Braving Western Sichuan and Gannan with Kids! These 8 Pitfalls Made Me Want to Quit on the Spot

Listen up, fellow moms! Took my 5-year-old to battle 3,400m altitude—ended up with a kid vomiting like a fountain at Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture while I carried oxygen tanks like a human camel... Our "must-visit lifetime destination" turned into a "life-and-death bonding experience"! Here’s my tearful 7-day survival guide to save you at least two oxygen tanks‼️ 🌪️ Death-Defying Itinerary (Copy this directly!) Day1⃣️: Speed from Chengdu 👉 Get smothered by prayer flags at Waqie Forest 👉 First taste of altitude sickness in Hongyuan County Day2⃣️: Sunburn at Yellow River First Bend 👉 First oxygen tank experience in Aba County 👉 Kids’ guide to highland dancing Day3⃣️: Chase mystic dawn at Langyi Monastery 👉 Three-hour yak traffic jam at Ngawa 👉 Fatherly love (oxygen-deprived edition) Day4⃣️: Stuck in Awancang Wetland 👉 Kids chase marmots at Guomang Wetland 👉 Munch beef jerky in front of Buddha at Langmusi Day5⃣️: Sunrise scam at Zhagana 👉 Fairy Beach turns into Mud Monkey Beach 👉 Tibetan grandma laughs at rookie dad Day6⃣️: Car graveyard on Luoke Road 👉 Glucose binge in Xiahe County 👉 Tire deflation performance Day7⃣️: Marathon prayer wheels at Labrang Monastery 👉 Cliff terror at Ganjia Secret Land 👉 Tearful goodbye to oxygen tanks at Lanzhou Airport ✅ Dawn Chaser at Langyi Monastery Dragged my kid up the mountain at 5 AM—suddenly, he points at the mist: "Look! Ultraman is glowing!" Turns out it was sunlight through prayer flags 🌅 While monks chanted, he "blessed" his thermos by spinning it like a prayer wheel... ✅ Yak Jam at Ngawa Three hours stuck behind a yak taking a 💩 break! Kid finally peed on a gravel slope, crying: "Mom, am I watering the mountain?" ✅ Fairy Turned Mud Monkey at Zhagana Promised misty fairyland, got tripod-wielding photographers instead. Kid turned Fairy Beach into a mud war—white dress became camo, Tibetan kids laughed: "Han Zhuoma turned into a spotted pig!" 💣 Bloody Pitfalls: 1⃣️ Never drive Ganjia Secret Land at night! No guardrails, just abyss—peeked and nearly peed. 2⃣️ Skip the elevator at Yellow River First Bend! Glass walkway melted shoes, carrying kid up stairs felt like plowing fields. 3⃣️ Bring a foldable toilet for Luoke Road! No restrooms—kid’s toilet paper blew away mid-business... 4⃣️ Don’t let kids wander at Labrang Monastery! Prayer wheel maze = lost kid + desperate monk announcements. 5⃣️ Avoid Awancang Wetland puddles! Five hours stuck in mud while kid fed vultures ("my mounts!"). 6⃣️ Don’t pet marmots! Kid tried adopting one—peed pants when it bared teeth. 7⃣️ No hoodies in prayer flag zones! Kid’s hood got tangled like a dumpling, snipping flags felt blasphemous... 8⃣️ Reapply sunscreen! Kid turned chocolate bar in three days: "Can I play Judge Bao now?" 🍜 Survival Food Ranking: ✔️ Xiahe’s Qieshi Mutton Soup 🐑 Cures altitude sickness—kid drank three bowls, became "mutton fountain." ✔️ Langmusi Butter Cakes 🥮 Kid wore it as a "necklace," nibbling while spinning prayer wheels. ✔️ Zhagana Yak Yogurt 🍶 Honey-sweetened—kid licked bowl: "I’ll be a yak herder!" ✖️ Ngawa Self-Heating Hotpot 🌶️ Too high to cook—kid sobbed over raw potatoes. 📸 Instagram Holy Grails: 1⃣️ Langyi Monastery dawn (silhouette kid with prayer wheel) 2⃣️ Yellow River sunset (zoom shot "pinching" the sun) 3⃣️ Waqie Forest flags (red-clad "trapped" flat lay) 4⃣️ Ganjia cliffs (drone family "cliff selfie") 🏡 Lodging Hits & Misses: ✔️ Ganjia Eco-Camp: Free thangka art—kid drew "alien yaks" watched by real ones. ✔️ Zhagana Cloud B&B: Window view of stone peaks + Tibetan blanket photos = perfection. ✖️ "Stargazing" tent: Saw zero stars, kid slept on dad’s head after mouse scare. ⚠️ Lifesavers: ✔️ Foldable oxygen bag (lighter than tanks, lasted six days) ✔️ Glucose gummies (altitude hack + bribery tool) ✔️ Kid leash (prayer wheel crowds = human kite) ✔️ Portable shower bag (hot water? In this economy?) At departure, kid whipped out sage: "I picked fairy grass at Ganjia!" Though my heart nearly exploded, his scribbled "highland adventure map" made it worth it. (💡 Bloody advice: Buy strap-on kid sunglasses! Regular ones flew into the Yellow River—¥200 sacrifice to the river god...)