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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I made my trip to Jiuzhaigou in the spring month of March in 2006 and the stunning beauty of the fairyland were photographed to leave fond memories here.

Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟) is a valley, a nature reserve and is 330 km north of the provincial capital of Chengdu, Sichuan province of China . It is part of the Jiuzhaigou County in the Aba (阿坝) Tibetan (藏族) Qiang (羌族) Autonomous Perfecture (阿坝藏族羌族自治州) near the Gansu border, and the remote region was inhabited by various Tibetan and Qiang peoples for centuries, and was officially discovered by the government in 1972. The area becomes a national park in 1982 and was declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1992.

The essence of Jiuzhaigou valley is water and is best known for its magnificent waterfalls and colourful placid lakes. The lakes are famous because of their transparency and their high calcium proportions which have preserved tree trunks that were fell into the lakes, for hundred of years! The fascinating valley, coupled together with its unique habitants of the Tibetans and Qiang tribes, have formed an exotic haven from the rest of the world.

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The main hurdle to visiting the fairyland is the dreadful roads that lead to the Jiuzhaigou valley from Chengdu. We often heard stories about big rocks flying onto the road and hit tour buses. The roads are narrow, with only two lanes for either directions. So where ever the road bends, the drivers will horn to warn any vehicles that can’t be seen around the bends. Some roads has no railings too, and below the roads is the raging Minjiang River. You can imagine accidents only have two scenerios - vehicle crashes into the side of the hills or overturns into the rushing torrents below. Sometimes, one may get nausea on the bus due to long journey and higher altitude, so it’s good to carry some oilment along.

But, by looking at the enchanting landscapes and snow-capped mountains along the journey, the roads don’t appear horrendous, right?!

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We stopped over at the lake side to answer nature’s call. The toilets have no doors but with very low raised walls to divide into a few cubicles; no flush, dark, and so basically you do your business over a drainage while holding your breathe. Well, I had to temporarily shut off my brain processor so that I won’t think too much, took a deep breathe just before I stepped into the toilet, hold my breathe until I finished my business and moved out quickly, but CAREFULLY. You won’t want to slip and fall flat on the filthy toilet floor!!!

This is a very picturesque view; it’s breathtaking, but with a tragic past. This place was once a village, but during an earthquake, thousands of lives were claimed, with most fell into the lake.

Don’t get too excited by the nice long horns of the bulls. They are fake! After we took the photos with them at a small fee, we saw these wonderful creatures resting at the roadside, without their artificial horns!

I didn’t take a photo of those without the fake horns, and not sure if these horns are fake too. Nevertheless, they are cool…

A memorial Park in Sichuan

The actual name of this five stars resort that we stayed in Jiuzhaigou is “InterContinental Resort Jiuzhai Paradise”. It’s a nice resort. We stayed in a big room for three persons, overlooking a stunning view of the surrounding.

The views outside our room.

The ground floor of the resort is big too, like a mini garden in a glass bubble, with stalls selling local products.

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The Jiuzhaigou Valley, with rich forest resources, has more than 10,000 negative oxygen ions per cubic metre of air and can be as high as 80,000. In Beijing, on the other hand, has only 1,000 negative oxygen ions per cubic metre of air on a good quality air day. We were told that it’s the waterfalls that produce so much negative ions. So folks, breath in deeply when you are in the valley!

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