Jiuzhai Gou

Jiuzhai Gou lies in the Ebei Zang Autonomous Region of Sichuan Province. It is a valley among the mountains, which stretchs as wide as 30 kilometers and covers an area of 50 square kilometers. The valley is named "Jiuzhai Gou" because around it there are 9 villages, home of the Zang nation-ality. In its isolation from densely populated towns and cities, the valley has preserved its natural environment.
Foremost among its scenic beauties are the colorful lakes of the Jiuzhai Gou. In the vast green primitive forest dozens of peaks penetrate the clouds, capped with snow all year around. More than a hundred lakes like resplendent pearls are inlaid on the colorful ribbon-like valley. According to the legend, these lakes were a hundred mirrors that God presented to the Goddess to ex-press his love for her. The smaller lakes are only about half a square mu, and the larger ones more than thousand square mus. The bottoms of the lakes are covered with a layer of milky white chalk stones. The water is so clear that the bottom is visible to the eye. Blue sky, white clouds, snowy mountains and wooded forests are all reflected in the water. The lakes are bright with many colors.
The unique waterfalls are also part of the magnificent landscape of Jiuzhai Gou. The Nuorilang Falls are the grandest among the numerous falls. These falls have a drop of over 20 meters and are more than 100 meters wide. The water flows at great speed through trees on the heights and falls down into the forest in the bottom of the valley.
The height of Jiuzhai Gou varies from 2,000 to 4,500 meters. It is rich in animal and plant life resources. Such rare and highly valued animals as the giant panda, golden monkey and golden cat, etc. inhabit in the vast primitive forest. Many kinds of natural vegetation are dispersed throughout places of different elevations. Jiuzhai Gou has become a fine research place for study of natural ecology, organism evolution, antiquity, geography, and meteorology.