8-Day Trip to Gannan | Cost Breakdown

Last month, my friend and I spent 8 days in Gansu's Gannan, living neither extravagantly nor frugally, with an average cost of about 3000 yuan per person. Accommodation was roughly 600 yuan, transportation about 900 yuan, entrance fees around 200 yuan, meals approximately 700 yuan, and the remaining expenses were for miscellaneous items, all of which are per person costs (our trip was from June 7th to 15th). I. The main transportation was by plane, with the outbound flight from Urumqi in Xinjiang to Lanzhou, and the return flight from Chengdu to Guangzhou. The round-trip including tax and fuel was 230 yuan, purchased as part of China Southern Airlines' 'Travel Around China' package (4+1 group price of 3399 yuan, flew 11 times, visited Xinjiang, Gansu, Sichuan, Shanxi, Fujian, Hainan, Henan, and Liaoning). 1. Other transportation was mainly by bus and chartered car, with bus segments being: Lanzhou to Xiahe 80.5 yuan, Zoige to Chengdu 172 yuan, Xiahe to Hezuo 22 yuan, Hezuo to Diebu 72 yuan. 2. Chartered car segments were: Xiahe to Bajiaocheng 260 yuan, Diebu to Zhagana 150 yuan, Zhagana to Langmusi 150 yuan, Langmusi to Zoige 150 yuan, Zoige to the Yellow River's First Bend 400 yuan (got ripped off). II. Accommodation averaged about 600 yuan per person, mostly staying in standard rooms (we were two girls), between 100-250 yuan. Mid-June is not yet the peak tourist season for Gannan and Western Sichuan (July and August are), so accommodation prices were not very expensive. For example, we stayed at the Yanggongkuo Hotel in Xiahe for 146 yuan a night, at the Dawa Shengjie Homestay in Zhagana for 137 yuan a night, at the Linjiang Holiday Hotel in Langmusi for 171 yuan a night, at the 8090 Hotel in Zoige for 112 yuan a night, and at the Mingshanju Hotel in Chengdu, which was slightly more expensive, 238 yuan a night. III. The average cost of meals was about 700 yuan per person. We had a Tibetan meal in Xiahe, ate Tibetan fragrant pork in Zhagana for 90 yuan per jin, lamb soup for 100 yuan per jin, had two meals of yak meat hotpot in Langmusi, each costing 150 yuan and 162 yuan (group purchase package), and in Chengdu, since we stayed near Shuangliu Airport, we group purchased a Lin Hao Old Mother Rabbit Head package for 145 yuan. Overall, we did not deliberately save on food during the trip. IV. Other expenses were mainly taxi fares and the purchase of local specialties. This trip to Gannan and Western Sichuan was 8 days, but excluding the travel days, we actually only had 6 days. The cost feels similar to the off-season prices for traveling in Xinjiang (before going to Gansu, we spent 15 days in Yili and Turpan in Xinjiang, excluding the travel days, it was 13 days, with a total average cost of about 5000 yuan per person). Now, during the summer peak season, accommodation prices in Gannan have probably increased several times.