Jiuzhaigou Valley
At the northwest foot of Minshan Mountain, Jiuzhaigou Valley locates inside the Jiuzhai county¡@and Songpan County in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in SW China's Sichuan Province. It becomes one of the first batch of national key scenic spots. Listed as the World Natural Heritage by UNESCO On the World Natural Heritage List and brought into the UNESCO's "Man and Biosphere Reserve Network". Jiuzhaigou is a nature reserve with takins, snub-nosed monkeys and giant pandas. According to the documentation research by experts, Jiuzhaigou valley came into being three million years ago.
The 50km-long Jiuzhaigou valley situates among the Minshan Range. It is said that the Jiuzhaigou Valley( Jiuzhai means nine villages)was named after the nine villages and three gullies. The three main gullies-Shuzheng, Rize and Zechawa form a ¡§Y ¡§ shape.
Legend has it that long long ago, a beautiful Goddess received a mirror from her lover. The goddess was so excited that she dropped the mirror, smashing it into 108 small pieces. Over the centuries those pieces gave birth to 108 wonderful lakes. Jiuzhaigou remains a surprisingly peaceful and traditional scene although has for years enchanted tourists with its Yaks, shrines, prayer wheels, mountains and luxuriant forests, colorful lakes, gushing waterfalls and abundant wildlife. are all common sights. The small villages here are inhabited by Tibetan and Qiang people who live their lives in a very traditional manner. The scenery here is pretty spectacular too. Lakes and waterfalls spill down the mountainside, mountains tower above small hamlets and villages. It is in abundance of beautiful wildlife too like pandas, monkeys, birds and fish.
Although transportation and accommodation here are pretty basic, it is a beautiful scenic spot to keep away from city life. Many excellent hikers and walkers could easily spend one week here just for relaxing, hiking