Jiuzhaigou - Huang Long Valley

Sichuan - Chengdu - Jiuzhaigou - Leshan

Huang Long Valley directly translated means Yellow Dragon Valley, is undeniably "The fairyland on Earth" which is how it is so often described. This valley was added to the Natural World Legacy List in 1991.

Legend has it, that about 4,000 years ago, a yellow dragon helped Xiayu, the king of Xia Kingdom (21st -16th century BC), channel the flood water into the sea, hence making the Minjiang River.

Due to the calcium carbonate mineral deposit patterns and the gold hue of the water the river looks just like the tail of a Yellow Dragon. In later years a temple was built in honor of the yellow dragon and the valley was given its name. The river carves out the scenery for the limestone valley, which is over 6 kilometer long and as wide as 300 meter, covering an area of an impressive 435 square miles.

This incredible valley undulates through the southern part of the Minshan mountain range in the Songpan County about 250 kilometer away from Chengdu.

Huang Long wins its fame for its magic landscape of lime formations, made up of 3,400 multi-colored and uniquely-sized ponds, interlace along the valley. These amazing ponds are paved with golden lime deposit and cover nearly a half a square. Not to be excluded there are also 5 waterfalls, 4 stalactite caves and 3 ancient temples, and all in the same valley, which looks like a dragon surging down from snowcapped peaks of Mt. Minshan.

The local people are as much of an attraction as the virgin forest and the scenery, Composed of more than 20 nationalities the main nationalities being the Tibetan and Qiang groups.