Jiuzhaigou

Jiuzhaigou is a beautiful place in China.

It sits in a long valley near high mountains.

The valley has many bright lakes. Some lakes look blue or green.

The water is very clear.

You can see big waterfalls too. Some fall down many steps.

They look like white curtains.

Many animals live in the forests here. Giant pandas live in the woods. Small monkeys live there, too.

People visit the valley to see it. It is a very special home for nature.

Jiuzhaigou is a special nature park in China.

It sits in the Min Mountains in Sichuan Province. The valley is shaped like a large letter Y. It has three main parts called gullies.

These valleys flow into the Jialing River system.

The park is famous for its bright lakes. Local Tibetan people call them Haizi. This means "son of the sea."

The water is blue, green, or turquoise. Some lakes are very clear. You can see the bottom even when it is deep. The lakes were made by old ice and rocks.

You can also see many big waterfalls. One famous spot is the Pearl Waterfalls. It looks like a wide, white curtain of water.

Thick forests grow all around the water. These woods are home to giant pandas. Small golden monkeys live there too. Many people visit to see the colorful trees in autumn.

Tibetan people have lived in this area for a long time.

Jiuzhaigou is a beautiful nature reserve in China.

It sits in the Min Mountains within the Sichuan Province. The valley is shaped like a large letter Y. This shape is made of three main parts called gullies. These gullies meet at a center point to form the Shuzheng valley. The water from this area flows into the Jialing River system.

This area is part of the edge of the Tibetan Plateau.

The landscape is famous for its bright, colorful lakes. Local Tibetan people call these lakes Haizi. This name means "son of the sea."

The water can look blue, green, or turquoise. Some lakes are very clear so you can see the bottom. These lakes were formed by old ice and moving rocks. They were also shaped by calcium carbonate building up over time. This process creates unique terraces and barriers in the water.

Many people visit to see the many waterfalls. One very famous spot is the Pearl Shoal Waterfall.

It is a wide curtain of water that is 310 meters across. The water drops 28 meters down this wide area. There are also the Panda Waterfalls in the Rize Valley. These waterfalls drop 78 meters in three different steps. The scenery is very beautiful in the autumn. During this time, the forests turn bright shades of red, orange, and yellow.

Thick forests cover much of the park. These woods are home to many special living things. You might find the endangered giant panda living here. Small golden snub-nosed monkeys also live in the trees.

There are also about 140 different kinds of birds. Because the area is protected, these animals have a safe place to live. However, many people visiting the park can make life hard for them.

History shows that Tibetan and Qiang peoples lived here for centuries. The name Jiuzhaigou means "Nine Settlement Valley." This refers to the nine Tibetan villages found along the valley. In 1975, a scientist named Wu Zhonglun visited the area. He was so moved by the beauty that he asked the government to protect it. This led to the creation of the nature reserve in 1980. Today, many people use trains or planes to visit this amazing place.

Jiuzhaigou is a famous nature reserve and national park in China.

It is located in the north of Sichuan Province in southwestern China. This protected area sits within the Min Mountains on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The valley is shaped like a large letter Y. It consists of three main branches called gullies. The Rize and Zechawa valleys flow from the south. They meet at a center point to form the Shuzheng valley. This valley flows north toward the mouth of the system.

The water here eventually joins the Jialing River. This river is part of the much larger Yangtze River system.

The landscape is shaped by complex geological processes. It features high-altitude karst, which is a type of landscape formed by dissolving rocks. The area sits on major faults between the Qinghai-Tibet Plate and the Yangtze Plate. Tectonic activity and earthquakes have helped shape the terrain over time. Most of the rock is made of carbonate rocks like dolomite and tufa. Tufa is a type of limestone. It forms when calcium carbonate precipitates quickly in freshwater. This material settles on rocks, lake beds, and even fallen trees. Over time, it builds up into terraces, shoals, and natural dam barriers.

Jiuzhaigou is most famous for its many colorful lakes. Local Tibetan people call these lakes Haizi. In Chinese, this means "son of the sea."

These lakes were originally formed by glacial activity. Natural events like rockfalls then created dams to hold the water. Carbonate deposition helped solidify these formations. Many lakes have a high concentration of calcium carbonate. This makes the water very clear. You can often see the bottom even at great depths. The colors of the lakes change based on their depth and surroundings. They appear in shades of blue, green, and turquoise.

The ecosystem is a mix of temperate broad-leaf forests and woodlands. Most of the core scenic area is covered by virgin mixed forests. In the autumn, these forests turn vibrant shades of yellow, orange, and red. The region is a vital habitat for many endangered species. It is home to the giant panda and the golden snub-nosed monkey. Both populations are currently very small and isolated. There are also fewer than 20 pandas in the area. The park is also one of only three known locations for the Duke of Bedford's vole. This species is considered vulnerable. Additionally, the area supports approximately 140 different bird species.

The history of the valley is tied to the Tibetan and Qiang peoples. The name Jiuzhaigou means "Nine Settlement Valley." This name comes from the nine Tibetan settlements located along its length. For centuries, this remote region was inhabited by these groups. Until 1975, the area was very difficult to reach and little known. In 1975, a forestry scientist named Wu Zhonglun conducted a survey. He was deeply moved by the natural beauty. He urged the government to protect the landscape and stop logging. This led to the establishment of the Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve in 1980. The site was later named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992.

Tourism has grown significantly since the park officially opened in 1984.

In 1984, only 5,000 people visited the site. By 2024, the site welcomed 5.11 million tourists. During the peak season in late July and August, over 30,000 people visit daily. To manage this, the park enforces a limit of 41,000 daily visitors using timed tickets. The town of Zhangzha and nearby Songpan County have many hotels. Some are even luxury five-star hotels. Travel has become easier due to the Sichuan–Qinghai railway and the Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport. However, mass tourism has caused concerns about the environment.

Natural disasters have also impacted the park. In August 2017, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Jiuzhaigou County. This caused significant structural damage to the area. The earthquake broke two natural dams at Nuorilang Waterfall and Huohua Lake. The Nuorilang Waterfall dam was already unstable due to poor material and a vertical structure. When the Huohua Lake dam broke, water discharge jumped from 9.3 m3/s to 21.5 m3/s. This caused the water level to drop rapidly. The park was closed until March 2018. It has since reopened with limited access to ensure safety and conservation.

Visitors can explore the different valleys using specific paths. Most people use shuttle buses to reach the ends of the gullies. They then walk back downhill using wooden boardwalks.

The Rize Valley contains many famous sites. These include the 310-meter-wide Pearl Shoal Waterfall. There is also Swan Lake, which is 2,250 meters long. Another site is Five Flower Lake, which has a bottom criss-crossed by fallen trees. Other areas include Panda Lake and Arrow Bamboo Lake. These sites allow people to see the unique hydrology and geology of the region closely.