| Travel in Sichuan | |
|---|---|
| May 13, 2008 08:01 |   |
 | For visitors to China who have Sichuan on the itinerary. More than 50% of the province has been affected by this earthquake while the north western counties have been most affected. Thes include tourist attractions like Jiuzhaigou (flying in and out may be the best option for the next few weeks) Huanglong Wolong Panda Reserve (Off limits until further notice) Dujianggan Ancient Irrigation Scheme (Off limits until further notice) Chengdu City in general There are irregularities in the incidences of destruction and I imagine that it will be several weeks even months before some areas have been clear sufficiently for the government to allow resumption of tourism. Both Chengdu and Wenchuan are major transport hubs in the region and road travel may be seriously restricted for some time so it would be wise to be cautious and make enquiries with authorities before trying to travel in Wenchuan and southern Aba counties. Leshan and Emei may be less affected but do make inquiries before venturing. The city of Ya'an is south west of Chengdu, closer to Leshan and Emei and it was also badly devastated. |
| May 14, 2008 00:36 | #1 |
| Let's try to keep this on top as many travellers will be asking questions if they were planning on visiting in the coming months leading up to and after the Olympic. |
| May 14, 2008 02:39 | #2 |
| For a news report on tourists stranded in Jiuzhaigou go to this link http://news.xinhuanet.com/ |
| May 14, 2008 07:05 | #3 |
| News tonight is more promising with clearer skies but with this will come warmer weather which will not be good either. At least now helicopters are able to airlift men and equipment into the area and ferry the injured out. But opening roads into the Min Valley may be a longer term project. For now, a new lake recently formed behind a new dam the on Min river just upstream from Dujiangyan is giving rescue worker a navigable waterway enabling them to bypass some of the damaged roads. After this it is a further four our march over 60kms to the County seat of Wenchuan. |
| May 15, 2008 01:20 | #4 |
| May 15th Just going to air this afternoon as the weather begins to clear is aerial footage of the Min valley upstream from Dujiangyan. One span in the new 2km long bridge has collapsed. This new bridge may never have gone into service. When I passed through in both May and October 2007 it was nearing completion as waters backed up behind the new dam. From todays aerial photos it appears never to have been open to traffic. With one span between two pylons missing it may also have other structural damage. The old road around the location of the bridge is impassable with huge rock and mud slides blocking it at every turn. Rubber duckies and other water craft are being used to bypass this section. The PLA were parachuting into remote and inaccessible areas today and air dropping water and food to desperate survivors. The flyover showed many completely and partially collapsed farmhouses and other small buildings. |
| May 15, 2008 02:24 | #5 |
| May 15th Just picked up this report from Xinhua News More than 50 tourists were confirmed dead on Thursday in Jiuzhaigou, a tourist attraction in southwest China's quake-hit Sichuan Province, local officials said. The office said as of 8 p.m. Wednesday more than 10,000 tourists were stranded in Aba, including about 2,900 in Jiuzhaigou and 7,058 in Songpan County. Yang Changqing, secretary-general of Aba prefectural government, said 1,200 tourists were stranded in Maoxian County of Aba. There were no reports of deaths or injuries of foreign tourists. The local government was evacuating the stranded tourists by road and air. |
| May 16, 2008 20:25 | #6 |
| Official Comments appear to confirm that ALL of Sichuan is closed to tourism until further notice. Not just the quake ravaged areas for obvious reasons but many other areas can only be easily reached by passing through either Chengdu or Wenchuan if not both. Lixian, on the road between Wenchuan and Maerkang experienced another large tremor which again closed that recently opened stretch of road. I include several photos taken here in May 2007 showing the construction of a new road up this valley and one of the new bridge just 5 kms from Dujiangyan which may never have been put into service. We passed though again in October 2007 and it was not open then either. |
| May 16, 2008 20:33 | #7 |
| Lixian Town between Wenchuan and Maerkangsite of another larger tremor on Friday 16th USGS website  |
| May 16, 2008 20:42 | #8 |
| 2007 New road under construction Between Lixian and Wenchuan taken from the valley floor this new road is a 'skyway' |
| May 16, 2008 20:44 | #9 |
| 2007 New road under construction between Lixian and Wenchuan |
| May 16, 2008 20:47 | #10 |
| New bridge near Dujiangyan damaged by the earthquake before ever being opened to traffic. The lake has become the only route up the valley to Yingxui and Wenchuan Photo taken May 2007 and passed again in Oct 2007  |
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