Travel China and Beyond

JiuZhaiGou - an undiscovered (by foreigners) scenic place in China

September 8, 2006 on 6:10 pm | In Places to visit in China, Things to do |

I suppose not many travelers from outside of China have heard of JiuZhaiGou. This beautiful place is Waterfall in JiuZhaiGoulocated in Sichuan province, 40 minute flight or 10 hour (pretty spectacular and in some places scary) bus ride, from Chengdu, Sichuan Province. In early 1990 when the place was first being opened up to tourists, the advice that most of us got was that you would need about a week to visit the place as the treck there was “bus or truck” only. Now JiuZhaiGou has an airport, probably one of the higher elevation airports in the world (at about 3500 meters altitude).

So, in 2006, getting to JiuZhaiGou is relatively easy so it is a place a traveller looking for a combination of Tibetan culture and beautiful scenery should visit.

JiuZhaiGou - small village Waterfall in JiuZhaiGou
Once you are there, you can spend several days hiking around the mountains, visit the nature reserve area/park, where you might be able to observe several pandas, and see some beautiful areas including waterfalls and lakes and of course snow covered peaks.

Aside from the natural reserve, plan to spend some time visiting the Huanglong Si (Yellow Dragon Temple) - a valley with many terraced ponds and waterfalls. If you happen to visit in mid-August you might be able to observe a temple fair, which is visited by many Qiang minority traders.

In terms of places to stay, I would recommend the Sheraton. It is clean and conveniently located. With regard to time of visit, it is best (in my opinion) to visit as late as possible in the Fall as that will significantly reduce the crowds. Going in July or August will be tough — too many people. Visiting in the middle of November would be good as that is right before the season closes so you will be able to experience the beauty of the place without having to “struggle” with crowds of tourists. My visit was around 20th of November, and many restaurants and hotels were closing for the winter, but the Sheraton was open and the weather was perfect.

If you have questions about organizing a trip to JiuZhaiGou, please feel free to leave a comment on this site and I will contact you with further information via email. Happy travels!

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Hello!!:)We are going to Jiuzhaigou on 10th Feb 2008 for 4 days(Chinese New Year). What is the best to travel to Juizhaigou?Hire a van ,by bus or by plane?

0-O
yewkong

Comment by Chin Yew Kong — October 1, 2007 #
In a way, the choice depends on how much time you have available. The fastest way is to go by plane. If you do that you will be able to also see some spectacular views of the mountain peaks in the area (as you approach Jiuzhaigou). The travel by bus has some interesting moments as well — dangerous roads but all in all I would recommend the plane.

Comment by Administrator — October 6, 2007 #
Hi,

I’m planning a trip to Jiuzhaigou around 19 nov.

IS that advisable? Heard the leaves will have fallen by then. Does that mean JZG is not worth going then? Or will that give us another flavour of Jiuzhaigou?

Also, i was told weather may not be so gd!

Comment by Stanley Chong — October 8, 2007 #
I believe it is still a nice place to be. My trip there was around the same time. The evenings were cold, many restaurants were closed. but at the same time the crowds were gone too.
The weather during the day was very nice — sunny and warm. Not sure where you live, i.e. what is your understanding of good weather, but I thought it was nice. As you can tell from some of my photos, the scenery was nice.

Comment by Administrator — October 13, 2007 #
What is the weather like in JZG in mid-March? Would it be too cold, and would the lakes and waterfalls be frozen over? Thanks

Comment by Indira Gandhi — November 30, 2007 #
Hi, I am not sure about March. It is probably getting warmer by then, but I have not visited the place in March…sorry

Comment by Administrator — December 3, 2007 #
Thank you very much for your help. Looks like I should head for Lijiang n Kunming instead in March since the weather there is good at that time of year.

Comment by Indira Gandhi — December 7, 2007 #
My friend traveled the great wall and said he could not believe how up hill it was. He said he had a hard time. It was funny. It looks not steep, but it is steep.

Comment by Travel — January 4, 2008 #