Originally Posted by jiejie

We arrived about 18:00, which turned out to be a bit early this time of year (summer) when days are long. And in fact, it was summer solstice so the longest day of the year in Northern Hemisphere. Groan. My arrival was too early because a) At 6 pm it was still blisteringly hot and b) It was going to be too early to get those iconic Jiaohe sunset pictures. 18:00 arrival would probably be OK in May or September, but for June-August, probably better to arrive at 18:45 or 19:00, at least 30 minutes before Last Tickets are sold for the day.