Rilong Town (Siguniangshan Town) Travel Guide – The Main Base for Visiting Mount Siguniang

Mount Siguniang is the highest peak of Eastern Hengduan Range scaling at a height of 6,250m. Mount Siguniang is known as the Four Sisters Mountain as it comprises of four mountains. They are Dafeng (Daguniangshan, 5025m), Erfeng (Erguniangshan, 5276m), Sanfeng (Sanguniangshan, 5355m) and Yaomeifeng (6250m). There are treks for all kinds of travellers—for ardent climbers and for beginners. Rilong Town is used as the base for trekking in this mountain.

Rilong Town

Where is Rilong?

Rilong Town also known as Siguniangshan Town is a moderate sized town in the Xiaojin County. This is an authentic Tibetan town located in the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan. This town is a popularly used as a base for all Mount Siguniang tours. It stands approximately 3, 160m above sea level. Apart from hikers Rilong Town has been attracting all kinds of tourists because of the newly finished roads from Chengdu which makes the travel smoother. The doorways of the buildings and the general architecture in town are full of authenticity and culture. This town serves as a perfect base for exploring the surrounding mountains. There are some shops where you can buy necessary equipment. There are guest houses, hostels, and hotels for all kinds of budgets. Sunrise in the town is known to be a very beautiful sight.

How to Get to Rilong?

Right now, there are two ways two reach Rilong, by car and bus. Rilong is located between Xiaojin County and Wenchuan County. Chengdu can be an ideal big city to start the journey from to reach Rilong. It is 260km from Chengdu. Car rental is the most convenient way to go. There are multiple routes to go from Chengdu to Rilong. But the shortest route and the usually used route by bus is the Chengdu-Dujiangyan-Yingxiu-Wolong-Mt Balang-Rilong Town. This route is the currently the shortest route.

For going by bus, the bus starts from Chandianzi Bus Station in Chengdu. It takes about 6-7 hours to reach Rilong. The buses to Rilong are not frequent. Take the bus that leaves to Xiaojin that starts at 7 am. From Xiaojin, Rilong is just 1.5 hours away. It goes through Wolong and Mt Balang. The ride might be bumpy but there are wonderful views that are postcard perfect.

You can take the tourist bus to Rilong at Chadianzi Tourist Bus Terminal

Where to live in Rilong?

There are lots of hostels and hotels in Rilong Town. They are mostly situated close to the entrance of the three valleys—Shuangqiao, Haizi, and Changping. There are no places to stay inside the scenic area. If you’re trekking any of those valleys or the Four Sisters Mountain, camping is the only way to stay overnight. Here are some hostels and hotels you can stay in:

Hostels: Climbers & Travellers Hostel, Sunny Youth Hostel, Abalang Garden Hostel, Kalsang Metok, etc.

Hotels: Siguniangshan Jiarong Hotel, New Siguniang Mountain Hotel, Sheng Shan Hotel, etc.

Even if you are going in last minute and didn’t have time to book accommodation, there are lots of local guest houses where you can stay for cheap. The accommodation prices definitely go up during high tourist inflow seasons. If you are visiting during those months book in advance.

What to eat in Rilong?

Rilong is a popular tourist area as it is the base for all the trekkers and climbers. There are a lot of authentic and unique dishes in the local cuisine. Some of the must try dishes are different types of wild fungi like Matsutake, Boletus, Morchella etc., butter tea made of yak butter, Zanba-a nutritious dish made of roasted barley, baked potato, medicinal cordyceps duck, roasted lamb, yak milk, yak meat, and the Tibetan highland barley wine. Most of the dishes offered in Rilong town are Sichuan cuisine or Tibetan food with strong flavour. If you are not get used to such kind of dishes, you can prepare some own food by yourself.

You can taste the local flavor roasted meat in Rilong town.

For breakfast many hotels have continental breakfast which cost about 10 RMB, for lunch you mostly get only Tibetan or Sichuan dishes which are mostly hot and salty costing about 50 RMB- 100 RMB. For cheaper options, eat in the hostel you are staying as they cost only about 30-30 RMB.

From Rilong to Mount Siguniang

Since Mount Siguniang is located in the border of Rilong Town, you can take a local van to reach there. You can also hitchhike with local people to reach there. Mount Siguniang is called as the Chinese Alps. It has very similar ambiance and scenery as the South European Scenery.

Mount Siguniang is one of the most popular destinations for climbers in Asia. It is also training base for climbers in China. With a beautiful town at the base and with beautiful views from the top, this is one of the best places close to Chengdu that you should not fail to explore.