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JiuzhaiValley(Jiuzhaigou)isamajorfeatureoftheSichuanScenicArea,located100kmnorthofChengdu,thecapitalofSichuanprovince.JiuzhaigouisatthenortheasternendofthisscenicareaintheMinShanmountains.ItispartoftheAbaTibetanandQiangAutonomousPrefecture.Themainscenicareastretches80kmlongintheformofaletterYcomprisingofthreemainvalleys-Shuzheng,RizeandZechawacovering720sqkmandofferingstunningviewsoflakes,waterfalls,andmountains.ThenamemeansValleyofNineVillages,derivedfromthe9ancientTibetanvillagesthatcallithome.Itshighestpointis4,700metresabovesealevel,withthemainsightseeingareasbetween1,980mand3,100m.HistoryHistoryHistoryHistoryTheremoteregionwasinhabitedbyvariousTibetanandQiangpeoplesforcenturies,butwasnotofficiallydiscoveredbythegovernmentuntil1972.Extensiveloggingtookplaceuntil1979,whentheChinesegovernmentbannedsuchactivities.Theareawasmadeintoanationalparkin1982.AnAdministrationBureauwasestablishedandthesiteofficiallyopenedtotourismin1984.Layoutoffacilitiesandregulationswerecompletedin1987.ThesitewasinscribedbyUNESCOasaWorldHeritageSitein1992andaWorldBiosphereReservein1997.Sinceopening,touristactivityhasincreasedeveryyear:from5,000in1984to170,000in1991,160,000in1995,to200,000in1997,includingapproximately3,000foreigners.Visitorsnumbered1,190,000in2002.In2007,over2.5millionpeoplevisitedJiuzhaigou.Thesiteaverages7,000visitsperday,withapubliclyreportedcapof12,000(howeverthisisneverenforced).Thedesiretobalanceenvironmentalprotectionandmasstourismhasbecomeanincreasinglyacutechallengeforparkmanagement.Exploitationofnaturalresourcesforfinancialgainintheformofmasstourismistheutmostpriority.Landscape,Landscape,Landscape,Landscape,geologygeologygeologygeologyandandandandhydrologyhydrologyhydrologyhydrologyJiuzhaigou'slandscapeismadeupofhigh-altitudekarstsshapedbyglacial,hydrologicalandtectonicactivity.ItliesonmajorfaultlinesonthedivergingbeltbetweentheQinghai-TibetPlateandtheYangtzePlate,andearthquakeshavealsoshapedthelandscape.Therockstrataismostlymadeupofcarbonaterockssuchdolomiteandtufa,aswellassomesandstoneandshales.Thevalleyincludesthecatchmentareaofthreegullies(whichduetotheirlargesizeareoftencalledvalleysthemselves),andisoneofthesourcesoftheJialingRiver,partoftheYangtzeRiversystem.Theareacovering720sqkmoftheMinshanmountainsprovidesthecatchmentforthewatersystemofJiuzhaigou.Jiuzhaigou'sbest-knownfeatureisitsdozensofblue,greenandturquoise-coloredlakes.ThelocalTibetanpeoplecallthemHaiziinChinese,meaningsonofthesea.Originatinginglacialactivity,theyweredammedbyrockfallsandothernaturalphenomena,thensolidifiedbyprocessesofcarbonatedeposition(travertine).Jiuzhaigou'swaterhasahighconcentrationofcalciumcarbonate,makingitsoclearthatthebottomisoftenvisibleevenathighdepths.Thelakesvaryincolorandaspectaccordingtotheirdepths,residues,andsurroundings.FloraFloraFloraFloraandandandandfaunafaunafaunafaunaTheparkisthenaturalhabitatfortwoofChina’smosttreasuredendangeredspecies–theGiantPandaandtheSichuanGoldenSnub-NosedMonkey(金丝猴).However,duetothepark'ssizeandthenumberoftourists,thechancesofseeingthemareslim.About20pandasreportedlylivewithintheboundariesofthepark.ThereisprobablyhigherchanceofseeingtheminZaruValley,thevalleydedicatedtoeco-tourismasofJuly2009.Inthemainvalleysyouaremorelikelytoseeothercreaturesincludingbirds(140specieshavebeenrecordedhere),insectsandfish.Despiteallthelakesinthepark,Jiuzhaigouisamazinglyfreeofmosquitoes.Nearly300km²ofthecorescenicareaiscoveredbyvirginmixedforests.Theflorachangesgreatlywithaltitude.Inthelowerregionsofthevalley,grassesandreedsabound.Thesearequicklyreplacedbybambooforestswhichinturngivewaytodeciduoustreesandconifersattheupperendofthevalley.Beyondthemtherockyslopesandsnow-cappedpeaksoftheMinShanrangedominatetheview.NotableNotableNotableNotablefeaturesfeaturesfeaturesfeaturesJiuzhaigouisallaboutseeing!Thecoloursofitslakes,treesandmountainsarebreathtakinganddefyadequatedescription.Thealtitudechangeswithinthevalleytocreatecontinualvariationsofflora,whichgiveeachlakeandwaterfallauniquequality.AlthoughJiuzhaigouisagreatplacetovisitatanytimeoftheyearSpringandautumnarebest.Winterprovidesmanymagnificentsightswithfrozenlakesandwaterfalls,butthedaytemperaturesareverylowandaccessibilitybyroadisneithereasynorguarantee-able.SummerscanbeslightlycrowdedwithbeautifulsunshineintheearlypartsanditoftenrainsinJulyandAugust.Thefreshairandlackofhumiditymakeitagreatbreakfromthecity.Autumnis,inmanyopinions,thepickoftheseasons.InlateSeptemberthroughOctobertoearlyNovemberthecolourcontrastsofredandgoldleavessetagainstthegreysoftheBambooforestandthedarkgreensoftheconifersprovidetheperfectbackdroptotheblue,cyanandvividgreenslakes.Jiuzhaigouhassome114Lakesandwaterfalls.Hereareaselectionofsceniclocationstovisit:*LongLakeisattheheadoftheZechawavalley.Atanaltitudeof3,060metresthisisthebiggestanddeepestlakeinJiuzhaigou.Thelakehasasurfaceareaofapproximately30sqKm’sandanaveragedepthof44metres.Oncleardaysitsdarkwoodedhillsidesandbluewatersareviewedagainstthebackdropofthe5000metresnowcappedMinShanmountains.Thislakehasnomajorinflowandreceiv