Jiuzhaigou Valley, or the "Valley of Nine Villages", has experienced a development similar to that of Huanglong. Like Huanglong, Jiuzhaigou Valley was registered in 1992 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but unlike Huanglong, Jiuzhaigou Valley became a World Biosphere Reserve in 1997, and opened two years later as an official tourist site. The remote region was inhabited by various Tibetan and Qiang peoples for centuries, but was not officially discovered by the government until 1972. Extensive logging took place until 1979, when the Chinese government banned such activity and made the area a national park in 1982. An Administration Bureau was established and the site officially opened to tourism in 1984; layout of facilities and regulations were completed in 1987.

 

Jiuzhaigou Valley is also renowned for its special varieties of rhododendron and bamboo, and its 140 different bird species. Like Huanglong, Jiuzhaigou Valley is an alpine environment, albeit a gentler shaped and more brilliant one. It has the same "bedrock" of calcite deposits into which are etched a variety of brightly colored transparent pools – many of which are full-fledged emerald lakes – with multi-faceted stones strewn about the bottom that twinkle when they catch the sun. Jiuzhaigou Valley lies in a transitional climate zone where northern and southern biotopes overlap, making the area a fascinating botanical and zoological garden.

 

Climate: Jiuzhaigou Valley is not only famous for its beauty, but also famous for its pleasant weather. The average spring-to-summer temperature in the valley ranges from a nightly low of 9 degrees centigrade to a daytime high of 18 degrees centigrade.