Once in a while, you’ll see something so astonishing that everything else similar to it is then found lacking.” – Old Sean
From Peak to Peak
I’ve started to notice that once in a while, I’ll arrive at a place that is the pinnacle of a certain theme. For example, I think it’s much harder to be impressed by a United States desert after crossing the Sahara. I wonder if I could stay enthralled by a state park’s forest after visiting the Amazon. I know that I still have appreciation for those places and their unique beauty and place in the world.
But once in a while, I arrive at a place that simply overwhelms all contenders.
On this trip, that was the iridescent blue water, white basins, endless shoals, infinite waterfalls and silencing mountain forests of Juizhaigou.
Flying In
The first thing I noticed upon awakening during my flight was the turbulence, which could’ve given a Disney World roller coaster a ride for its money. The second thing I noticed, upon turning my head, was that I had been struck blind. I blinked flashbang spots out of my eyes and squinted out the window.
Flying towards Jiuzhaigou is a blinding experience. There’s a constant lasering of sunlight spearing off snowy mountains, nestling clouds and frosted plains. My retinas felt seared until my plane arced into the more temperate lowlands of Jiuzhaigou itself. I landed at the isolated Sichuan Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport, which is on an upper plateau two hours from the famous biosphere.
Driving into the Valley
After I regained my vision, I was treated to a bit of harshly beautiful scenery.
There were shaggy yaks which I don’t recommend petting. My hand got stuck in their dense fur. Also, I spotted some equally shaggy horses who only loved me for my apples. Endless strings of flags and brightly colored tendrils of color-leeched fabrics flap over the craggy, wind-hammered lowlands. Cradling the valleys are a series of elder mountains which send a dusting of ever-melting snow swirling over the grounds.
This land is reminiscent of the harsh, serene highlands of Tibet. Nothing brought me more pleasure than gazing out into it.
I managed to find a shuttle bus which makes regular trips into the town just outside Juizhaigou. There are actually several towns clustered around the Jiuzhaigou entrance. However, since they’re all in a mountain-valley, they are all compressed around the road, S301. There are several hotels and hostels here, all of which are available at fairly affordable prices. I stayed in a hostel called Yijia Youth Inn and found it perfectly comfortable. (I had a coworker help me book my room in advance, since I wasn’t confident I could manage a Chinese booking alone.)
Entering Juizhaigou
Now, entering Jiuzhaigou is pretty easy. If you’re in a tour group, buses will take the road going into the mountain. But it’s also possible to enter on foot and hike up the boardwalk. Simply walk to the Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area Daoyou Service Office and pick up tickets there. On foot, tickets are about 90 yuan ($15 USD or so). However, there are discounts for those with student ID’s under 25 years old. Additionally, there are some deals for multi-day entry tickets, but only during the low season.
After eating one of everything in the tourist town, I took a slow trip all the way up to Jiuzhaigou on foot. It was a long, lonely upward hike (since most tourists prefer the bus). The ever-ascending trail is decorated with mossy signs and clashing yellow warnings. They repeatedly warn visitors not to deviate from the boardwalk path.
Since Jiuzhaigou is a protected biosphere, the park has taken extraordinary measures to prevent people from causing foot-path damage. The only two modes of exploration in Jiuzhaigou are on foot on the boardwalk path or along the cement roads.
First Breaths of Blue
Eventually, I arrived at an overlook with spectacular views. Here, I caught my first glimpse of the vivid blue lakes, waterfalls, streams, deltas, rapids and pools which Jiuzhaigou is so famous for. I had to leave the boardwalk and follow the road for the sight, before stepping off briefly. I was extremely cautious not to disturb any soil, only stepping on stone surfaces leading off to the side.
Regardless, I got my glance of those lasting lakes under those solemn mountains tall.
To be frank, the entire visual experience defies description, especially when floundering for words on the color spectrum. The water is heavy with calcium carbonate. This makes hues and shades of blue run from rapid, torrential icy whites, to cloudless-sky azure. Deep pockets of water are a daunting, borderline-alien cerulean and shaded spots have an absolutely electric, nearly toxic neon.
A visitor can see. with criminal clarity, the bottom of any body of water. The bottom of these pools are complete with the slumbering branches and trunks of fallen trees. This sunken deadwood is encased in calcium carbonate as time marches on, creating a silent boneyard of encased branches. For all those adjectives, know that in my own mind, I’ve failed to convey that first glimpse of Jiuzhaigou.
Continuing the Hike
I scrambled throughout this surreal wonderland, greeted at every turn by stimulus overload. I was joined by another hiker named Linda. She was picking her way across Asia to gain that strange concept known as worldliness. Uncomplaining, hailing from Switzerland, fluent in English and German and politely willing to share snacks, I considered myself exceptionally lucky for the hiking company.
Our full hike brought us through Jiuzhaigou’s Primeval Forests, many impressive shoals and enough wildlife to fuel the Discovery Channel for half a year. We both brought hiking food with us, eating apples and bell peppers and flatbread with peanut butter for the next two days.
To say Jiuzhaigou has some things to see severely undercuts the gravity of its grandeur. In terms of wildlife, Jiuzhaigou hosts many unique species, including golden monkeys, gneu (a horned creature, similar to a sleek wildebeest), musk deer, otters, leopards, lovebirds, swans and, of course, Giant Pandas.
Though Giant Pandas technically still live wild in the range, they aren’t sighted around Jiuzhaigou any longer due to the natural life cycle of bamboo. Usually, bamboo recedes and dies for twelve to twenty three years after flowering. It’s expected that bamboo will make a comeback soon in the central valley area of Jiuzhaigou since the last flowering was in the 1980’s.
Linda and I also spot a huge number of local birds, including a laughing thrush (Linda recognized it) and some sort of owl neither of us knew.
Noticing the Waters
The land of Jiuzhaigou isn’t uniform at all, instead showing diverse terrain. At the lower park entrance, there are lots of thin, fast-moving streams of white and blue water alongside large, thick-trunked trees. The soil and stones here are steep.
Further up, small pools of gem blue and white begin to form, with younger trees. Many of them dip precariously inward to join the calcium carbonate boneyards underwater.
Later upstream, the ponds swell into lakes as the speed of rivers slow. Miniature waterfalls made from pure white minerals cause deeper pools. Reaching the valley proper leads to a large, flat lowland with long, vividly bright and shallow lakes extending the length of the valley. Reeds and marsh cover one end of this area and bright yellow stalks of dry grass cover the other. It is here that snow capped mountains become sharp and visible in the distance.
Further on, the cliffs become sheer, sharp and dark and the lakes, deep and mysterious in color. Finally, the valley splits and whitewater resumes, crashing around and creating odd little platforms of spongy earth and short grass on the edges. Near the southern end of the park, the whitewater thins out dramatically. Lands of shoals and waterfalls are born. Meters upon meters of wide, rushing streams decorate the mountain beyond all imagination. And even further up, the super-forests of high mountains, never cut or logged by humans, stand in a silence of immense deepness, moss devouring all human sounds.
Nine Tibetan Villages
The mountains are not devoid of people, of course. The valley has historically hosted nine Tibetan villages which have existed for generations as silversmiths, hunters, farmers and other jobs. The name Jiuzhaigou actually means “Nine Village Valley.”
These villages have been modernized to some extent and people actively live in them (so don’t gawk too much). They’re decorated with traditional stupas, as well as colorful prayer flags and bright red incense. There are also traditional prayer wheels stamped with sutras and flag-wrapped bovine skulls on various altars. The buildings that are more traditional are a dizzying array of primary colors.
Major Points of Interest in Juizhaigou
Information on the actual sites within Jiuzhaigou is a little sketchy in English (largely since most of it is translated) but the major factors are here. From the entrance going south, a person will first see the Zaru Temple and Valley (located off the main road in a shorter valley). Heading up the main valley passes Heye Village and Restaurant (a small community on a flat, unearthly green stretch of earth), followed by Bonsai Lake, Reed Lake, Double Dragon Lake and Sparking Lake. All of these have parking and boardwalks nearby and are interconnected with staggered, rushing waterfalls. They each have different colors and shapes within the mountain formations.
Next are the Crouching Dragon Lakes, Shuzheng Tibetan Village and Overlook, Shuzheng Waterfalls, Shuzheng Lake, Tiger Lake and Rhinoceros Lake. All are stunning and have deep waters. The ShuzhengTibetan Village here is particularly compelling and has the largest number of goods and services for tourists.
Following this, the route turns somewhat and both pedestrians and drivers can choose which valley route to continue following. The more popular route goes around Mirror Lake and turns towards the Primitive Forest. This route is fairly steep to drive or walk up, but visitors can see Dazhu Valley (if it’s open), the Pearl Shoal, Multi-Colored Lake, Panda Lake, Panda Waterfall, Arrow Bamboo Lake and much further up, Swan Lake and Grass Lake.
Into the Eldest Woods
This eventually leads to Primitive Forest, which, despite the beauty of the water, is my favorite thing in the whole park. I cannot ever convey how deeply potent those ancient trees are. If the world was once encased in their kin, I’m sorry our species ever had it’s time in the sun to remove those woods.
The alternate valley route has much larger and deeper lakes in Zechawa Valley. There is the Lower Season Lake, the Upper Season Lake, Colorful Pond and the Long Lake.
On foot, it took us two days to fully see about two thirds of the park, returning to the park’s exterior both times. However, by car, the entire valley can probably be seen in two days, but at a slightly rushed pace. As impressive as Jiuzhaigou is during green seasons, autumn is apparently the best time to visit for the full color experience.
Recovery Below
We finally returned to the hostel in time for pizza at our hotel and spent the twilight hours walking around some of the towns just outside Jiuzhaigou. There are several streams here and the towns are actually pretty nice, but narrow. I should mention that the area in the valleys gets dark extremely quickly once the sun begins to set.
Later that evening, Linda and I said goodbyes, as my taxi awaited to drive me to the airport. We barreled through what can only be described as some road-damning combination of sleet, icy, rain and puffs of impenetrable fog. Seeing as I’m alive, well and exponentially more sarcastic due to sleep deprivation, I’d say my driver did a splendid job.
A Crowding Surge
I arrived at the airport where other tourists awaited their flights as well. The weather deteriorated and our flight was delayed. I was granted a really unusual sight of Chinese people getting upset en masse and shouting loudly at the boarding gate. Bear in mind, this is a tiny local airport, so we could all see the plane sitting on the runway.
They shouted and pushed forward and made airport security nervous enough to step behind a barrier and lock it. My Chinese isn’t strong enough to understand the contention (although I suspect it had something to do with the delay bleeding into a work night) but I was too tired to join in. Instead, I wrote this blog post and thumbed through my photos for reminders of my journey.
Jiuzhaigou was an experience I’ll treasure for all my remaining days. There’s nothing else that matches it on this earth.
Until next time,
Best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written May 11th 2017
Click here for a full list of Things to Do When Visiting Jiuzhaigou
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