A Piece of Heaven on
Earth
Jiuzhaigou Valley
11 Feb. 2006
On the second day
of the Chinese Year of Dog, five
families, from Beijing, Shandong,
Shanghai, Jiangsu and Sichuan
respectively, congregated at a Chengdu
hotel in Sichuan Province. Despite it was
6:30 pm in the deep of winter, the sky
was still bright and the setting sun
gently greeted us with its soft glow. It
was quite unusual though, since the sun
in this city is reputed, arguably, the
laziest in the whole China. We felt
greatly encouraged by our first encounter
with this part of the world and looked
forward to having wonderful experiences
at Jiuzhaigou.
We set off at nine
the next morning, driving along the Min
River. Once entering the Wenchuan
mountain road, we noted that the river
narrowed dramatically and the flow
speeded up, while traffic became much
lighter.
We took a short
break every couple of hours. The sun in
the wild is brilliant and warm, and the
winds fair and brisk - spring clearly
drew near. Each break also brought us one
step closer to the heaven, to the sun,
where the clouds became sparser and
flimsier, and the skies bluer.
Aafter a simple
lunch at a family tavern by the roadside,
before long we spotted our destination at
the end of Songpan Grassland: Jiuzhaigou,
Valley with Nine Villages.
Located 450 km
from Chengdu City, Jiuzhaigou stretches
over 72,000 ha in the northern part of
Sichuan Province, with integration of
snowy mountains, green valleys,
multi-layered waterfalls and 118 lakes
inlaid among the hills and cliffs, while
its highest peak reaches 4,800 metre
above the sea level.
Though stunningly
beautiful, this piece of Heaven on earth
was largely unknown by the outside world,
laying asleep undisturbed for millions of
years, until a group of foresters
discovered it by accident in 1970s.
Water
- Jiuzhaigou's Spirit
To Jiuzhai
Gou, water is the very essence and
true spirit, and it is renowned for
its crystal clearness, pure
transparency and rich colourfulness.
Click on the
photo to enlarge the image
The melted
snow from the hill peaks and the
mountain streams in the valleys all
find their way into the Lakes. The
waters, however, never spill over the
banks even in the downpour seasons of
summer and autumn, nor they dry up
during drought spells in winter.
Arrow
Bamboo Lake
In the banks,
lush bamboos are forever green and
stand erect, and their swaying images
reflected in the water with the
inverted images of undulating hills
as their backdrop.
Click on the
photo to enlarge the image
Five-Flower
Lake
It is over
3,000 m above the sea level, with a
maximum depth of more than 100m.
Click on the
photo to enlarge the
Due to
different depths and silts on the
bottom, the water in the lake assumes
a variety of colours, from light
yellow, dark green, deep blue to
jadeite. When bright sunlight shines
upon its indigo surface, it looks
incredibly daring, enchanting and
radiant like a freshly finished
watercolour painting.
Panda
Lake Cascade
It consists of
three separate streams rushing down a
precipice, forming waterfalls with
multiple sections of 65 meters in
total height.
In winter the
waterfalls freeze into a spectacle of
icy sculpture.
|
When
spring arrives, Jiuzhaigou is
adorned with wild blossoms and
the air heavy with the aroma.
Entering summer, the colour of
lush green takes over as trees
are luxuriantly verdant. By the
time the leaves turn crimson,
light breezes spread the
intoxicating fragrance of wild
fruits. When winter finally
descends, it creates a silver
world by draping the mountains
and valleys in pure snow and ice.
|
Such is the rich beauty of
Jiuzhaigou Valley, the themes of four
seasons in the wonderland.
China
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