Huanglong National Park
Name in Chinese: 黄龙 Huáng Lóng [hwæŋ lɔ:ŋ]
Duration of Tour: Half a Day
Location: Aba Tibetan and Qiang Minorities Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province
Highlights: Colorful Pools, Snow-capped Mountains, and Virgin Forest
Must-see Sightseeing Spots: the Multi-colored Pools(Wucaichi in Chinese)
Reputations: A World Natural Heritage Site, A National Five-star Scenic Area, A World Bio-sphere Reserve, A Key National Natural Reserve, A National Geo-park
Huanglong National Park is widely known as the Fairy-pond on the earth. Huanglong literally means yellow dragon. It is called Se’ercuo in Tibetan language, which means golden lakes. The park is located in Songpan County, around 100 km(62 miles) away from Jiuzhai Valley. Huanglong Valley is famous for its three wonders, including colorful pools, snow-capped mountains, and virgin forest. The altitude of the park ranges from 3,000 meters(9,842 feet) to 3,900 meters(12,795 feet) above sea level.
A folk tale goes that a long time ago floods frequently occurred in the surrounding area and local people suffered a lot. A legendary figure whose name was Dayu arranged his people to join the work for the water control. The pools were supposed to be the water conservancy project built by Dayu. The Yellow Dragon went to take part in the water control work. He helped Dayu a lot to complete the water control system. After the flood was controlled, Dayu became the king of his land. He passed his throne to his son, then the first dynasty was founded. It was called Xia Dynasty which lasted from 21st century B.C. to 16th century B.C.. It is said that the Yellow Dragon stayed and safeguarded the valley. In order to commemorate the Yellow Dragon, the valley was named after him by people.
Another folk tale goes that the seventh daughter of the Jade Emperor once descended to the world and did not return to the heaven. She fell in love with Dong Yong, a poor man. They married. According to the law of the heavenly court, gods and goddesses were not allowed to marry humans. The Jade Emperor became angry upon hearing the report about his daughter. He immediately sent his troops down to human’s world to bring his daughter back. The Fairy Maiden rode a horse and run away. The troops chased her wherever she went. As she passed the Yellow Dragon Valley, the troops still followed her. The soldiers’ feet and horses’ hooves disorderly trod the valley, then unexpectedly turned into thousands of colorful pools.
It is a rare type of Karst topography. In fact, the pools are formed due to calcification. There are more than 3,400 colorful terraced pools in the valley. The highlight is the Multi-colored Pools which scatter on the top of the valley. The sightseeing spots of Huanglong Valley are listed in the following.
The Multi-colored Pools
Located on the top of Huanglong Valley, the gorgeous view at the Multi-colored Pools is the highlight of the whole scenic area. There are 693 calcification barrier pools at the sightseeing spot. Its altitude is about 3,900 meters(12,795 feet) above sea level. The pools look like mirrors reflecting various light, some green, some sapphire, some yellow.
Huanglong Temple
Huanglon Temple was built in Ming Dynasty(1368--1644). It was built in memory of the Yellow Dragon. Its altitude is 3,558 meters(11,673 feet) above sea level, and 3.5 kilometers(2 miles) away from the exit.
The Golden Shallow Stream (Jin Sha Pu Di in Chinese)
The stream is 1,500 meters(4,921 feet) in length, and 100 meters(328 feet) in width. It lies on a slope which is covered with calci-deposition. Water flows over the calcification. The stream appears yellowish under the sunshine, dotted with colorful patches, some gray, some pale and some green. It looks like a yellow dragon covered with coloured scales.
The Terraced Waterfall (Fei Pu Liu Hui)
The Terraced Waterfall is 10 meters(33 feet) in height and 60 meters(197 feet) in width. Water rushes out of the bushes, splashes onto the rocks, and turned into small drops.
Yingbin Pools
Yingbin means to welcome a guest. It consists of over 100 terraced pools. Most of those pools are blue. The pools are embraced by the surrounding verdant trees. Mountains, clouds and trees are reflected in the mirror-like pools.
Travel Tips
How to get to Huanglong Valley
Huanglong Valley is located in Songpan County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Group Autonomous Prefecture. The Town nearby is called Chuanzhu. The valley lies to the west of Jiuzhai Valley, north to Chengdu. It is about 100 km(62 miles) away from Jiuzhaigou, and 350 km(217 miles) away from Chengdu. It takes around 2 hours by car to get to Huanglong Valley from Jiuzhai Valley, and 7 hours from Chengdu. Jiuzhai-Huanglong Airport is located in Chuanzhu Town. The airport is 38 km(24 miles) away from the valley. It operates the flights connecting Jiuzhaigou with Chengdu and cities in neighboring provinces, like Xi’an and Chongqing. But the altitude is quite high. It is 3459 meters(11350 feet) above sea level. We highly suggest our clients to travel to Jiuzhaigou by car, because most of people may suffer from altitude sickness if they directly ascend to the height over 3,000 meters(9,842 feet) above sea level. It takes time for the body to acclimate the high altitude. Read more about the Altitude Sickness.
How to Visit Huanglong
Visitors usually take a cable-car to the Upper Cable-car Station, then walk around one hour up to the Multi-colored Pools along the well-paved path. Afterwards, step down to visit Huanglong Temple, the Golden Shallow Stream, the Terraced Waterfall, Yingbin Pools and other sightseeing spots along the path. Most part of the path is stairway. The route mentioned is the most easy one. Some people also hike to the valley top. But sometimes they may miss the good time to visit the highlight.
How to Avoid Altitude Sickness
The altitude of Huanglong Valley ranges from 3,000 meters(9,843 feet) to 3,900 meters(12,795 feet) above sea level. The altitude of the Multi-colored Pools is quite high, visitors must try to avoid the AMS. Please read more about AMS.
Weather
The temperature in Huanglong National Park ranges from minus 1℃(30.2°F) to 13℃(55.4°F) in spring, 14℃(57.2°F) to 28℃(82.4°F) in summer, 11℃(51.8°F) to 23℃(73.4°F) in autumn and minus 7℃(19.4°F) to 5℃(41°F) in winter. The best time to visit Hailuogou Valley is between September and October. Visitors should try to avoid going to Hailuogou Valley in the rainy season. The rainy season in Sichuan lasts from July to August.
Because the altitude is high, visitors should prepare warm coat and try to decrease the risk of catching a cold.
Photography Tips
We recommend photographers to get to the Multi-colored Pools before 10:30A.M. The weather changes momentarily in Huanglong Valley. It usually becomes foggy after 2:00P.M.. A tripod, a filter, telephoto lenses and wide angle lenses are needed.
Recommended Tour:
Four-Days Fairyland Jiuzhai Valley with Panda Tour
Related Articles:
Jiuzhai Valley National Park
Altitude Sickness
Author: Tina Luo
Update:
