by Kelvin Khor



Day 2 of the tour brought us to JiuZhaiGou. I was actually looking forward to see JiuZhaiGou much more than HuangLong. Perhaps it was her fame that shadowing the latter. Or perhaps it was due to those countless photos that I had seen. Either one, I really did not care. I was going to see it with my own eyes. Therefore, I was all excited that morning. The morning temperature was report near zero degree Celsius with overcast sky again. I was disappointed with the weather but there wasn’t anything I could do to change it. As I always say, make the best out of a given situation rather than complaining about it. Stepping out from hotel, I was greeted with this scene. The golden morning light gave a spark of hope but it turned out that was the only sun light I saw that day.



With a development area of 140 square kilometers, JiuZhaiGou gains its name from its nine Tibetan villages. It is reported at peak season, 20 thousands visitors enter JiuZhaiGou daily. Upon arriving at the main gate, I had no doubt the number was not over reported.



There is a Chinese saying 'After returning from HuangShan Mountain, no other mountains you want to see. After returning from JiuZhaiGou, no other water you want to see.' Sorry for poor translation, it is too complex to describe a Chinese saying with other languages. Yes, the main attraction of JiuZhaiGou is water!



JiuZhaiGou is a 50 Km long Y-shape valley filled with over 100 big and small lakes. The valleys are ShuZhengGou (14Km long), RiZeGou (17Km) and ZeZhaWaGou (18Km). The lakes are special due to their high concentration of calcium carbonate and sparkling gem like color.



Lakes and waterfalls are what attracted thousands and thousands of visitors from home and abroad to this fairy land.





The lake water was crystal clear. In fact, with high concentration of calcium carbonate, the fallen trees and lakebeds were covered with crystal. Most lakes were emerald in color and resemble gigantic piece of precious gem. These were the most colorful and unique lakes I had ever seen.



Waterfalls were formed due to different level between lakes. As the water cascading, it ran through field of vegetations and rocks. This kind of scenery was everywhere in JiuZhaiGou. They were splendid to see.





Visitors are not allowed to camp in the park and there is no hotel inside the park. However, if you are on backpack you can find accommodation in Tibetans home. Some of them rent out extra rooms for visitors. Do not expect any star rating service though. If your primary objective is photography, I would recommend staying inside JiuZhaiGou. It is because the park operates from 7am to 5pm. And you would not have missed the early and late hour light. Give yourselves minimum two days in JiuZhaiGou alone for photography. Tracks are built along the valleys and it is best that you go on your foot than taking shuttle bus.



JiuZhaiGou is opened through out four seasons. The best time to visit according to most feedback is winter follows by fall. My two days visit to HuangLong and JiuZhaiGou are too short and rush but they have already given me an unforgettable memory. Between these two places, I would say JiuZhaiGou is one of the places that you must visit in your life time. And I already thinking of going back in winter.

TIPS:

I always get question on what gears to bring. So, these are what I recommend and items with “*” are a must:

1. Camera *. I use Canon 1DMKII. Bring a backup body if you have.
2. Wide angle lens *. I use Canon 17-40L F4.
3. Telephoto-lens *. I use Canon 24-105L F4. I also recommend 70-200 range lenses.
4. Stable tripod *. Light weight one is preferable if you plan to walk.
5. Circular polarizer filter *. Can’t shoot water (lake, waterfall and stream) without it.
6. Portable storage or plenty of memory cards *
7. Batteries and batteries (for camera and portable storage) *
8. Wired shutter release

More pictures of JiuZhaiGou can be found HERE

End of Part II

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