The information below is no longer current but is still seeing a lot of traffic so I'll leave it below for background reference as to the situation before the May 12th earthquake. Generally at the moment (August 2008) there is no tourist access for foreigners to any of Ganzi TAP or to the vast majority of Aba TQAP (some of the far North is apparently open though). A news update will be posted here when the situation changes. Please feel free to contact us with any specific enquiries.
Last updated Tuesday 13th May.
As a result of the recent earthquake, the main 213 and 217 national roads North/West into Sichuan are completely impassible. This effectively precludes all travel to Aba Prefecture. Unless you have been explicitly invited to help with the rescue effort then we would ask you to stay out of the way for the time being. For the moment we are advising against ALL travel within Sichuan to the North or West of Chengdu, and our trips are canceled for the immediate future. We have had only very limited contact with our local guides and news is generally not good. We have also not yet regained contact with those in areas further to the North, although early general reports were positive.
In light of recent events in Tibet and neighbouring provinces, access is currently restricted to a number of areas in Western Sichuan, although is still permitted to others. There's no definitive list, and the situation is changing from day to day. We've been busy making enquiries of all our local contacts and below is a summary of our knowledge to date.
The areas below are mostly where I've been asked about or where I happen to have concrete news. If there's somewhere you're interested in which is not listed feel free to get in touch or leave a comment below. If you have any news on these or other areas then please do leave a comment for others to see, preferably with the source of your information. Political comments will not be tolerated. We're not interested in them and certainly have no desire to be censored. All anonymous comments are moderated.
Kangding
Effectively closed. There is no access beyond Kangding in any direction though so there's little point in visiting. Buses on the Chengdu road to Kangding are being stopped and inspected at two different points. Hostels and hotels in town are under strict orders to report any arriving foreigners to the local police immediately.
Gongga Shan / Caoke / Hailougou / Jiulong
Caoke is predominantly Han and very likely to be open so it's probably possible to get to Gongga this way. Likewise Hailougou is likely to be open because it's a known tourist destination. The general consensus of opinion is that it isn't possible to get there from the other side. If you walked there though you could presumably go back by road though since you'd be heading out of the area by this stage.
Tian Quan
Confirmed open by local government and police, although only after facing a very unpleasant day of questions and being given excuses as to why we should avoid our chosen destination. Eventually escorted back to Ya'an and then Chengdu. Not to be recommended.
Muli
"Should be open" although we have no reliable source here.
Xinduqiao
Appears to be closed. Not the safest area for travellers at the best of times, with robberies and car jackings reported every so often. It's not somewhere we'd recommend lingering, and it's looking like people are being stopped on the road out of Kangding anyway.
Aba (County)
Aba is of course closed for the moment - stay away for the time being.
Lixian
The road from Wenchuan is definitely open, at least as far as Bipeng Gou. Locals say that the first checkpoint is at the tunnel before the junction to Ma'erkang / A'ba.
Ma'erkang
We can't confirm that it's closed, but all the surrounding areas definitely are. This makes it even less interesting than Kangding to visit then!
Hongyuan, Ruo'ergai
Definitely closed
Rilong / Siguniang Shan (Four Girls Mountain)
Open. We visited Rilong a couple of weeks ago and it was definitely, without shadow of a doubt, open to foreigners -- no matter what other reports might say. We were stopped once at the bridge below Yingxiu as you enter Aba Prefecture, and there was the usual random inspection in place on the junction in Yingxiu, but the area was definitely open.
Wolong (Panda reserve)
Open.
Songpan
Now open again. Foreigners were asked to leave but are now permitted to return.
Heishui
Probably Open. Local government have stated that foreigners may now return. Confirmation expected next week.
Jiuzaigou
Open. Tourist groups are heading up there daily by road and air without hindrance.
Litang / Batang
Closed. Advice from local people and monks seems to be "stay away" for the moment. We're not running any trips to the area until after the Olympics. It appears to be impossible to get there for the moment anyway.
Daocheng / Yading
Closed. Our friend with a hotel here doesn't seem to be having the best of luck. There was no access all of last year (while locals protested against government development plans), things were just getting back to normal and now everything's closed again this year.
Tagong
Appears to be closed. Not somewhere we actually visit that often, nor have local contacts. Many trekking groups, ours included have been asked for "protection money" to pass through the area. It's also a religious centre. We're staying away for the moment.
Daofu
It's hardly surprisingly that a lot of trouble has been reported here and it looks like it's still going on. The place is definitely closed.
Danba
Maybe open. The local tourist board say that Danba is open again, although so far as I know no-one has actually managed to make it there and the roadblock . We've certainly had cases where different police and government departments were all saying different things, so if you do get stopped then asking to talk to the tourist board in Danba might be a good strategy. A month ago heading out of Rilong we were turned back just after the Jiajin Shan road, before even reaching Xiaojin. At that time there were apparently there are a total of seven checkpoints between Rilong and Danba, and Chinese tourists could pass through without trouble. There's no access to Danba via Kangding.
Tibet
OK, I know not in Sichuan, but people are still asking me about it. Tibet is definitely closed to foreigners at the moment. Road crossings are officially off limits for independent foreign travellers, and have been fairly strictly monitored for the last year or so. Some Chinese groups are apparently being allowed back in again now, but despite earlier promises of reopening May 1st for foreigners, that is looking extremely unlikely now.
General
Although now lessening again, there is a heavy police presence on all roads, with a number of roadblocks in place. This seems to be partly a show of force, and to make sure that journalists don't get through. Being stopped doesn't necessarily mean you will be turned back, only that all your paperwork will be checked. Chinese groups are OK with the exception of the major trouble spots - where the excuse "for your safety" is probably actually true for once.
You should also investigate travel advice from your own country, e.g.
- UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice for China
(Page blocked from within China!) - US Department of State travel alert for China
Although less detailed and possibly less accurate then the information here, it has much more of a bearing on your insurance policy than anything we say! Typical advice from most countries seems to be to avoid restricted areas completely and use caution when traveling elsewhere. We'd tend to agree with that.
@adel
The main G213 national route heading North out of Chengdu, as well as the road West from Yingxiu via Wolong and the Balang Pass to Rilong were severely damaged. Large buses are still banned from these routes, although smaller vehicles are allowed on the G213 at least. Buses to Xiaojin (which are what you'd normally take for Rilong) are being rerouted via Ya'an and Baoxing or even via Luding and Danba -- and so don't actually pass through Rilong any more and take a good couple of hours extra. From Xiaojin you'd need to arrange onward transport to Rilong in a breadvan or whatever. Still doable in a day though.
@Charlene
The Wolong reserve was very badly damaged by the earthquake with the pandas mostly evacuated to the Bifeng Xia reserve near Ya'an and a few other destinations. Although there are plans to rebuild a reserve at Wolong, it is far too early for short term volunteer help. I think there have been occasional opportunities to get involved at Bifeng Xia although it's not really set up the same way that Wolong was. I don't think the Chengdu Research Base reserve accepts volunteers although it is open to the public at least.
For more information I think the authorative site is probably the Wolong Panda Club
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