If this is the first time you’ve heard of Jiuzhaigou, you may be wondering: what makes this site, tucked away in the mountains of Sichuan, the only World Natural Heritage Site in the world? It’s not only one of the places that inspired Avatar, but it’s also a UNESCO-recognized “ecological textbook” for the planet. Today, we’re going to use a familiar American analogy to unlock its secrets!
1、The “water ceiling”: the most fairytale-like place on Earth.
The water in Jiuzhaigou is like overturning nature’s color palette — from Tiffany blue to emerald green to amber gold, 115 lakes and 17 waterfalls make up a unique “water universe”.
Here, the bottom of the lakes (called “sea” in Tibetan) is covered with thousand years of calcium Hua deposits, sunlight refraction will produce colorful effects. For example, five flower sea, underwater fallen trees wrapped in minerals, like being enchanted as never decay, forming an “underwater forest wonders”.
The most extreme is the Norilang waterfall – width of 320 meters, wider than Niagara Falls! The water falls from the Calcium Hua Steps step by step, and freezes into a blue ice waterfall in winter, which even the National Geographic photographer exclaimed: “This is the most alien-like landscape on earth”.
2. Biological Ark: The “Secret Garden” of the Giant Panda
Jiuzhaigou is one of the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots, equivalent to the “Silicon Valley of flora and fauna”. There are:
- 🐼 67 wild pandas (10% of the Sichuan population)
- 🦌 Endangered Sichuan hartebeest and cape deer
- 🌲 2000-year-old Sichuan redwoods (living fossil level)
What’s more amazing is the vertical ecosystem: from broad-leaved forests at 2000 meters above sea level to snow-covered mountains at 4500 meters above sea level, you can experience the climate zone switching from “Amazon to Alaska” in one day. Scientists have discovered 140 species of birds and more than 1,000 species of plants, including the red cedar, the raw material for anti-cancer drugs.
3.Geological wonders: the “sculptural art exhibition” of water.
Jiuzhaigou’s landscape took 3 million years to form! Glacial movements and earthquakes shaped the canyons, while the deposition of calcium carbonate in the water created the stepped Calcium Hua Beach. There are only three places in the world where this geological phenomenon occurs (the other two are in Croatia and Yellowstone), but Jiuzhaigou has the largest and most colorful.
Pearl Beach is a typical example — the water flows through 45,000 square meters of calcareous slopes, splashing like scattered diamonds in the sunlight, and the movie Journey to the West once filmed the classic scene of the four masters and disciples wading in the water here.
4, Textbook protection: stricter than national parks
Jiuzhaigou is able to maintain its pristine condition thanks to China’s strictest environmental protection policy:
- Zero hotel policy: all hotels in the ditch have been closed since 2003, and visitors can only stay outside the ditch.
- Daily flow limit of 41,000 people: 30% less than the peak season flow limit of Yellowstone Park
- 70 kilometers of suspended walkways**: to prevent tourists from stepping on the vegetation (all wood from sustainable forests)
- 100% sewage treatment: even the toilets use microbial decomposition technology
Local Tibetans are also involved in conservation – they have gone from being loggers to forest rangers, earning 83% of their family income each year through tourism dividends. This “eco-feeding community” model has been recognized by the United Nations as a model for sustainable development.
—The United Nations has recognized this model as a model of sustainable development.
V. The Magic of the Seasons: Four Skin Changes a Year
Another key to Jiuzhaigou’s selection as a heritage site is its extreme seasonal variability:
- Spring (April-June): the meltwater from the snow-capped mountains triples the flow of the waterfalls
- Summer (July-August): the forest has a concentration of 18,400 negative oxygen ions/cm³ (200 times higher than in the city)
- Autumn (September-October): maple leaves + blue water make up the “God’s palette”, and photography enthusiasts even charter helicopters to take aerial photos.
- Winter (November-March): blue icefalls and hot spring steam dance together, just like the scene of “Frozen”.
Travel Tips: How to Observe Heritage Values Like a Scientist?
- Look at the color of the water: Use a mineral water bottle to fill up the lake water – it will show the same color as the shore, proving that it is free from pollution!
- Find Calcite: Scratch the rock with a coin, and white powder will appear as a growing layer of calcite.
- Ecological observation: the probability of encountering a group of golden monkeys in the virgin forest in the early morning is as high as 60%.
- Read the data: the scenic spot display screen real-time update of the water quality / air monitoring results, the transparency of the year-round more than 12 meters
The story of Jiuzhaigou tells us that World Heritage is not only a “beautiful scenery”, but also a wise answer to the coexistence between human beings and nature. As Ranger Zhaxi said, “What we are guarding is not a scenic spot, but the most precious memory of Mother Earth.” Remember to choose fall (September-October) when planning your trip, and bring a wide-angle lens and a sense of awe – you’ll understand why UNESCO experts give the comment, “This place defines the highest standards of natural beauty.”
(Secret: Smoking is not allowed in the scenic area, but you can buy “air cans” made with herbs in the Tibetan villages, so you can take the freshness of Jiuzhaigou home with you!)
