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A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struct JiuZhaiGou in August 2017 which drastically damaged the park and region. Although much of the park is now back open, it may not look the same as it did during my visit in 2013 which is detailed in this post.
Situated high up in the Min Mountains of central China sits JiuZhaiGou, the most beautiful valley filled with turquoise lakes, rushing waterfalls, and ancient villages. JiuZhaiGou, which translates to Nine Village Valley, is a a National Park, Nature Reserve, and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in China’s Sichuan Province. The valley itself spans thousands of acres, but the park portion is much smaller and easy to visit over a long weekend. Around everyturn there are stunning lakes, rivers, mountains and waterfalls to admire. The valley is on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau and gets its name from the nine Tibetan villages spread throughout the area.
A popular tourist destination within China, JiuZhaiGou is relatively unknown to outsiders. I visited JiuZhaiGou in June of 2013 on a solo weekend trip and I only saw a handful of other foreigners during my visit.
How to Get to JiuZhaiGou
JiuZhaiGou is not located near any major cities making it a bit of a trip to travel to. Chengdu, the capitol of Sichuan Province, is about 273 miles (440km) away. You can drive or take a bus which can take 8+ hours from Chengdu due to other pick-ups and the mountain roads you’ll need to travel along.
The other option is to fly to the Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport, which is what I did. From Chengdu the flight takes less than 1 hour. I travelled from Guangzhou in Southern China on China Eastern Airlines which took about 5 hours. From the airport, I took a bus an additional hour to the town of ZhangZha just outside the park. The flight in is beautiful! It goes right over the Min Mountains which were still snowcapped even in June when I visited. Snag a window seat and enjoy the view!
What to Do in JiuZhaiGou
I spent two full days wandering the park and and felt like I had enough time to see most of the sites. A third day would have been nice to explore more of the region outside of the park, but I only had a weekend available to explore so I choose to spend nearly all of my time inside the park. There are plenty of trails to walk that link up all of the main sights within the park. There is also a park shuttle that costs a small amount but allows you to hop on and off at different stops throughout the park. I purchased a shuttle pass my first day but opted out of it for the second day. The park is very large and if you don’t take the shuttle be prepared for a lot of walking.
So what is there to see in JiuZhaiGou? The main sights in the park mainly resolve around water – lakes and waterfalls – but there are also Tibetan Villages to explore (hence the translated name of “Nine Village Valley”).
Lakes
I’ve read that there are more than 100 lakes throughout the valley. That’s a lot of water! Even if you don’t have time to visit this many lakes while you’re there (I definitely didn’t) there are a few main lakes you won’t want to miss. Luckily, these lakes are all very close together so you shouldn’t have a problem getting your fix of lake viewing.
From the Visitor Center in the park, you can either follow the road to the Northeast or Northwest portion of the park. I did the Northeast road on my first day and the Northwest road on the second day. The road between the entrance of the park and the Visitor Center is also lined with lakes. These lakes include Rhinocerous Lake, Tiger Lake, Shu Zheng Lake and Sparkling Lake. It’s definitely worth stopping to view these lakes at least once.
The Northeast road will start you near Grass and Swan Lakes. The trail along these lakes is a boardwalk that takes you through a valley along the shore of the lakes, framed by the towering mountains. From here, you’ll continue along the trail for a while that parallels the river. Eventually you’ll find the next cluster of lakes (and a few waterfalls). These lakes include Panda Lake, Pearl Shoals, Five Flower Lake and Mirror Lake. Five Flower Lake, although small, is one of the most photographed lakes in the park, and for good reason! The water in this like is a beautiful turquoise color and crystal clear with fallen trees covering the bottom. It was so clear I could see fish swimming amogst the logs from a bridge over the water.
The Northwest road has less lakes to see, so it’s easy to see quickly if you are short on time. I started here on my second day and after seeing the lakes, returned to some favorite lakes from the previous day. This road starts at Long Lake, one of the largest in valley, followed by the small but beautiful Five Colored Pool. The Five Colored Pool is very small but had some of the most vibrant blue water of all the lakes.
Waterfalls
There are far fewer waterfalls in the park than lakes, but the waterfalls are absolutely stunning. There are 4 main waterfalls and a few smaller ones throughout the park.
The largest and most recognizable waterfall in the park is Nuo Ri Lang Waterfall. This massive fall is one of the widest waterfalls in China as it flows over a cliff. Another notable waterfall is the Pearl Shoals Waterfall that flows out of Pearl Shoal Lake. This waterfall tumbles over a rocky wall into the river below. Other waterfalls include the Waterfall of Arrow Bamboo Lake and Shu Zheng Falls.
Tibetan Villages
Although there are nine villages in the valley (hence the name Nine Village Valley) not all are still populated. I only wandered through one village during my trip. Thew most commonly visited villages are Heye, Shu Zheng and Zechawa due to their locations in the park. I was only able to visit Shu Zheng Village during my trip which is located next to the Shu Zheng Lake and Waterfall.
Shu Zheng Village is a Tibetan Village that has lots of little shops selling crafts and goods to tourists. There were Tibetan prayer flags all over blowing in the wind as well as white shrines that gave the village a unique feeling compared to the rest of China that I had visited. I would guess that the other villages in the park are pretty similar. If I ever return to this area, I would love to visit some further away villages to see if they have a different, less touristy, feel.
Where to Stay in JiuZhaiGou
As a solo female traveller fresh out of college, I chose to stay at a hostel not far from the park. I stayed in the town of ZhangZha a few miles from the park entrance. Each morning I took a taxi to the park which was cheap and quick. I really enjoyed staying in town. This gave me the opportunity to see another town and not just the park during this trip. ZhangZha is small. There really wasn’t much to do in the evenings after visiting the park but eating at the little restaurants and seeing the architecture is always enjoyable.
If you’re looking for budget-friendly accommodation, there are few hostels around. If you have a larger budget there is a Hilton, Sheraton, and plenty of other hotels all just outside of the park.
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