In the northern part of Sichuan province the Aba prefecture with its Tibetan heritage is home to some of the best-known scenery within China. This ranges from the beautiful valleys of the Jiuzhai Valley National Park and the stunning lakes of Huanglong to the wild prairie grassland country of Hongyuan-Ruoergai.
For Chinese tourists the Jiuzhai Valley and the nearby mountainous area of Huanglong are a mecca drawing thousands of visitors daily especially during the key season from April to November. To cater for these large numbers (up to 10,000 to 12,000 a day) the organisation is immaculate with tourists being moved around by fleets of buses after paying the entrance fee of 220 yuan (about $30). Incredibly I didn’t feel overwhelmed by the numbers although at certain key vantage points it was hard to get a clear view of the sights through the milling crowds.
The Jiuzhai Valley National Park consists of three main valleys of which two are for the main tourist groups and the third is for eco-tourism and hiking. From the entrance the bus travels along a pleasant valley past a number of small sparkling lakes with names like Double-Dragon Sea, Lying Dragon Sea. Some include reed beds while there are also some pasture type lands where the local Tibetan ethnic group used to herd yaks – this is now ‘banned’ apart from on higher pastures.
Sparkling colors of Peacock Riverbed
You pass the first of the Tibetan villages (there are nine in all) which contain rows of shops selling souvenirs including trinkets, combs, beaten silver objects, pashminas etc. Occasionally you can watch an artisan at work. The buildings facing the road in each of the villages are very colorful, lots of red paint, the front covered in folksy style drawings of local scenes including the lakes and yaks. Tibetan prayer flags and bunting adorn the buildings while there are always plenty of Tibetan prayer ‘wheels’.
colorfully painted Tibetan house with prayer bunting
There are 114 individual lakes at altitudes ranging from 2000m to 3000m. The story goes that a boy presented the goddess Woluo Semo with a mirror made of wind; the goddess breaks the mirror and 114 pieces fall to earth forming the sparkling lakes of Jiuzhai.
The road forks at the Central Station of Nuorilang (restaurants and more shops) with the right hand fork taking you to various vantage points looking at the spectacular lakes and waterfalls that are the drawcard of the national park. Colors in the lakes range from light to dark blue and a vivid green and, depending on the shape,s are called Panda Sea, Arrow-Bamboo Sea, Peacock Riverbed and Mirror Sea.
One of the best known sights is the Pearl Shoals Waterfall with water dropping over a pale colored rock face into pools below. Water burbles along narrow rivulets over moss covered stones – a pleasant and relaxing sight and sound. Another dramatic waterfall is at the Amber-Bamboo Sea.
Pearl Shoals waterfall
The left hand fork has more seas including two that are seasonal; when I visited they were empty.
To see these sights extensive walkways and viewing platforms have been constructed. The pathways in fact extend along one side of the entire valley system (over 50km) – a mammoth undertaking – and if you have time you can get away from the crowds by walking between different sights. You often won’t encounter another tourist!
At vantage points many local Tibetans hire out traditional costume and the visiting Chinese love dressing up to have their photo taken; a good earner for the locals.
Chinese tourists love dressing up in Tibetan outfits to be photographed
Jiuzhai Valley is in the Min Shan mountain range which is snow-covered for much of the year. Forests cover much of the area and trees and shrubs include including firs, spruces, rhododendron, azaleas and bamboo. Many exotic species of flora were first collected in this region. The changing colors of the trees during the seasons (autumn is spectacular) are a highlight of the region. Animals such as pandas, the golden monkey and Sichuan takin are found here but rarely seen.
Huanglong is the other major attraction, a 3.6km long valley in which carbonated calcified sediments spread in terrace-like arrangements; the Huanglong valley’s calcification and karst landform is regarded as one of the best in the world. Spectacularly located at around 3500m are a series of ponds – Five-Color Pool has 693 colorful ponds and Zhengyan Pool has 658 ponds – that seem to change color according to time of day and season – white, purple, blue and green.
It is about a 8km round trip to the pools from the top of the chair lift and it is quite hard going – downhill and then back uphill – but the effort is greatly rewarded. There are a couple of temples to set off the scene.
The airport for the Jiuzhai Valley and Huanglong is Jiuhuang and there are many daily flights there from a number of major cities with the most regular being from Chengdu which is only a 45 minute flight away. The area can also be reached by a 8 hour bus trip from Chengdu. The airport is at 3450m above sea level which is the third highest in China and visitors should be careful not to over exert themselves on arrival (Chengdu is only 600m above sea level) as it is easy to suffer from altitude sickness.
This can be greatly exacerbated if you then go straight to Huanglong which is reached by a 50km bus drive over a pass that reaches 4300m. The cable car at Huanglong rises from 3100 m to 3700m and you need to allow time in your itinerary to acclimatize.
In the evening a number of Tibetan groups offer ‘traditional’ shows featuring dancing, musical instruments and lots of colorful costumes. I would highly recommend the company Zang Mi, a high energy performance.
There are many hotels at the town of Jiuzhaigou at the entrance to the Jiuzhai Valley National Park catering to all budgets although many would only really cater to Chinese tourists. The Sheraton Jiuzhaigou Resort is the best placed of the 5 star hotels being at Jiuzhaigou; the alternative Intercontinental is some kilometres out of town. The town has numerous cafes and restaurants and a plethora of shops.
If you wanted to try something different and are a bit adventurous then there is the option of a Tibetan homestay. Check the website www.zhuomajiuzhaigou.hostel.com
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