Zagana offers more bang for your buck than the Alps.

While others are crammed into scenic spots, gasping for air, I'm here riding horses, chasing rainbows, learning to make butter tea with Tibetan women, and watching the Milky Way cascade into the valley at midnight, wrapped in a yak wool blanket. Traveling against the grain in Gannan has cured my "travel involution"! 🏔 Why should you skip Jiuzhaigou and come to Zagana? "It's not that Jiuzhaigou isn't beautiful, it's that Zagana's magical charm is even more captivating!" 🏔 Stone City: A Tibetan village surrounded by giant rock walls. When the morning mist drifts over the barley fields, it's like stepping into Middle-earth from *The Lord of the Rings*. 🌌 The Milky Way at your fingertips: Stay in a wooden cabin on the mountaintop at night, open the curtains, and you'll see a sky full of stars. There are so many shooting stars you'll run out of wishes. 🍵 Butter tea freedom: Learn to make butter tea with a local woman using a traditional wooden churn, paired with *tsampa* and air-dried yak meat. It's a soul-stirring experience! 💡 Unconventional ways to experience Zagana 1⃣ Stay in a Tibetan wooden house: Listen to grandpa tell legends of mountain gods by the fire pit, and count the stars from the rooftop terrace. ✨ 2⃣ Hike to Fairy Beach: Walk through pine forests to alpine meadows, lie down among the wildflowers, and maybe even see some marmots fighting—it's so cute it'll melt your heart! 3⃣ Free Tibetan costume photoshoot: Borrow a coral necklace and malachite earrings from a local woman, pose with a lamb under prayer flags, and your friends will think you've gone to Bhutan! 🚨 Pitfalls to avoid (lessons learned the hard way) ⚠ Don't buy "honey" from roadside vendors! The real stuff is only found in the cellars of Tibetan homes, and it's so thick it stretches like silk. ⚠ Wake up at 6 a.m. to photograph the morning mist! After 7 a.m., the light is too harsh, and Stone City turns into a disappointing "what I ordered vs. what I got" situation. 📍 Four-day, three-night itinerary Day 1: Lanzhou → Zagulu Town (eat *Wurzel* rice) → Overnight stay in a Stone City wooden cabin Day 2: Hike to Fairy Beach → Meadow picnic → Learn to make butter tea Day 3: Horseback riding through the canyon → Explore Lasang Temple → Bonfire and *Guozhuang* dance Day 4: Return with a jar of yak yogurt and barley wine 🚗 Transportation: ✔ Direct bus from Lanzhou to Diebu County, then a 50 yuan/person shared ride to Zagana ✔ The mountain roads are winding, so bring motion sickness patches and mints "While tourists are posing for photos in Jiuzhaigou, the real adventurers are haggling with marmots in the valley!"