Jiuzhaigou 九寨沟

1

A Y-shaped valley in the southern Minshan Mountains, made up of Shuzheng Valley, Rize Valley and Zechawa Valley; named after the nine Tibetan villages inside, it was inscribed as a World Natural Heritage Site together with Huanglong in 1992

2

The first valley of Jiuzhaigou, running from the valley entrance to Nuorilang Waterfall: the Shuzheng Lakes are twenty to thirty lakes big and small linked in tiers, trees grow thickly on the travertine dikes, and water mills and prayer-wheel houses stand along the stream — a living display of Tibetan water-mill culture within a natural landscape

3

The essence of the whole valley: Five Flower Lake shows peacock-feather-like iridescent colors thanks to the spectral differences of lakebed travertine, algae and sunken wood, and is called "the essence of Jiuzhaigou"

4

The longest and highest-altitude valley in Jiuzhaigou: Long Lake at its end is Jiuzhaigou's largest lake, fed by snowmelt with no outlet — "never full, never dry" — and revered by Tibetans as a holy lake

5

The largest and only Tibetan Bon religion monastery in Jiuzhaigou, sitting beneath Baojing Rock (Treasure Mirror Rock) at the mouth of Zharu Valley; said to date from the Ming Dynasty, it has been the faith center of the valley's nine Tibetan villages through the ages

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Villages of the indigenous Tibetans inside Jiuzhaigou — the park's name, 'Valley of Nine Villages,' comes from the nine villages in the valley

7

An alpine meadow wetland west of Jiuzhaigou's valley entrance; Jiabo Ancient Town is a resort of stone-built Tibetan-Qiang style buildings, snow peaks ring the meadow, and visitors are now welcomed at the 'Gate of Jiuzhai' viewing platform

8

'Nen'ensangcuo' means 'where fairies bathe' in Tibetan; located between Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong, its travertine pools and travertine terrace flows share the same origin and character as Jiuzhaigou's; the pool groups are tucked away in primeval forest — smaller in scale but more pristine in form, with few visitors, earning it the name 'Jiuzhaigou's back garden'

9

An undeveloped valley just over one ridge from Jiuzhaigou's main valley; complete with streams, waterfalls, travertine flats and Tibetan villages yet almost free of man-made facilities — dubbed 'the second Jiuzhaigou'

10

A Baima Tibetan settlement in Wujiao Township, Jiuzhaigou County; the Baima people are an ancient Di-Qiang lineage, and their 'Chigezhou' (Caogai) Nuo mask dance is national intangible cultural heritage — in the first lunar month, performers in carved wooden masks go door to door to dispel evil and pray for blessings, a scene of striking primal power

11

A giant panda conservation and research park at Jiawuhai in Wujiao Township, Jiuzhaigou County, built and opened around 2019; it keeps several giant pandas and houses a science popularization hall presenting the history of panda conservation and the ecology of the Minshan mountain system

12

A UNESCO World Natural Heritage site in Songpan County, inscribed together with Jiuzhaigou in 1992: the area is famed for a travertine valley about 3.6 km long, with more than 3,000 travertine pools layered in terraces; the highest cluster, the Five-Color Ponds, sits at approx. 3,900 m and is hailed as "a fairy pool on earth"

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Known in ancient times as Songzhou—established as a prefecture in the Tang Dynasty with city walls built in the Ming—it has long been a key hub of the tea-horse trade in northwestern Sichuan and a strategic stronghold; the story of Princess Wencheng's journey to Tibet is tied to Songzhou

14

The heart of the northwestern Sichuan plateau wetlands: Huahu Lake is the flagship lake area of the Zoige Wetlands, China's largest high-altitude peat swamp wetland; in lush seasons the lake surface is carpeted with sedge, where black-necked cranes and ruddy shelducks dwell