If you thought the beauty of Avatar’s Pandora was unreal, then the scenery of Jiuzhaigou will make you wonder if it was sculpted by the gods themselves. In fact, this “paradise on earth” not only has geological wonders that can be explained by science, but also contains ancient legends that are more exciting than a Hollywood script. Today, we’re going to unravel the mythological codes behind Jiuzhaigou in a hero’s narrative familiar to Americans!
Heroic Love: The Broken Mirror and the Emerald Lake
The most classic legend of Jiuzhaigou is a story of love and sacrifice. The Tibetan mountain god Dago fell in love with the goddess Wono Sego, and they guarded the land with the Wind and Cloud Mirror. However, the demon snake Miza coveted ugly woman’s beauty and started a war to seize the mirror. In the melee, the mirror broke into 108 pieces and was transformed into 108 emerald lakes (called “haizi” in Tibetan) scattered across the valley.
This explains Jiuzhaigou’s iconic colorful lakes:
- Wu Hua Hai: Legend has it that the core fragments of the mirror were transformed into an enchanted crystal forest with calcified trees underwater.
- Changhai: the deepest lake, believed to be the embodiment of the handle of the precious mirror, showing a sapphire-like color in winter when it is frozen.
- Mirror Sea: calm as a mirror, rumored to be the place where the ugly woman dresses up, early in the morning you can capture the reflection of the snow-capped mountains and the dance of ancient trees underwater
Scientific truth: these lakes are actually glaciers and earthquakes formed by the weir, calcium carbonate deposits in the water and minerals (such as copper ions, magnesium sulfate) is the real “colorist”.
The Nine Fairies’ Ecological Battle for Defense
Another epic legend, comparable to the “Avengers” superhero story — nine Tibetan girls to save their polluted hometown, disguised as a dragon through the fire and ice test, and ultimately defeated the poisonous demon snake devil Za.
Mythological Highlights:
- Metamorphosis: the girls turn into bees to steal their father’s mountain spells, and turn into colorful butterflies to fly out of their forbidden palace.
- Artifact Enhancement: Obtaining jade syringes and emeralds from the Vajra Demon Subduing God, the girls use ten thousand golden needles to pierce the heart of the poisonous demon.
- Ecological Restoration: After scattering the emeralds, the withered forests are reborn and the polluted rivers are restored to clarity – a metaphor for Jiuzhaigou’s strict environmental protection policies, such as the daily flow restriction of 41,000 people, and the 70 kilometers of elevated trestles to protect the vegetation.
Reality Echo: When Jiuzhaigou was hit by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake in 2017, the Norilang Waterfalls cut off the flow for a while, but the calcareous layer repaired itself in just three months, just like the mythical “Divine Resurrection”.
Mysterious Eggs: Hidden Plots in the Attractions
In addition to the main legend, Jiuzhaigou also has many “branch myths”:
- Panda Sea: Named for the panda-like pattern of black calcium underwater, the arrow bamboo here is said to be the favorite of the panda spirit.
- Pearl Beach Waterfall: The setting of “Journey to the West”, the picture of the Tang Monk and his disciples wading in the water makes the splash of the calcareous beach more mythological colors.
- Five-color Pool: Legend has it that it is dyed by the fairy’s rouge, which is in fact the optical reaction between water moccasin, rotifers and other plants and minerals.
The ultimate clash of myth and science
The legends of Jiuzhaigou are by no means simple bedtime stories; they explain natural phenomena with fantastical narratives:
- Precious mirror fragments→lake genesis: a geological process corresponding to glacial movement and calcareous deposition
- Toxic Demon Pollution→Ecological Crisis: a metaphor for the real history of soil erosion caused by logging in the 1980s.
- Emerald→Environmental Action: symbolizes the ecological restoration project implemented after the successful application for heritage in 1992.
Interesting experiment: The lake water in a mineral water bottle takes on the same color as the shore – a result of the reflection of high-purity minerals and light, but described by legend as “the pigment of the gods”.
Travel Eggs: How to experience the “mythical” landscape
- 7:00 a.m. Mirror Sea : capture the magic moment of the reflection of the mirror, the angle of the sun coincides with the legendary ugly woman grooming time
- Norilang waterfall west : looking for the reflection point of the legendary magic mirror, winter ice waterfall showing blue special effects
- Tibetan village home visit: listen to the locals tell the story of the descendants of the “Nine Fairies” and learn how to make tsampa by drinking ghee tea.
The legend of Jiuzhaigou is not only a carnival of imagination, but also a reflection of the ancient civilization’s reverence for nature. As Ranger Renqing says, “When we guard this land with myths, it will reward mankind with eternal beauty.” Now that you know the secrets – the next time you see one of those incredibly blue lakes, tell a friend, “That’s not a filter, it’s a miracle made by millennia of legend and earth science!”
(Insider Tip: Want to get a legendary shot? Bring a red leaf in front of your lens in the fall, and photograph the Sea of Flowers through the cracks in the leaves to recreate the mythical scene of “emeralds falling to earth”!)
