothly. Thank God. We left Zhagana for Aba, Sichuan at 9am.