CHINA- JIUZHAIGOU D3 Morning - MAY 2006

 JIUZHAIGOU MAY 2006

Day 3 Morning

11 MAY 2006

JIUZHAIGOU VALLEY

Jiuzhaigou is a nature reserve and national park located in the northern part of Sichuan. It is a long valley and is part of the Min Mountains (Minshan) on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. This place is known for its many multi-level waterfalls, colourful lakes, and snow capped peaks. It elevation ranges from 6000 to 15000 feet.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Jiuzhaigou is literally “Nine Settlement Valley” takes its name from the nine Tibetan settlements along its length. The main populace today is the Hans follows by Tibetan and Qiang ethnic groups.

Jiuzhaigou consists of 3 valleys arranged in a Y shape. They names are Rize, Zechawa and Shuzheng valley.

This morning we woke up to snow white covered scenery as we looked out of our hotel room. It was supposed to be summer but the scenery was winter. Later in the days, all the snow will melt and the scenery will turn green.  This was because of the rain at night and the hotel is more than 6000 feet above sea level.

The tour guide took us to view the more popular sites. We started off from the south of the Shuzheng Valley and walked towards Norilang Falls.

Reed Lake/Sparkling Lakes/Lying Dragon Lakes, Shu Zheng Lakes

Shu Zheng Falls

Tibetan village across the lake

Tiger Lake

Nuorilang Falls

After lunch, we drove to the north end of the Zechawa Valley and walked from Long Lake southward. The altitude is a few thousand feet higher. It’s colder and with recent snow, it was like in winter.