spectacular view of Gongga Shan. Walk about one kilometer to Kazhi Monastery, which is only just barely in Kangding County. The monks will be utterly amazed to see you. Bring your own food, and compensate for lodging with a cash donation to the monastery.

Drinking Tea in Kangding

Tea culture in Kangding is highly influenced by Tibetan custom. Visitors can enjoy genuine Tibetan-style buttered tea in both places.

The Tibetan buttered tea is prepared by mixing butter and salt with the juice from fully boiled and fermented tea leaves. Before serving, the mixture is further blended in a special blender. This is usually a slim wooden cylinder with a piston to push and pull inside the cylinder. The mixture of butter, salt and tea passes through the piston and cylinder to create a unique blend popular in Tibet. Both sweet teas or Tibetan buttered tea are served in small or large thermo flasks which preserve the heat necessary to savour the best flavour.

Travel Information

The county seat of Kangding is 360 kilometers away from Chengdu. Visitors can take long-distance buses to Kangding from the Xinnanmen (New South Gate) Tourist Transportation Center in Chengdu. A bus ticket costs about 120 yuan, and the bus journey takes about eight hours.

The food in Kangding is mostly prepared in the Sichuan culinary style.

Hotels in Kangding can accommodate about 1,500 people. The best hotels are the Jiaotong Hotel and Kangding Hotel, with prices per person ranging from 50 to 300 yuan ($6 to $36)

(CRIENGLISH.com)