Jiuzhaigou - Sichuan Province - China

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About Jiuzhaigou - Sichuan Province - China

Jiuzhaiguo
九寨溝自然保護區
Tibetan Qiang Autonomous Area
Sichuan Province
China


Heaven On Earth.

Previously called Dzitsa Degu in Tibetan, Jiuzhai Valley or Jiuzhaigou National Park is located in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, South Western China.

It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 and it belongs to the Category 5 in the IUCN System of Protected Area Categorization. Jiuzhai Valley literally means Nine Village Valley and is named after the nine Tibetan villages scattered throughout the park. The villagers have lived in this region for many generations and they still hold onto many of their traditional ways of life. The human population of the park is just over 1,000 which comprises of over 110 families.

The superb landscapes of Jiuzhai Valley are particularly interesting for their species of narrow conic karst land forms and spectacular waterfalls and lakes. There are over 140 bird species as well as a number of endangered plant and animal species, including the Giant Panda, the Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey, the Sichuan Takin and various orchids and rhododendrons.

Jiuzhai Valley is part of the Min Shan mountain range on the edge of the Tibetan Pletau and stretches over 720 sq km (72,000 hectares) with an extra buffer zone of 598 sq. km (60,000 hectares). The Min Shan Mountains are one of southwest China’s most important biodiversity typezones. The elevation of the park ranges from 1,990m (6,529 feet) at the entrance to 4,764m (15,630 feet) on the mountain peaks and the series of forest ecosystems are stratified by elevation.

Jiuzhaigou's landscape is made up of high-altitude karsts shaped by glacial, hydrological and tectonic activity. It lies on major faultlines on the diverging belt between the Qinghai-Tibet Plate and the Yangtze Plate, and earthquakes have also shaped the landscape.

Jiuzhaigou's best-known feature is its dozens of blue, green and turquoise-colored lakes. The local Tibetan people call them "Haizi" in Chinese, meaning "son of the sea".

Originating in glacial activity, they were dammed by rockfalls and other natural phenomena, then solidified by processes of carbonate deposition. Some lakes have a high concentration of calcium carbonate, and their water is very clear so that the bottom is often visible even at high depths. The lakes vary in color and aspect according to their depths, residues, and surroundings.

The site was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1992 and a World Biosphere Reserve in 1997.

And of course, although the images are beautiful, I'm sure anyone posting photos here will agree that being there is 1000 times more impressive!