World Heritage Sites Tour
Big Good News: Jiuzhaigou is fully open to tourists now, including the beautiful Panda Sea, Swan Sea and Wild Forest and other attractions in Rize Valley which had been closed for 4 years' recovery. Book a valuable Jiuzhaigou tour package with China Discovery now!
This is PRO-TOUR of Jiuzhaigou. You will explore beyond Jiuzhaigou valley to visit another national park Huanglong, more than 2000 years old Dujiangyan Irrigation System and one of China's most famous Taosit mountain - Qingcheng Mountain. It is also a tour of heritage as above 4 places are all UNESCO World Heritage Sites. You will travel by a comfortable private car from Chengdu, and drive northward to visit Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong for 2 days, then drive back, and stay a night in Dujiangyan city where you will have a classic day tour of Dujiangyan Irrigation System and Qingcheng Mountain. Lastly return to Chengdu.
Highlights of this tour
In early morning of today, your will meet your tour guide in your hotel loby, then leave the city and drive to Chuanzhusi Town, which is a beautiful small town near to Huanglong National Park. The distance between Chengdu and Chuanzhusi is about 350 kilometers, and need about 6~7 hours to drive. You will make a midway stop to visit Taoping Qiang Village, which is an ancient village of Qiang people, an important ethnic group in northern Sichuan. Taoping Qiang Village is best-preserved Qiang-style building group of watchtowers and folk houses all over the world, and it was built in 111 AD as the county pass and key defense area in West Han dynasty (206 BC - 9 AD) according to historic materials. Strolling in the village, you will be astonished by the so solid houses that compose like a maze.
You will arrive at Chuanzhusi Town in the afternoon. The rest of today is free for you to acclimatize the altitude (2900 m) and relax.
After breakfast, drive about 30 minutes from Chuanzhusi to visit Huanglong National Park. Situated in the Minshan Mountains in northwestern Sichuan Province, Huanglong Valley has one of three most outstanding examples of travertine lake terraces in the world, which is 3.6 Kilometers long, lying under the grandiose peak of Xuebao Peak (Snow Treasure Mountain: 5,588 meters) like a yellow dragon. This is how the valley gained the name of Huanglong (Yellow Dragon). The travertine scenery was created by the thousands years of geological evolution, including glacial revolution, terrane movement, chemical reaction, climate changing, etc. At the top (3556m) of the valley lies the best highlight - Five-Color Ponds consisting of 693 ponds of different sizes, shapes, colors, dazzling like beautiful emeralds. Huanglong Valley is also renowned for superlative sceneries of snow mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, wild forests, etc. as well as an important habitant of Giant Pandas and Snub-nosed monkeys. All these magnificences of nature helped Huanglong gained the title of World Natural Heritage Site in 1992.
It usually takes about 6 hours to hike from the entrance to Five-Color Ponds, then return to the entrance. To save energy and time, you will take a quick cable car directly to the top, and then walk down the valley to enjoy the scenery. After about 3-hour sightseeing in the valley, you will leave the park and drive about 2 hours to Jiuzhaigou to check in your hotel.
Useful tips: 1) some attractions in Huanglong valleys are located over 3500 meters above the sea level, which may cause high altitude sickness for some travelers. You’d better walk at a slower pace. If you feel hard to breathe or headache, you can go to the Oxygen Bars to rest and take oxygen; 2) Huanglong cableway is not operational in winters; 3) there is no restaurant in the valley, you can bring some food or snacks, or have lunch after exiting the park.
After breakfast at your hotel, set out for the full-day exploration of Jiuzhaigou National Park. Your guide will accompany you to hop on a sightseeing bus to enter the park to explore the fairyland landscape of Jiuzhaigou.
Having been hidden as a mysterious home to nine Tibetan villages and never been bothered by outsider until the first discovery in the middle 20th century, Jiuzhaigou is a reserve of superb and diverse natural beauty of which the waterfall and plateau lakes are praised as the most stunning waterscape in the world. According to official records, there are up to 114 turquoise pools and lakes, 47 tranquil springs, 17 groups of waterfalls, 11 rapids and 5 beautiful tufa shoals scattering in the three main valleys of Jiuzhaigou, Rize Valley, Zechawa Valley and Shuzheng Valley. They present various color patterns of white, blue, green, turquoise and emerald in different seasons. The visual feast of Jiuzhaigou also expand from waterscape to spectacular jagged alpine mountains, wild forests with multi-colors and many other remarkable natural features.
Visiting Jiuzhaigou Valley is relaxing and enjoyable. There are sightseeing buses running from the entrance to the three valleys with stops near the scenic spots. Travelers hop off the bus, walk along wooden plank roads to enjoy the sights, then hop on another bus to next attractions. Our tour guide will organize your visit route according to your time, energy and crowd level, and accompany you to explore the essence of Jiuzhaigou at a comfortable pace. The classic visit route is to take tourist bus from the entrance to Nuorilang Water Fall first, then transfer to Zechawa Valley to visit the Long Lake and Five-Color Pond, then move to Rize Valley to visit the Panda Lake, Five Flowers Lake, Pearl Shoal, Mirror Lake, etc. Lastly, get back to Nuorilang, and descend along Shuzheng Valley to the park entrance and visit Rhinoceros Lake, Tiger Lakes, Shuzheng Waterfall, Sparkling Lake, etc. on route.
After Jiuzhaigou sightseeing, your tour guide and driver will escort you back to your hotel.
Useful tips: 1) try to have breakfast and enter the park earlier to escape the crowds of tourist groups; 2) wear comfortable walking shoes and seasonal cloths based on your travel month; 3) Buffet lunch is provided in Nuorilang Restaurant (the only restaurant in the valley) but food options are limited. You can also bring some snacks or let your hotel prepare packed food for you if you like.
After breakfast, your guide will pick you up in your hotel, then drive about 6 hours to Dujiangyan City. Take a strop to enjoy beautiful plateau lake view of Diexi Lake on route. After check in your hotel in Dujiangyan downtown, you are free to relax and explore around.
Located in the west of Chengdu City, Dujiangyan is known by most people for its magnificent Irrigation System. The two thousand years old irrigation system is reputed as the forerunner of the world conservancy culture, and it’s the oldest and the only no control irrigation system in the world which is still in use. Besides this World Heritage Site, Dujiangyan is also the habitat of Giant Panda. (Note: If you are interested in taking a Panda Volunteering Program, please contact our travel consultant to arrange for you. The volunteering program usually takes a half day to finish.)
After breakfast, your guide and driver will pick you at your hotel in Chengdu downtown area, then drive about 1.5 hours to Dujiangyan. Upon arrival, you will first pay a visit to Dujiangyan Irrigation System, a 2000-year-old living world heritage to solve problems of diverting water without the use of dams. The system is still working to irrigate Chengdu Plain and it’s the real reason why Chengdu is called “the Land of Abundance”. Visit the three main parts of the weir woks controlling the water from the upper valley of the Minjiang River including Yuzui Bypass Dike, Feishayan Floodgate, Baopingkou Diversion Passage, and be amazed by the wisdom of ancient Chinese. After getting to know the theory of system, extend to the nearby Erwang Temple to meet Li Bing and his son who constructed this ecological engineering feat around 256 BC.
Later, drive about 16 kilometers to Mount Qingcheng (Front Mountain), the birthplace of Taoism! In 142 CE the philosopher Zhang Ling founded the doctrine of Chinese Taoism here. Most of the essential elements of Taoism culture are embodied in the teachings of Taoism that emanated from the temples that were subsequently built on the mountain during the Jin and Tang dynasties. In this afternoon, the first temple you are going to visit is Jianfu Palace built in 730 in Tang Dynasty. Walk into the holy palace to know many Taoism celebrities and appreciate the famous couplet regarded as “The First of Mount Qingcheng”. Then, enjoy the short boat experience across Yuecheng Lake which lying quietly at the middle of the mountain. Take the 5-minute Buyun Cableway up to the mountain. Next is a relaxing walk to the mountain top, and stop to visit Shangqing Palace for a deep understanding about Laozi, a famous ancient Chinese philosopher and the reputed author of the Tao Te Ching. Continue your walking to Laojun Pavilion situated at the highest peak of Mount Qingcheng (1,260 meters). This pavilion rises 33 meters in nine layers, from a square base symbolizing the Earth to a circular top symbolizing the round sky. Getting into the pavilion, you can view a huge statue of Laozi riding a water buffalo and get the breathtaking panoramic of the whole mountain. After the enjoyable time on the top, return via the same way you come.
After the tour, be escorted to your hotel in Chengdu downtown (1.5 hours’ driving). Service ends!
No documents found.
Chengdu / Huanglong / Jiuzhaigou
Chengdu / Huanglong / Jiuzhaigou / Chengdu
Jiuzhaigou Valley
No documents found.
“Very good experience”
“WONDERFUL 25 DAYS IN CHINA - PRIVATE TOUR”
“Awesome China tour from northeast to southwest”
1,580+
Reviews
