Jiuzhaigou

Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area
九寨沟风景名胜区
From top, left to right:
Five Flower Lake, Five Colour Pond, Nuorilang Falls, Pearl Shoal Falls
Map showing the location of Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area 九寨沟风景名胜区
Map showing the location of Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area 九寨沟风景名胜区
LocationJiuzhaigou County, Sichuan
Nearest citySongpan
Coordinates33°12′N 103°54′E / 33.200°N 103.900°E / 33.200; 103.900
Area720 km2 (280 sq mi)
Established1978
Visitors1,190,000 (in 2002)
Governing bodySichuan Provincial Commission for Construction
CriteriaNatural: (vii)
Reference637
Inscription1992 (16th Session)
Area72,000 ha (280 sq mi)
Jiuzhaigou
"Valley of Nine Fortified Villages (Jiuzhaigou)" in Simplified Chinese (top), Traditional Chinese (middle), and Tibetan (bottom) characters
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese九寨沟
Traditional Chinese九寨溝
Literal meaning"Valley of Nine Fortified Villages"
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinJiǔzhàigōu
Wade–GilesChiu3-chai4-kou1
IPA[tɕjòʊ.ʈʂâɪ.kóʊ]
Tibetan name
Tibetanགཟི་རྩ་སྡེ་དགུ།
Transcriptions
Wyliegzi-rtsa sde-dgu
Tibetan PinyinSirza Degu

Jiuzhaigou ([tɕjòʊ.ʈʂâɪ.kóʊ] ; Chinese: 九寨沟; pinyin: Jiǔzhàigōu) is a nature reserve and national park located in the north of Sichuan Province in southwestern China.The southern end is the Minshan Garna Peak, and the northern end is the Huanglong Scenic Area. It originates from the Baishui River area, one of the headwaters of the Jialing River and a part of the Yangtze River system.[1] A long valley running north to south, Jiuzhaigou was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1992 and a World Biosphere Reserve in 1997.[2] It belongs to the category V (Protected Landscape) in the IUCN system of protected area categorization.

The Jiuzhaigou valley is part of the Min Mountains on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau and stretches over 72,000 hectares (180,000 acres). It has an altitude of over 4800 meters and is composed of a series of diverse forest ecosystems.[3] It is known for its many multi-level waterfalls, colorful lakes, and snow-capped peaks. Its elevation ranges from 2,000 to 4,500 metres (6,600 to 14,800 ft).

  1. ^ Huadong, Guo (2013), Huadong, Guo (ed.), "Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area", Atlas of Remote Sensing for World Heritage: China, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 272–281, doi:10.1007/978-3-642-32823-7_38, ISBN 978-3-642-32823-7, retrieved 2024-03-28
  2. ^ "Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2017-08-16.
  3. ^ "Forest Change Over Millennia", The World Atlas of Trees and Forests, Princeton University Press, pp. 304–331, 2022-09-20, doi:10.2307/j.ctv23r3gdg.13, retrieved 2024-03-28