The once-farmland-turned-nature reserve in northern Sichuan known as Jiuzhaigou was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1992, recognized for its distinctly beautiful and equally diverse scenery. 

As a part of the Min Mountains, Jiuzhaigou Valley hugs the Tibetan Plateau, celebrated for its varied landscapes encompassing crystalline transparent pools in shades of blue, green and teal, multi-level waterfalls, undulating mountains and lush greenery. 

The park’s elevation spans 2,000 to 4,500 meters above sea level and is nearest to Chengdu, albeit 500 kilometers north of the City of Pandas.

Due to the higher altitude, summer remains pleasantly mild, while winters are frigid yet equally spectacular with a dusting of pristine, powdery snow covering the barren trees.

But the best time to visit is autumn, when the bright oranges, reds and fiery yellows of the falling leaves form a contrasting backdrop to the cooler colored pools.

In August 2017, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake shook the foundation of Jiuzhaigou county, with the Pearl Shoal, a popular waterfall site within the park, at its epicenter. The authorities closed the entire valley to tourism, only allowing limited access for more than three years during the rebuild and COVID-19 pandemic.

Finally, in the spring of 2021, the park fully opened again to the general public – including foreign passport holders, making it the ideal time to experience this one-of-a-kind destination.

Jiuzhaigou National Park 

This impressive park seems like something out of a fairy tale, with vividly brilliant pools accented by fertile forest greenery. Mountains rise towards the sky, capped with snow, despite the radiant sunshine that graces the area often. 

The park is shaped like a Y, so visitors should take the hop-on/hop-off bus all the way to the top of the Rize Valley, starting out with a bang at the dazzling Multi-Color Lake. 

The bottom of the lake is scattered with fallen trees that are perfectly entombed by eerily still waters, ranging in color from green to yellow to turquoise to deep blue.

Other must-sees include the Pearl Shoal Waterfall, Mirror Lake and Five Color Lake – a neon blue pond situated in the Zechawa Valley. Plan to spend a full day in the park to take in the exquisite natural wonders.

Huanglong Valley

Although less famous than Jiuzhaigou National Park, nearby Huanglong Valley is equally stunning for its vibrantly blue travertine pools formed by calcite deposits.

Aside from scalloped, far-reaching pools, the area also offers verdant forest ecosystems, hot springs, waterfalls and tree-covered mountain views.

Named after its visual appeal from above – a Golden Dragon – the valley spans 3.6 kilometers, with water flowing from the ancient Buddhist temple at the top, across the glistening, gilded-like mountainside, down to the Guests Welcome Pond.

Visitors can ride a 10-minute cable car up the steep mountain and traverse down through the pools and forests for an enjoyable half-day excursion.

Yak Meat 

A specialty of the area, yak meat is common across Southwest China and Tibet. The yaks roam freely through the plateau, affording the meat a robust gamey yet lean flavor. 

Yak is served in all forms – boiled in hot pot, grilled on a skillet, stir-fried with vegetables, rolled into dumplings, baked into bread and dried into jerky. It is best enjoyed when paired with any of the seasonal wild herbs, like walnut flower shoots, that grow in abundance. 

We recommend Huang Ha Da (黄哈达), a Tibetan-style restaurant that offers guests a feast of yak, along with dozens of other local specialties, all washed down with a glass of highland barley wine.

Tibetan Culture 

Jiuzhaigou translates to Nine Village Valley, referring to the nine Tibetan villages in the area, seven of which are still inhabited today. The remaining villages sell handicrafts and offer a warm meal to park visitors, sharing their Tibetan culture and cuisine.

Also located near the park entrance sits the Zharu Monastery, a four-story Bonpo temple and adjoining monastery, still used by monks to practice a religion similar to Tibetan Buddhism. 

Less commercial than some of the other villages in the center of the park, visitors can have a more genuine experience, observing the monks and even receiving a prayer blessing.

How to Get There 

Arrive in Jiuzhaigou via a one-hour flight from Chengdu or Xi’an, or opt for a windy eight to 10-hour bus ride out of Chengdu. It’s worth noting that flights are usually delayed both in and out of the area due to quickly changing weather conditions, so factor in some wiggle room to avoid unnecessary stress. 

We traveled around Jiuzhaigou with China Adventure, a Chengdu-based tour agency that offers both guided tours and driver options for the area, with included accommodation at a 4-star hotel.

China Adventures also offers trips across China to destinations like Xinjiang, Guizhou, Tibet, Yunnan and Zhangjiajie, among others.

To book your next Jiuzhaigou trip with China Adventures, visit www.chinaadventure.org, or follow their Official WeChat by scanning the QR code below. 

For travel-related inquiries, contact their travel consultants by scanning the QR code below.

Navigate Jiuzhaigou (and China) Like a Local: Top Tips

1. Download WeChat: all of China life (and essentially the whole internet in China) runs through WeChat. This is a MUST.
2. Buy an ESIM with a built in VPN BEFORE you arrive in China. I highly suggest this ESIM from Trip.com which offers great 5G coverage and a built in VPN for use all over China. You can customize your plan by exact number of days, total GB or GB per day, and prices are far more competitive than other ESIM providers.
3. You can hook up your international credit card to Alipay so that you can pay for anything in China that way. China doesn't use cash nor does it really use credit cards (most places won't have a way to swipe a card easily), so it's best to hook up your card to Alipay, which is used here  similar to Apple Pay in the rest of the world.
4. Download Didi. This the most common ride-hailing app, similar to Uber. It's cheap to use; for example,  an hour cab ride from the airport will cost about 22 euros/$24USD using Didi.
5. Download Dianping. This is like Yelp/Google Reviews but on hyperdrive as it's used by every Chinese person for reviews of everything. The app is in Chinese, but it is the most updated way to find any restaurant, bar, hotel, destination. For most Western places in Shanghai, you can type in the name of the place in English and still find it. There’s a map function within the app that is more accurate and updated than Google (a lot of Google locations for things in China aren’t the most accurate since Google isn’t used in China), so it's good for being able to find where places are.
6. If you have a VPN on your phone ahead of time, you can always use Google Translate to help translate anything from Chinese into English.
7. China is very safe. You don't need to worry about walking around at night as a woman, you can leave your stuff on a table while you go to the bathroom, and no one will steal it. Of course, it's good to be mindful when traveling, but personal safety is, luckily, not a major concern in China.