Originally Posted by
lax2010
Yes, the taxi price on the board outside of the airport terminal did say $200 Yen....
Yuan please, never Yen in China!
I kept seeing comments on the web that it only takes 10 perhaps 15 minutes to walk between the Sheraton and the park. I think it takes at least 30 minutes for casual walking. We tried walking back one day and it took us an hour or more as we wee walking along the bank through the shopping and restaurant area between the park and the Sheraton.
There's your problem....walking casually and doing it along the river is more scenic and interesting but slower. Walking along the road instead, at a reasonably fast past, should only take 15 minutes from the Sheraton for the adult of average fitness. The riverwalk takes a nonstop walker about 25-30 minutes since it's just a longer route. So for future Sheraton stayers, allot time correctly. One plan is to take the fast but boring route by the road to the park, then the nice scenic riverwalk back after your visit.
We got to the park around 7:30AM in the morning by paying a flat rate $10 Yen for the taxi that queued up outside of the Sheraton. It was around 8AM by the time we got the entry tickets and to the tour bus loading area. It was pretty chaos at the bus station. There were so many Chinese domestic tourists and tour groups.
This is why during the tourist season, I advocate arrival at 06:30 to 06:45 at the entry,
before the ticketing building opens. Just one hour makes a big difference in avoiding the worst of the crush and chaos around the buses heading up. Dead of winter, 07:30 might be OK for arrival.
We got so confused and just got on the first bus we were able to get on. Anyway, I don't think there was any sign that designated where (i.e., which one of the three valleys) the bus was heading to. We, of course, got onto the wrong bus! All the advanced planning just went down the drain! LOL!
This is possible, there's not really any direction at that lowest bus station. Especially if you can't speak Chinese. The Park could do a better job of this, IMO. For benefit of future travelers, when in doubt, get off at Nuorilang Tourist Center and then look for the signage to the bus stop going up the branch road you want. Nuorilang has 3 bus areas with separate queuing stands: one for Long Lake branch, one for Virgin Forest Branch, and one for back downhill to entry.
Not sure if it was because we arrived at the Long Lake early in the mid morning, the tranquility of the Long Lake at the time was not something that can be described by words!
Maybe this was a spot of luck for you, seems the vast majority of Chinese head up to Long Lake and 5-Color Pool after lunch, and it really diminishes the quality of the visit with the horrible crowds.
... but the inside path were closed for maintenance from around the Panda Lake area and we were forced to change our (down-hill walking) plan and started hopping back to the bus to head down! So, the lesson learned is that you can plan all you want to but be flexible and prepared to change your plan.
Spot of minor bad luck for you there, and usually the maintenance closures are not scheduled for the height of the tourist season unless something really critical (like redoing a safety/hand railing) has to be done. But your conclusion is correct, must be flexible and able to roll with the punches.