On Saturday (November 23), a rare massive traffic jam occurred on the road leading from Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area to the Huanglong Jiuzhaigou High-Speed Railway Station, causing thousands of tourists to miss their high-speed trains.
In the evening of November 23, several tourists posted online, reporting that the road from Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area to Huanglong Jiuzhaigou High-Speed Railway Station was severely congested. What should have been a 2-hour journey after finishing their visits in the afternoon turned into a 4 to 6-hour ordeal. Many couldn’t catch the high-speed train back to Chengdu that day, resulting in expenses for rescheduling tickets and accommodation. Some passengers had to stay near the train station, as well as in Songpan County and Chuanzhousi Town. Others had to share rides back to Chengdu that night.
On November 24, the cultural and tourism department of Songpan County responded, stating that it was the first time they had encountered such a large traffic jam. The transportation department dispatched buses to transport stranded tourists to the high-speed railway station from last night until this morning.
A tourist, Ms. Su (pseudonym), told reporters that she had left Songpan. “I boarded a bus heading to Huanglong Jiuzhaigou Station on the 23rd at 6 p.m., preparing to catch the high-speed train departing for Chengdu East Station at 9:31 p.m. However, we started experiencing traffic congestion less than half an hour into the journey. The vehicle kept stopping and starting, and we heard there was a car accident ahead. Despite emergency services like 110 and 120 being on the scene, after over 4 hours, the vehicles had barely moved.”
Ms. Su mentioned, “There were likely over a thousand people stuck on the road. Even after calling 12345 and 12306 from the bus, the train station staff said to wait for only around 15 minutes. In the end, we reached the train station at 11:30 p.m. We had to personally cover the costs for accommodation in Chengdu, rescheduling four high-speed train tickets, and local lodging expenses.”
Ms. Jiang, who was close to Chengdu, stated, “We left Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area around 6:25 p.m. on the 23rd and got stuck on the road for 6 hours. We missed the high-speed train and had to cancel our accommodation – it was the first time we’ve experienced such a frustrating situation.”
Mr. Ding, who had returned to Beijing, said that being stuck in traffic for 4 hours caused him to miss his flight from Huanglong Airport to Chengdu. He witnessed at least three car accidents on the way but was fortunate enough to secure high-speed train tickets again for 312 yuan. “We caught the last scheduled high-speed train to Chengdu at 9:31 p.m. The train waited for us for an extra 15 minutes, and although it was initially fully booked, only 1/10 of the seats were filled.”
According to the official website of Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area, there were 14,489 visitors on November 22. The visitor count for the 23rd has not been disclosed yet. A local shuttle driver informed reporters that more than 17,000 people were present.
(End of translation)