Breakaway Destination Guides (International)

It is said that if there should be wonderlands on the earth, Jiuzhaigou Valley must be one of them. There is no equal elsewhere that has sceneries and fables of dreamlike eloquence, or natural purities like a fairyland as Jiuzhaigou Valley.

Jiuzhaigou, which means "Valley of Nine Villages", is regarded as one of the most beautiful place in China. This nature reserve is located on the north of Sichuan province in central China, bordering on Tibet. Since becoming a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1992, Jiuzhaigou has become China's biggest landscape destinations, this despite having one of the highest entrance fees of any parks in China.

Chang Hai (Long Lake), Jiuzhaigou Valley Nature Reserve

Jiuzhaigou is located at the southern end of the Minshan mountain range, in Jiuzhaigou County (formerly Nanping County) in the Aba Tibetan Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of northwestern Sichuan province, near the Gansu border. The provincial capital, Chengdu, is 330-460km south. The Jiuzhaigou area covers 600 to 720sq km, of which at least 240sq km is the valley, and the remainder are buffer zones.

Grass Lake as seen in autumn, as the grass was turning golden.

Grass Lake is located on Rize Gully, high up in the Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve, at an elevation of about 2910meters above sea level. Grass Lake, as its name indicates, is covered with swaying tall native grass. This shallow lake often attracts swimming water birds.

An appealing feature of the Grass Lake is the changing colours of the grass. In spring the grass is glossy green. Then in summer, the grass blooms. By autumn, the grass starts to turn yellow, while in winter, the lake is a spotless pure white.

Speckled sunlight at Nuorilang Falls.

320metres wide and 20metres high, the spectacular Nuorilang Falls (Nuorilang Pubu) is also the widest waterfall in China. Nuorilang is Tibetan for majesty or grand. Nuorilang Falls is located near the intersection of where the Jiuzhaigou valley branches off to Zechawa Gully and Rize Gully. It is visible from the roadside, where steps lead downwards to a viewing platform. The platform allows visitors to view the falls upclose and to walk alongside the river as it flows down the gully.

Panda Falls.

Panda Lake (Xiongmao Hai) is a beautiful lake in various shades of blue and green. It thunders down the multi-stream, multi-level Panda Waterfalls, which drops 78 meters in 3 tiers. Panda Lake is situated at an elevation of 2587meters. It has a depth of 14meters. Covering an area of 90,000square meters, Panda Lake is said to be a watering hole for giant pandas.

Entrance to Shuzhengzhai, or Shuzheng Village, Jiuzhaigou.

Jiuzhaigou Shuzheng Village is one of the three Tibetan villages that still remain in the Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve today. Jiuzhaigou derives its name from the nine Tibetan hamlets that once ran along its length. Although only traces of these villages remain today, what remains has now been taken over by tourism. One of these is Shuzhengzhai, or Shuzheng Village, a Tibetan village close to Shuzheng Lake.

Most of the inhabitants of Jiuzhaigou have been moved out of the park, so that the area can be kept pristine. At Shuzheng Village, tourists is confronted by mass commercialism. There is a lot of Tibetan souvenir that one can buy here.

At the end of Tiger Lake is Shuzheng Waterfall, Jiuzhaigou.

During peak travel season in October, the park is crowded with domestic tourists, undeterred by the remoteness, long journey, and by one of the highest entrance fees in China. Travellers keen to visit Jiuzhaigou are advised to book early to avoid disappointment, as hotel rooms as hard to come by during the peak travel period.

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