Hi Friends! This is one of the 3 posts that is submitted for the nomination of Best Photo Blog category by OMY Singapore Blog Awards. I must hereby THANK the panel of judges from OMY’s editorial team for selecting TravelerFolio.com as one of the top ten finalists in the Photo Blog category.

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Jiuzhaigou is best known for its splendid multi-level waterfalls and the brilliantly coloured lakes. When the guide told us the Tibetans affectionately call the Jiuzhaigou lakes as “Hai zi”, we thought it was “孩子” or “children”. The correct one is “海子”, which means “sons of sea”.

Nuorilang waterfall / 諾日朗瀑布 - reportedly the widest highland waterfall in China. Glaciers are still seen at the waterfall in March.

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Travel News Update: 10 July 2008.

Kieran Fitzgerald, Sustainable Tourism and Marketing Adviser from Jiuzhaigou National Park, Sichuan, China, has the following update:

Hi Eunice,

Just a quick update on Jiuzhaigou:

Jiuzhaigou is open to tourists and never actually closed after the earthquake since there was no damage in the area. Flights are open to all independent tourists but I think travel agents still aren’t officially allowed to send groups.

There are buses running from Chadianzi (Chengdu) to Jiuzhaigou every day at 8am arriving at around 6pm. Buses from Xinanmen (Chengdu) are also running 3 times a week.

There are buses running in the park and it is possible to get off and walk if you like. Only some paths are closed now. But it is possible to walk along the roads although this isn’t strictly allowed. If you tell the bus drivers that you want to walk they won’t make you get on the buses.

There are wild flowers in bloom and the sun is shining 9 out of every 10 days. The park is green and the water level is high which means the waterfalls are spectacular. To see Jiuzhaigou with so few tourists in July is something that is not likely to ever happen again!! The chance of seeing wildlife is a lot higher as a result.

Regards,

Kieran Fitzgerald
Sustainable Tourism and Marketing Adviser
Jiuzhaigou National Park, Sichuan, China
kieranjiuzhai@gmail.com

Hey folks! Kieran from Jiuzhaigou has emailed me the earthquake report dated on 15 May 2008 on Jiuzhaigou National Park. Below is his email:

I’d like to provide you information on Jiuzhaigou National Park in Sichuan for your readers. We probably had over 10,000 tourists in the park on Sunday and Monday and there were no injuries reported. Here is a report on the situation…

Jiuzhaigou National Park Earthquake Report

Jiuzhaigou National Park has not been significantly damaged physically. Many staff members have still not been able to contact family members and they are our priority at the moment.

The roads from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou are blocked due to the earthquake of 12th May 2008 and are expected to remain that way for some time. The best way to get to Jiuzhaigou is to fly although the government has warned against any unnecessary travel to the whole region for the moment. Flight schedules have been affected by the disaster however.

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Photos taken at the exhibit at World Book Fair (May-Jun 2008) at Suntec Singapore. Free admission.

“This little girl was still holding on to her pen when her body was retrieved from under the rubble.”

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Earthquake News Update on 2008-05-27 16:06:13

China earthquake death toll rises to 67,183… two fresh aftershocks struck earthquake-hit areas in southwest China on Tuesday afternoon. A 5.4-magnitude aftershock hit Qingchuan County in Sichuan Province at about 4:03 p.m. and another 5.7-magnitude aftershock hit neighboring Ningqiang County in Shaanxi Province, according to the China National Seismological Network.

“Judging from previous earthquakes of a similar magnitude, this time the aftershocks may last for two or three months, and it’s not relatively long,” said He Yongnian, former deputy director of China Seismological Bureau (CSB) and a seismologist, in an online interview on xinhuanet.com. ~Xinhua.

The massive earthquake that hit Sichuan is a tragedy. The 8-magnitude quake is said to be the country’s strongest earthquake in more than half a century.. My heartfelt sympathy and condolences to those affected families… Scenic photos taken before Sichuan earthquake while touring Jiuzhaigou, Chengdu and other part of Sichuan… (See scenic photos)

Videos of Sichuan earthquake. I will update with any latest videos or news.

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(photo from Xinhua news)

A well-written condolence can help ease the sorrow for a grieving person coping with the death of a loved one. Also, please don’t forget to make donations to the charity organisations supporting the victims of Sichuan Earthquake.

Please leave your condolences in the box by clicking on “comments” right below.

Read posts related to Sichuan earthquake and Jiuzhaigou National Park earthquake report.

Now there is a popular superstitious belief that the recent misfortunes and the massive Sichuan earthquake are related to the five Olympic Mascots for Beijing 2008.

The five Olympic Mascots are Beibei, Jinjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini, which actually means “Beijing huanying ni” (北京欢迎你), literally means “Beijing welcomes you”. People have speculated that four of the five mascots have already fulfilled the prophesies of misfortune.

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This is an interesting and touching article written by Xinhua writers.

www.chinaview.cn 2008-05-25 16:02:45
by Xinhua writers Ni Siyi and Lou Chen
BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) — The year 2008 will be remembered with mixed feelings by the Chinese, not only because of the impending Beijing Olympics and the many crises in the run up to the event, but also because of the totally different reaction of the Western world toward China over these tragedies, through which they have come to know how much they are divided and how much they could have in common.

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