Jiuzhaigou


Jiuzhaigou is a nature reserve and national park located in the north of Sichuan Province in southwestern China. A long valley running north to south, Jiuzhaigou was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1992 and a World Biosphere Reserve in 1997. It belongs to the category V in the IUCN system of protected area categorization.
The Jiuzhaigou valley is part of the Min Mountains on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau and stretches over. It has an altitude of over 4800 meters and is composed of a series of diverse forest ecosystems. It is known for its many multi-level waterfalls, colorful lakes, and snow-capped peaks. Its elevation ranges from. The Jiuzhaigou area borders the Minshan Garna Peak in the south, and the Huanglong Scenic Area is to Jiuzhaigou's north. It originates from the Baishui River area, one of the headwaters of the Jialing River and a part of the Yangtze River system.

History

Jiuzhaigou takes its name from the nine Tibetan settlements along its length.
The remote region was inhabited by various Tibetan and Qiang peoples for centuries. Until 1975 this inaccessible area was little known. In 1975, famous forestry scientist Wu Zhonglun conducted a comprehensive survey of Jiuzhaigou. He was deeply moved, saying "I have visited several countries in Europe and America, but I have never seen such breathtaking natural beauty. It must be well protected." He then wrote to the Sichuan Provincial People's Government and the Sichuan Provincial Forestry Department, urging local authorities to protect the natural landscape and prohibit the indiscriminate logging of trees.
The Sichuan Provincial Forestry Department promptly issued a notice stating that logging must be restricted beyond 200 meters in the Zechawa and Rize gullies of Jiuzhaigou. The Sichuan Provincial Government subsequently prioritized the protection of Jiuzhaigou, directing relevant departments and research institutes to develop a detailed conservation plan and completely halting logging in the valley. In 1980, the Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve was established.
An Administration Bureau was established and the site officially opened to tourism in 1984; layout of facilities and regulations were completed in 1987. The site was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1992 and a World Biosphere Reserve in 1997. The tourism area is classified as a AAAAA scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration.

Visitor numbers

Since opening, tourist activity has increased every year: from 5,000 in 1984 to 170,000 in 1991, 160,000 in 1995, to 200,000 in 1997, including about 3,000 foreigners. Visitors numbered 1,190,000 in 2002. In 2004, the site averaged 7,000 visits per day, with a quota of 12,000 being reportedly enforced during high season. In 2024 the site welcomed 5.11 million tourists, with over 30,000 per day during the peak season during the end of July and start of August. A limit of 41,000 daily visitors is enforced by requiring timed tickets. The town of Zhangzha at the exit of the valley and the nearby Songpan County feature an ever-increasing number of hotels, including several luxury five-stars, such as Sheraton.
The site has become more accessible with mass transport due to the opening of the Sichuan–Qinghai railway and Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport. Developments related to mass tourism in the region have caused concerns about the impact on the environment around the park.

2017 earthquake

In August 2017, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Jiuzhaigou County, causing significant structural damage. The authorities closed the valley to tourists until March 3, 2018, before reopening the park with limited access.
The Jiuzhaigou earthquake in Sichuan, China had a significant impact on the scenic area. The earthquake also resulted in the damage and breakage of two natural dams, namely the Nuorilang Waterfall dam and the Huohua Lake dam.
The Nuorilang Waterfall suffered damage due to its initial low stability and topographic effects. The dam was composed of poor material with low mechanical strength, making it prone to rockfalls even during non-earthquake periods. The nearly vertical structure of the dam amplified the seismic influences at its upper part, increasing the likelihood of deformation and collapse.
The Jiuzhaigou earthquake caused the Huohua Lake dam to break. After the dam broke, the water discharge increased from the normal level of 9.3 m3/s to a maximum of 21.5 m3/s. As a result, the water level rapidly descended, leading to collapses along the dam.

Population

Seven of the nine Tibetan villages are still populated today. The main agglomerations that are readily accessible to tourists are Heye, [|Shuzheng] and Zechawa along the main paths that cater to tourists, selling various handicrafts, souvenirs and snacks. There is also Rexi in the smaller Zaru Valley and behind Heye village are Jianpan, Panya and Yana villages. Guodu and Hejiao villages are no longer populated. Penbu, Panxing and Yongzhu villages lie along the road that passes through the town of Jiuzhaigou/Zhangza outside the valley.
In 2003, the permanent population of the valley was about 1,000 comprising 112 families, and due to the protected nature of the park, agriculture is no longer permitted so the locals now rely on tourism and local government subsidies to make a living.

Geography and climate

Jiuzhaigou lies at the southern end of the Minshan mountain range, north of the provincial capital of Chengdu. It is part of the Jiuzhaigou County in the Aba Tibetan Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of northwestern Sichuan province, near the Gansu border.
The valley covers, with buffer zones covering an additional. Its elevation, depending on the area considered, ranges from 1,998 to 2,140 m to 4,558-4,764 m.
The climate is subtropical to temperate monsoon with a mean annual temperature of 7.8 °C, with means of −3.7 °C in January and 16.8 °C in July. Total annual rainfall is 761 mm but in the cloud forest it is at least 1,000 mm. 80% of rainfall occurs between May and October.Due to the monsoon moving towards the valley, summer is mild, cloudy, and moderately humid. Above an altitude of 3500 meters, the climate is colder and drier.

Ecology

Jiuzhaigou's ecosystem is classified as temperate broad-leaf forest and woodlands, with mixed mountain and highland systems. Nearly of the core scenic area are covered by virgin mixed forests. Those forests take on attractive yellow, orange and red hues in the autumn, making that season a popular one for visitors. They are home to a number of plant species of interest, such as endemic varieties of rhododendron and bamboo.
Local fauna includes the endangered giant panda and golden snub-nosed monkey. Both populations are very small and isolated. Their survival is in question in a valley subject to increasing tourism. It is one of only three known locations for the threatened Duke of Bedford's vole. Jiuzhaigou is also home to approximately 140 bird species.
The region is indeed a natural museum for mountain karst hydrology and research. It preserves a series of important forest ecosystems, including ancient forests that provide important habitats for many endangered animal and plant species such as giant pandas and antelopes. Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area also contains a large number of well preserved Quaternary glacial relics, which are of great scenic value.

Geology and hydrology

Jiuzhaigou's landscape is made up of high-altitude karsts shaped by glacial, hydrological and tectonic activity. It lies on major faults on the diverging belt between the Qinghai-Tibet Plate and the Yangtze Plate, and earthquakes have also shaped the landscape. The rock strata are mostly made up of carbonate rocks such dolomite and tufa, as well as some sandstone and shales.
The region contains a large amount of tuff, which is a type of limestone formed by the rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate in freshwater. It falls on rocks, lake beds, and even fallen trees in the water, sometimes accumulating into terraces, shoals, and dam barriers in the lake.
The valley includes the catchment area of three gullies, and is one of the sources of the Jialing River via the Bailong River, part of the Yangtze River system.
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.
Some of the less stable dams and formations have been artificially reinforced, and direct contact with the lakes or other features is forbidden to tourists.

Notable features

Jiuzhaigou is composed of three valleys arranged in a Y shape. The Rize and Zechawa valleys flow from the south and meet at the centre of the site where they form the Shuzheng valley, flowing north to the mouth of the valley. The mountainous watersheds of these gullies are lined with of roads for shuttle buses, as well as wooden boardwalks and small pavilions. The boardwalks are typically located on the opposite side of the lakes from the road, shielding them from disturbance by passing buses.
Most visitors will first take the shuttle bus to the end of Rize and/or Shuzheng gully, then make their way back downhill by foot on the boardwalks, taking the bus instead when the next site is too distant. Here is a summary of the sites found in each of the gullies:

Rize Valley

The Rize Valley is the south-western branch of Jiuzhaigou. It contains the largest variety of sites and is typically visited first. Going downhill from its highest point, one passes the following sites:
  • The Primeval Forest is a preserved ancient woodland. It is fronted by views of the surrounding mountains and cliffs, including the 500-metre-high, blade-shaped Sword Rock.
  • Swan Lake is a 2250-metre-long, 125-metre-wide lake named for its visiting swans and ducks.
  • Grass Lake is a shallow lake covered in intricate vegetation patterns.
  • Arrow Bamboo Lake, covering an area of 170,000 m2, is a shallow lake with a depth of 6 m. It lies at an elevation of 2,618 m, and was a main feature site for the 2002 Chinese film Hero.
  • Panda Lake features curious color patterns of blue and green. Giant Pandas were said to have come to this lake to drink, though there have been no sightings for many years. The lake empties into the multi-stream, multi-level Panda Waterfalls, dropping 78 m in three steps.
  • Five Flower Lake is a shallow multi-colored lake whose bottom is criss-crossed by ancient fallen tree trunks.
  • Pearl Shoal is a wide, gently sloping area of active calcareous tufa deposition covered in a thin sheet of flowing water. It empties into the famous Pearl Waterfalls, where the shoal drops 28 m in a 310-metre-wide broad curtain of water. A scene of the television adaptation of Journey to the West was filmed there.
  • Mirror Lake is another quiet lake casting beautiful reflections of the surroundings when the water is calm.