A landscape of pristine alpine lakes, waterfalls and meadows sprinkled throughout a forested valley on the northern border of present-day Sichuan and home to nine traditional Tibetan villages, Jiuzhaigou is now a carefully managed tourist attraction that, during the high season, sees over ten thousand visitors a day.
The Nature Reserve has largely preserved the beauty of Jiuzhaigou's multicolored lakes, dramatic waterfalls and mixed evergreen and deciduous forests while also making a priority of access and accommodation, with hotel rooms for around 20,000 visitors in the vicinity. The days of getting away from it all may be gone—it's no longer permissible to go backcountry camping, leaving regulated day visits the only legal option—but you can still get away from most of it, and there are few places on earth as stunningly beautiful as this.
A couple of wrenching hours on the mountain highway from Songpan, Jiuzhaigou is "doable" in a long day, though you'll miss a lot on a quick guided tour. If you can manage a weekend or more, it's nice—if not particularly cheap—to stay in one of the numerous hotels that have sprung up outside the park boundaries.
Budget options are somewhat limited, as the humble "Valley of the Nine Villages" (the rough translation of "Jiuzhaigou") has become a high-end destination for China's burgeoning leisure class as well as growing numbers of foreign travelers. Be sure to book ahead in July and August when the high season peaks. Check out our Jiuzhaigou hotels and Jiuzhaigou transportation pages for details on where to stay how to get around.
Park entrance fees include bus tickets, which are a must for day-trippers trying to squeeze as much as possible into a limited time. It's common practice to take a bus from the entrance gate to Long Lake and work your way down. You'll be going against heavy foot traffic if you choose to start at the bottom and work your way up. A bus change is required at Nuorilang, which involves a lengthy line wait—a good time to apply liberal amounts of sunscreen. Buses go towards Long Lake or the Primeval Forest leave frequently from Nuorilang. There are also restroom facilities and an overpriced restaurant at this half-way point.
History
Jiuzhaigou, the "Valley of the Nine Villages" (Sicadegu in Tibetan), earns its name from the Tibetan settlements that for centuries were the only significant human presence this once-remote region. The Tibetans long shared the valley with small groups of Qiang, one of the PRC's 56 officially recognized ethnic minorities, but little trace of the Qiang remains in Jiuzhaigou today.
The valley remained in isolation until the early 1970s, when its rich forests began to attract loggers. Fortunately for today's visitors, logging stopped in 1979. In 1982, the government declared the area a national park, and by 1984 planning was underway to develop it as a tourist destination. In 1992, UNESCO named Jiuzhaigou a World Heritage Site and, in 1997, a World Biosphere Reserve. Today, the park is carefully protected, with all major tourist infrastructure and development being relegated to Nuorilang, Zhangzha, Jiuzhaigou Town and other settlements outside the protected zone.
Today's indigenous inhabitants, the Tibetans of the original "Nine Villages," are forbidden to pursue agriculture or animal husbandry within the park and, as a result, make their livings in the tourist trade. You can view the remaining settlements of Heye, Shuzheng, Zechawa, Rexi and Heijiao, but you should remember that these are long-standing living communities, not simply tourist attractions featuring "exotic" Tibetans, and you should respect them as such. However, the locals are often more than indulgant of tourist wishes; Shuzheng is a particularly popular place to don Tibetan clothing and get pictures taken.
Jiuzhaigou has proven incredibly appealing to tourists, drawing over 7,000 visitors a day on average, and well over 10,000 a day during the high season. Along with nearby Huanglong Park, it has become one of China's top natural attractions.
Climate
Despite Jiuzhaigou's considerable altitude—ranging from 2,000 meters (6,561 feet) to about 4,300 meters (14,107 feet) above sea level—it enjoys a relatively temperate climate, with plenty of sunshine, a cool summer, and a moderate winter (as long as you stick to the lower reaches of the valley).
Fall—September into late November—is a wonderful time to visit, as forest leaves turn red and gold and light snows begin to dust the mountains. The cooler temperatures also discourage large crowds, though the October 1 National Holiday "Golden Week" is a popular time to visit for the foliage. July and August are peak season.
The town of Nuorilang, at 2,400 meters above sea level, enjoys a mean July temperature of 16.9° C (62.4° F); in January, the mean drops to a chilly but bearable -10° C (14° F). Precipitation varies with altitude and season. The cloud forest zone (2,700-3,500 meters above sea level) is, predictably, damp year round.
Between May and October, 80% of the regions overall annual total average of 761 mm (30 inches) falls, thanks to the Southeast Asian monsoon season. Snow begins to fall in October and usually carries through to April.
As with all high-altitude destinations, layers of warm clothing and sun protection are keys, and remember to drink plenty of water.
There are plenty of places to stay near Jiuzhaigou, though you can't actually stay inside the park itself. The dominant trend is toward higher-end luxury, allowing busloads of visitors to have the best of nature and of civilization, too. If you're looking for budget digs, options exist but are somewhat limited. Whether you're looking for five-star comfort or three-star affordability, you're advised to book well in advance, especially during the high season in July and August and during the October 1 holiday week. Ctrip.com offers quick, easy and competitive booking services with substantial discounts for members.
For budget travelers, the Qianhe International Hotel in Zhangzha, about 1.5 km from the park's entrance gate, is a good bet, as are the Jiugong, New Jiuzhai and Gesang hotels. Most of them offer rooms as low as RMB 220 (USD 30) nightly. If you're looking for luxury, try the five-star Sheraton Jiuzhaigou Restort or Intercontinental Jiuzhai Paradise Resort; rooms tend to start around RMB 800 (USD 115) a night.
Note that hotel rates shoot up in the high season, so be prepared. Hotels all feature restaurants, bars and entertainment of one form or another. As you'd expect, the focus is on the local natural splendor and culture, so don't expect to make a big night out of it in Jiuzhaigou.
Getting Around
Many combine their visit to Jiuzhaigou with a tour of Huanglong National Park, and once you make the journey out to this remote part of China, you'll see why. Both are served by the same airport and most package tours combine the two.
Air
Located in Chuanzhusi Township, Songpan County, Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport (0837 7243 770) is 83 kilometers from Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve and 52 kilometers from Huanglong National Park. The airport serves nearly 40 flights each day to and from Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi'an and Kunming. Travelers generally fly into one of those four cities first and then fly to Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong.
Buses depart frequently from the airport to the two scenic areas. The cost is 100 RMB and the departure time varies. You can 0837 7243 612 to inquire about schedules (English is not always available).
Bus
One bus leaves at 8:00 a.m. from Chengdu's Xinnanmen Bus Station (028 8543 3609) to Jiuzhaigou everyday. The trip takes about ten hours.
To and from Jiuzhaigou
The distance between Huanglong and Jiuzhaigou is about 128 kilometers. Travelers who join a tour group needn't worry about transportation between the two scenic areas. For those who travel by themselves, if you come by air, airport buses will bring you first to Huanglong (enough time will be given for you to travel around Huanglong) and then to Jiuzhaigou. The total price is 100 RMB. You may, of course with for even more freedom, in which case you should book a hotel near the park of your choice and enquire at your hotel about local transportation, whether by cab or minibus.
From Jiuzhaigou to Huanglong, you can take a bus heading south to Songpan and Chengdu and get off at Chuanzhusi, and then transfer another bus running east to Pingwu. After a 41-kilometer ride you can get to Huanglong Temple.
Inside the Jiuzhaigou scenic area, tour buses take you to the most popular attractions. You can also walk and hike along park roads.
Most come to Jiuzhaigou for it natural splendor and the traditional culture of the Tibetan "nine villages," and pretty much everything you'll find here returns to those themes, whether it be ethnic performances in plush hotels or the small stockaded villages within the park. Of course, much of what you'll see has been consciously produced for Chinese and foreign tourists, sometimes creating more of a theme-park feeling than a sense of authentic experience.
That said, Jiuzhaigou and its villages are undeniably beautiful, and a day out in the fresh mountain air sends most back to their hotels eager for nothing more than a good meal and a good night's sleep, with little concern for the "authenticity" of the day's experience.
If you're looking for something beyond the usual, annual festivals and temple fairs are a good time to be in the area. The following two fairs are particularly good ones to hit for a more spontaneous sense of the region's traditional people and their culture.
The Liangmin Wangqing Temple Fair takes place every January 5th, according to the Chinese lunar calendar, which means it can take place any time between early January and mid-February, so check to confirm the actual dates if you're interested. A commemoration of the death of a famous Bon Lama (Bon being the indigenous Tibetan faith that predates Buddhism's arrival), it is a period of intense religious expression. Lamas and monks chant as Tibetans from all over the region come in traditional garb to worship.
A more festive event, the Mazi Fair (usually held in early May) is a grand religious festival held at Zharu Temple. After abstaining from eating meat, chanting and rehearsing for days, lamas and monks lead this springtime celebration as laypeople from surrounding communities enjoy Khatag and Tibetan opera, song and dance. The festivities spread into the surrounding woods, as celebrants stroll, chat, drink and sing the fair away.