Journey to utopia even the locals don't know about: Yubeng 雨崩, China

Yubeng

“不去天堂，就去雨崩！”

把雨崩村与天堂之美拿来做比较，一点都不夸。它的地理环境独特，位于梅里雪山脚下，海拔3000多米，只有20几户人家在此居住。有人说这里就是陶渊明笔下的“世外桃源”。由古至今，唯一可通往村里的方式只有靠徒步或骑骡子。我们由西当入村，再从尼农方向回返文明。

"If you're not going to heaven, then head towards Yubeng!"

Comparing the beauty between Yubeng and heaven is not even a bit exaggerating. The geographical condition in Yubeng is very unique; located at the foot of Meili Snow Mountains with an altitude of 3000m. The village is sparsely populated with only about 20 families. Some claimed that this is the utopia referred by Tao Yuanming under one of his many literatures. Since the beginning of time, Yubeng is only accessible by foot or mule. We went in from Xidang and returned to civilisation via Nilong.

Since this is a post dedicated to China, I thought I should at least attempt the introduction in Mandarin! Not the entire post though. Writing a single post in dual language will be super challenging. 

Photo with the troop before starting the hike into Yubeng village

Kudos to mum for discovering FunTravelMag. If not for them, we will most definitely not have been able to experience this beauty. Unlike your typical tour agencies, FunTravelMag is not your "one stop centre". In fact, they don't even call themselves a tour agency. Rather, just a platform to help gather a bunch of people who loves to travel! You are expected to purchase your own air tickets and apply for your own visa (if applicable). I particularly loved the way they made their on-ground arrangements. For example, they did not pre-booked all 3 meals, if it was time for street snacks, then that was how we'll go about it. Similarly, if it was more suitable to take the public transport than to charter a bus, then that was how it will be done.

Yubeng

We were in Kunming 昆明 for about 11 days, of which 4 days were spent in Yubeng. If you're a trekker/hiker, you'll love this place! In other words, be ready to be on your foot a lot. Of course, the view will make it all so worth it.

Entrance point to Yubeng village

It's approximately 11km hike into Yubeng village. Average pace, on foot, will take you around 7 hours to complete. Putting my ego aside, I wanted to try something different e.g. riding a mule. So I decided to ride a mule for the first 5-6km.

The 4 ladies who took the mule route in

We waited quite a fair bit (2 hours maybe) for the locals to send their mules up.

Whilst waiting, local bananas were being passed around. I thought, how different can banana taste?! They were just... bananas. WRONG. Not only they were more towards the "alkaline" side of things (it gave that weird aftertaste on your tongue), it had seeds!!!

Don't tell me I'm overreacting. Have YOU ever had a banana that had seeds!

Local banana

When the mule finally made their grand arrival, the locals started drawing lots. It was to decide amongst themselves who's mule will be picking up the humans, vs the luggages.

Their charges are as follows:

Entrance point to narrow mountain pass: 235RMB (RM140+)

Entrance point to upper Yubeng village: 305RMB (RM180+)

Entrance point to lower Yubeng village horse farm: 355RMB (RM210+) 

We chose the first option which covers almost half the journey, I think.

Pssst. If you're above 90kg, you'll need to hire 2 mules. Oopsie. It will be too much for 1 mule to handle that weight so they'll need to take turns.

Time to head in...

After sorting out all the "administration", we finally hit the road! It was quite fun really. I'd say the experience is quite similar to riding a horse (not that I've ridden a horse before). 

The locals followed alongside, on foot, as we rode on the mule. They made sure their mules don't go astray. Not all of them held on to the lead rope to pull the mule along. So it got quite scary at points when the mule decided to walk along the edge.

We had several pitstops along the way. For us, it was just to get a stretch. I nearly fell asleep and that'd be really dangerous! For the locals, well... they've been walking uphill for a while, obviously they'll need the rest. But most importantly, for the mules to rest. 

Lunch wasn't anything fancy. It was just cup noodles but one of the best I've ever had. Hunger makes any sort of food yums.

Lunch stop 

View at the lunch stop

About 3.5 hours later, we finally made it to the "narrow mountain pass" (the drop-off point we paid for). Even on mule it took so long, according to the rest of the troop, some of them took up to 5 hours to combat that uphill battle.

Oh yea! The altitude at the entire region is pretty much at >3,000m above sea level and at this point, we were already at 3,729m. For reference, Mt Fuji is 3,776m and Mt Kinabalu is at 4,095m.

For the rest of the journey to get into Yubeng village, me and mum were on foot. Can't deny that the view is pretty gorgeous.

Almost there! 

Landscape were cray

We arrived at Upper Yubeng Village around 5.45pm. At this point I was quite beat, for the rest who did conquered the first half without the assistance of a mule, SALUTE. 

But with that view just right outside the room, everything was worth it!

Feels? 

Obviously, do not expect for a 5-star hotel. It's basic but comfortable enough. At the very least, it was heated! Hallelujah. 

For those who are worried of high altitude sickness, it's actually advisable not to take a hot shower. You're already suffering from insufficient oxygen, being in a shower room with hot steam (i.e. less oxygen) and limited air circulation, wouldn't be the brightest idea. 

Accommodation at Upper Yubeng Village

At night, I could hear pigs snorting and donkeys whimpering. At one point, I was quite worried they would barge into the room.

Fun fact. A mule is basically the offsprings of a male donkey and a female horse.

It was cold and chilly. Who would have thought somewhere so remote would serve something so yums! For dinner, we had village chicken hot pot. I swear the photo doesn't do it justice. It came with local vegetables, potatoes and etc.

You sure bet I had a good night's sleep!

What can you do at Yubeng village 

For better accommodation, I'd say go down to Lower Yubeng Village 下雨崩村 (which was where we went the next night). For activities, there's a few hiking spots. We took a day hike to visit the Sacred Waterfall of Yubeng 雨崩神瀑 and another day hike to the glacier lake 冰湖 whilst some stayed in the village and made friends with the locals. 

All of which will be a story for a another day. Stay tuned.