What to see in Jiuzhaigou?
Jiuzhaigou Valley National Park is a great masterpiece of nature having dreamlike scenery, which combines blue lakes, waterfalls, verdant forests, snow-covered mountains, and the folk customs of the Tibetan and Qiang peoples. Legend has it that long long ago the deity of mountain named Dago had a crush on the goddess Semo, and he gave a mirror that was made from wind and cloud to the goddess. However, the devil appeared and made trouble to Semo. Inadvertently, Semo broke the mirror into 108 pieces, which fell down to the earth and then turned to 108 colorful lakes. The lake is also called Haizi by local people.
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| Shuzheng Valley in Jiuzhaigou | Rize Valley in Jiuzhaigou | Zechawa Valley in Jiuzhaigou |
In addition to the dreamlike sceneries, there are numerous flora and fauna in Jiuzhaigou National Park. The natural forest covers an area of nearly 30,000 hectares (about 74,132 acres), including 2,576 higher plant species (24 species of national protected plants) and over 400 lower plant species (212 species of algae). The diversity of flora has provided a good environment for wild animals. There are 170 species of vertebrates, 141 species of birds and 17 species of rare animals. Among them the first rank has giant pandas, takins and golden monkeys and the second rank has lesser pandas, marmots, and blue sheep.
Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area covers more than 600 square kilometers (about 230 square miles). Shuzheng Valley, Rize Valley and Zechawa Valley are the three main valleys, but the sceneries are far more than you expect. There are Panda Lake Waterfall which has the longest drop in Jiuzhai Valley and freezes to a crystal world in winter, the giant calc-sinter beach Pearl Beach, the Arrow Bamboo Lake that has a large area of bamboo, the favorite food of pandas, and Swan Lake where swans inhabit ...
When to visit Jiuzhaigou?
The best time to visit Jiuzhaigou is autumn, especially September and October. Besides, with the snow scenery, Jiuzhaigou winter is attracting.
How to get to Jiuzhaigou?
A: Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou
By Air:
Jiuhuang Airport is about 88 kilometers (55 miles) from the mouth of the valley and about 53 kilometers (33 miles) from Huanglong. It takes 40 minutes to fly from Chengdu to the airport and a half hours' ride from the airport to the scenic area. Currently, the airport only operates 2 air routes to Chengdu and Chongqing directly.
Please use China Flight to search for the latest schedule and price.
By Bus:
Regular buses are available from Chengdu Xinnanmen Bus Station at 8:00, 8:05 and 8:20 in the morning. The bus fare is CNY 141/ 158. It is suggested to buy the bus ticket in advance. Besides, the following bus can also take you to Jiuzhaigou: one from Chengdu General Bus Station at 7:10am, one from East City Bus Station at 7:00am and one from Shiyangchang Bus Station at 8:45am. It takes about 10-11 hours from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou.
By train:
Chengdu - Jiuzhaigou Train will be operated between the two places by the end of 2019. By then, one can make a quick rail travel within 2 hours between Jiuzhai Valley and Chengdu.
By chartered car:
The fare is around CNY 1,000 - 1,400 for a round trip.
B: Others places to Jiuzhaigou
There are approximately two buses every day between Jiuzhaigou and Songpan, 9:00, 13:00 from Songpan and 6:40, 13:00 vice versa. In addition, there are regular buses from Guangyuan, Jiangyou and Mianyang to Jiuzhaigou. The bus schedule is adjusted to changes. Here is the travel time information by bus from some surrounding places to the scenic area:
from Jiangyou: 7 hours;
from Songpan: 2 hours;
from Mianyang: 8 hours.
Travel Tips
Add: Jiuzhaigou County,Aba Tibetan Autonous Prefecture,Sichuan Province
Opening Hours: 07:00-18:00
Entrance Fees: CNY 280 (includes the entrance ticket and the sightseeing bus inside the park)