Jiuzhaigou-it's all about the water!

I really had no idea what to expect going to Jiuzhaigou. I knew it was a UNESCO World Heritage site, and I had heard it had stunning scenery. Whenever I mentioned the name to a mainland Chinese, they immediately said "hen piaoliang!" which means, "very beautiful!" What no one mentioned was how high the altitude of the area was--the airport at Jiuzhaigou is the third highest in China: the highest in China (and the world) is at Bangda, Tibet. (Lhasa is the second highest in China, just in case you were wondering.) Fortunately, we drove DOWN for two hours to our hotel, which was right outside the gates of the national park, so the air wasn't quite so thin. Our drive at first was in the high Tibetan plateau (we were in Sichuan, not Tibet; but the Tibetan plateau extends into the Sichuan province.) No trees, just brown grasslands dotted with small herds of yak and sheep, and the occasional cluster of village houses with bright prayers flags and banners snapping in the ever present wind. (not a breeze--definitely wind!)

The Tibetans believe that the wind blowing through these prayer flags and banners carry the prayers up to heaven; so that they are constantly petitioning heaven. This seems to be an important part of their faith, as they also have prayer wheels that the monks and believers carry around, spinning the inside cylinder that has prayers written on them, once again so that they are constantly praying. There are also large prayer cylinders you can spin as you walk by, sending more petitions to heaven. I have rarely seen a more prayerful people than the Tibetan Buddhists.

The next day we got up early to try to get into the park before the majority of the tour buses. We were there during the low season--it was still quite cold and wasn't a holiday for Chinese schools or businesses. Having said that, there was still plenty of tourists in the park with us--Michael, our guide, said there was about 2-3,000 the day we were there. During the summer high season, there could be up to 13,000! Much as I'd love to go to Jiuzhaigou during the summer or fall, those numbers are pretty intimidating!

I have to say a few words about our guide, Michael. I've traveled quite a bit in China, and met many of the often required professional guides. Most of them have been wonderful--warm, hard-working and sincere. Then there are a few that are distant, cold and seem to be bored by the whole business of dealing with often aggravating foreigners. Michael was one of the former-friendly, informative and earnestly wanting to share his country with others.

We had to leave our bus outside the park gates and take park buses to get from one location to another. Michael told us that Jiuzhaigou was known for water--the many turquoise blue and green lakes and ponds strung like jewels between beautiful waterfalls

on the rivers running down the three major valleys that make up the park.

We went to the top of Rize valley and worked our way down, stopping at the lakes and waterfalls, walking around them a bit, and then hopping back on the bus to the next stop. There were wooden walkways alongside the lakes and river, but many of these were still closed for the winter for maintenance and repairs. It would be lovely to have the time someday to hike all the way down each of the valleys.

The clarity and color of the lakes and pools really was stunning--ranging in color from the deepest forest greens to aquamarine to pale turquoise. The colors result from the high mineral content of the water, specifically magnesium and calcium carbonate according to the signs at the park.

At the biggest sites there were groups of Tibetans from the villages in the valley with colorful native clothes you could rent and have your picture taken in. Yes, I looked pretty silly-the two teens in our group look much better in their costumes! And no, I didn't gain a few pounds--I was wearing two jackets and at least three shirts underneath! It was COLD!

"Jiuzhaigou" means "nine Tibetan villages" so named for the nine villages that used to line the valley. Seven of the villages are still inhabited, but instead of agriculture and hunting, the villagers now work for the park system or sell souvenirs or snacks to the park visitors. Though judging by the number of fox skins for sale, they still do a brisk trapping trade. Apparently the conservation ideals haven't been completely absorbed by the locals yet--I saw a spotted skin (the vest in the picture) that I didn't recognize, and when I asked an old man standing nearby he told me it was a "bao"; we looked it up and that means leopard. I thought leopards were protected. It made me sad to see all these beautiful furs off of their rightful owners!