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During the recent Hari Raya holidays in August 2013, I went on a tour to China. Among the several places of interest that I visited such as Chengdu city, Mt Emei, Maoxian, Leshan and Huanglong, I think the most beautiful, memorable and awesome scenery is at Jiuzhaigou.
Jiuzhaigou is a national park and nature reserve located at the Min mountain range at the edge of the Tibetan Himalayan Plateau in Aba and Qiang prefecture on the northernmost of Sichuan province in southwest China. The elevation is between 2,000m to 4,700m above sea level.
Jiuzhaigou was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 and was listed as a World Biosphere Reserve in 1997. It is classified under Category V (Protected Landscape) of IUCN protected area categories.
Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟) stands for "Valley of 9 Villages". Actually the Chinese word "gou (沟)" literally means "gully". It is basically made up of 3 main valleys that forms a "Y" shape with Rice Valley and Zechawa Valley from the south joining Shuzheng Valley at the intersection in the north.
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Here are some photos of my visit to Jiuzhai Valley National Park. Its official name is Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area. To get there, we took a 45 min domestic flight from Chengdu city to Jiuzhaigou-Huanglong Airport and thereafter another 2 hour journey by bus to our hotel.
If you travel solely by bus from Chengdu city, the journey may take about 8-10 hours but you will get to enjoy lots of fantastic countryside views or perhaps stopover at ancient city of Songpan and earthquake city of Mianyang. I was told that it used to be an overnight journey that took much longer. Now the travel time has been shortened with the opening of new highways.
Travel by air is much faster but one has to adjust to the sudden change in altitude and oxygen level as you step out of the plane. Some people may suffer from high altitude sickness. Oxygen in canisters and Tibetan herbs are available for sale at both airports.
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Shuzheng Valley is probably the most photographed site in the nature reserve. Among the well-known places of interest here are Shuzheng Waterfalls, Shuzheng Lakes, Shuzheng Tibetan water-mill and Shuzheng Village.
I like the way they build the wooden walkways very near to the lakes and waterfalls so that visitors can get very close to these wonders of Mother Nature. I also love it when big, old trees are not cut down but the steps and wooden planks are built around their trunks.
“Summer in Juizhaigou, China - Shuzheng Tibetan Village”, a copyrighted post, was written for My Nice Garden blog by Autumn Belle @ http://www.mynicegarden.com/ on 15th September, 2013.
In Juizhaigou, cosmos plants grow like wildflowers.
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This is the entrance to Shuzheng stockaded Tibetan Village. There are shops selling souvenirs such as Tibetan handicrafts items of knives, prayer beads, ornaments, Qiang embroidery, jade and turquoise stones, herbs, food, beverage and snacks. You can also try their local Tibetan delicacies such as the Yak butter tea, Yak meat buns and Yak preserved meat.
In Juizhaigou, cosmos plants grow like wildflowers.
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There are a number of beekeepers along the inland travel routes on the way to Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong, so you can find shops selling organic wild honey.
Juizhaigou is famous for medicinal herbs such as saffron, aweto (Cordyceps robertsii), lingzhi, chuan bei mu (Sichuan Fritillaria), dried mushrooms and fungus eg. dried cloud ear fungus - yun er / wan yu (云耳) and wood ear fungus - mu er / mook yu (木耳). The local produce here are expected to be free from pesticides and pollution. However, like any tourist destination anywhere, one has to be careful and skillful to be able to differentiate the genuine from the fake.
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Viola
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Viola
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Rose
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Calendula
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Viola
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Calendula
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Gourd flower
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Zucchini / Courgette
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A vegetable patch.
I have seen plenty of big, fat asparagus in Jiuzhaigou. During the journey here, I passed by fields of medicinal herbs, what looked like lavender plants, corn and other grains, green apple, pear and peach trees and yaks! Haha, yaks were very valuable and respected animals here. Other vehicles slow down and give way to a herd of yaks crossing the road.
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Summers here are mild, cloudy and moderately humid.
It is also the rainy season.
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Tibetan flags representing prayers for luck, happiness, longevity and prosperity.
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Tibetan prayer wheels.
A devotee will walk one round anti-clockwise
while simultaneously turning each wheel also in anti-clockwise direction.
A devotee will walk one round anti-clockwise
while simultaneously turning each wheel also in anti-clockwise direction.
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Wildflower - Oriental Anemones
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Wildflower - Does anyone know the ID of this flower?
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Shuzheng Village is only one little part of Shuzheng Valley. Other scenic spots of Shuzheng Valley include Nuorilang Waterfall, Rhinoceros Lake, Crouching Tiger Lake, Tiger Lake, Double Dragons Lake, Sparkling Lake, Reed Lake and Bonsai Lake.
Even the unnamed lakes are such splendid sights to behold!