Jiuzhaigou Gully

Natural Features

Situated in the depths of the mountains in the border area of Napping， Songpan and Pingwu counties in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of northwestern Sichuan，is a fairyland called Jiuzhaigou--Nine-Village Gully. Until recent years，it had remained undisturbed in high mountains due to its inaccessibility，except by some horse trails or mountain paths. Scattered along the gully with the alpine lakes are nine Tibetan settlements，hence the name Jiuzhaigou、meaning"nine villages gully".

Jiuzhaigou Scenic area refers to the"Y"shaped three gullies of Shuzheng， Rize and Zechawa，altogether covering an area of 720km} and stretching out for a total length of over SOkm. It is a habitat of Tibetans，and geologically a cold alpine Karst topography in nature. The nine villoges and the mountain lakes，called"haizi"(sea or son of sea),shining like crystal mirrors，dot in the depth of forests and snow mountains.At the upper most lies the Long Lake，while the Grass Lake is the end of Rize Gully. The two gullies run down northward and join together at Nuorilang to form the beginning of Shuzheng Gully. The height drop amounts to 1 000m or more from the joint of the two gullies to the outlet of Shuzheng Gully. Lining along the distance are 114 stepped lakes(The water is so clear that the bottom is visible despite depths of several dozen meters)，between which are 17 waterfall groups(Waterfalls are the essence of the scenery in Jiuzhaigou)，11 torrents，and 5 calcareous tufa shoals， forming"a fairy land under the sky" that features in alpine lake groups，waterfall groups，and calcareous tufa shoals，as well as snow mountains，virgin forests， and Tibetan folklore.

Jiuzhaigou Gully boasts for having the freshest air on the earth，where the horizontal visibility is as far as 50km. The climate there is that of temperate monsoon，sunny，clear, cool in summer but not windy in winter. It is the ideal resort for sightseeing and holidays.