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Katherine’s family road trip crosses the northeast Tibetan Plateau, with a local guide named Gundam helping them at a Tibetan temple. They join a blessing ceremony and watch a charm dance, then visit Jiuzhaigou’s karst wetlands and clear pools. Katherine notes that elderly parents and her Uyghur husband enter free, while they walk farther into the large park to get away from crowds. Dinner includes yak mushroom pizza and an edible fern she cannot identify. The family discusses Tibetan sky burials, visits Dargana village with dirt-walled homes and a preserved cabin, and sees water- and wind-powered prayer wheels. At Huahu Lake they notice yaks, birds, fish and frogs before a hailstorm; their trip also includes Huanglong’s travertine pools.
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Temple visit and Jiuzhaigou
Katherine’s family road trip takes her parents across the northeast Tibetan Plateau. A spontaneous stop brings them to a Tibetan temple, where their local guide Gundam helps them join a blessing ceremony. Katherine’s mother combs her hair before entering because she feels she looks untidy. At the temple they watch a charm dance said to purify negative energy and receive sacred pellets made from medicinal herbs and spices. The family then visits Jiuzhaigou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with karst wetlands and clear pools. The park is crowded, so they walk farther into the grounds to find quieter places. Katherine notes that three of the five travelers enter free: her Uyghur husband Isa as a local, and her elderly parents through senior discounts.
Dinner brings yak mushroom pizza, which the family enjoys, and an edible fern Katherine likes but cannot identify. The discussion then turns to Tibetan sky burials, described in the video as a practice in which a deceased person’s body is returned to nature for vultures. Katherine compares the custom with Western funerals while presenting it as a cultural practice rather than a spectacle.
Dargana, Huanglong and Huahu Lake
In Dargana village, the family walks among traditional dirt-walled homes and a preserved cabin said to be 100 years old. Prayer wheels powered by water and wind are part of the landscape, and local people use pebbles to count circumambulations. Their guide shares experience with caterpillar fungus and says he has dug for it in hail. The family’s interest in the board game Dixit recurs as a light thread during the journey.
Huahu Lake is a large wetland where they see yaks, birds, fish and frogs. A sudden hailstorm catches them on the road, but their guide is familiar with the weather. The trip also includes Huanglong, known for its travertine pools that Katherine’s parents find striking. The family reflects on traveling beyond China’s megacities, with temples, wetlands, villages, local food and changing weather all part of the route.
FAQs (From the traveler's perspective)
- Q: What were the blessing pellets made from?
- A: The video says the pellets are made from a mixture of medicinal herbs and spices and represent blessings from enlightened beings. Katherine’s family receives them during a temple ceremony with help from their local guide Gundam.
- Q: What is a Tibetan sky burial?
- A: The video explains it as a practice in which the deceased person’s body is cut up and left on a mountain for vultures, returning it to nature. Katherine discusses it as a cultural practice that differs from Western funeral customs.
- Q: What was the fern-like dish at dinner?
- A: Katherine says she did not know the name of the edible fern, but liked its taste and wanted to find it again. The meal also included yak mushroom pizza, which the family enjoyed.
