# Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟)

Jiuzhaigou and Aba Prefecture, Sichuan Province · Southwest, China · Guidebook rating: 5/5
Canonical: https://cnatrip.com/en/places/jiuzhaigou
Language: en

## Key facts

- **Admission:** Peak season: entrance ¥190, sightseeing bus ¥90; off-season: entrance ¥80, sightseeing bus ¥80
- **Time needed:** 1 day
- **Good for:** Hiking & Outdoors, Photography, Nature

## About Jiuzhaigou

No river is more colourful or pure than Jiuzhaigou's, and no mountain's foliage is more brilliant and varied. Here nature is never monochrome: in spring new buds turn green, in summer orioles and swallows dart about, in autumn the mountains blaze with red leaves, and in winter the ice gleams like jade. Water is the soul of Jiuzhaigou, which is why it is said that “once you have seen Jiuzhaigou's water, you need not see any other.”
The Shuzhenggou section is the main valley, about 14 km long, with more than 40 lakes (haizi), roughly 40% of all the lakes in the scenic area. It is the entrance to Jiuzhaigou: every visitor passes through Shuzheng Valley. Key sights include Penjing Beach, Reed Sea, Huohua Lake, Shuzheng Waterfall, Rhinoceros Lake and Nuorilang Waterfall. The Rizegou section is the highlight of the Jiuzhaigou scenic line, with stunningly beautiful and ever-changing scenery. Sights include the Nuorilang Lake Group, Mirror Lake, Pearl Shoals Waterfall, Peacock Channel, Five-Flower Lake, Panda Lake Waterfall, Arrow Bamboo Lake, Eagle Claw Cave, Swan Lake, Fangcao Lake, Jianyan Hanging Spring and the primeval forest. The Zharugou valley is the longest valley developed so far in Jiuzhaigou, at 18 km. It passes Jiwan Lake and Five-Colour Pond before reaching Changhai (Long Lake) at an altitude of 3,100 metres.

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Source: China Self-Guided Travel 2025 (《中国自助游》, Tianjin Science & Technology Press, Aug 2024), p. 367. Prices, hours and transport details are as printed in the August 2024 edition and may have changed. Always confirm with the venue before you travel.
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