JiuZhai Gou

Old May 19th, 2007, 03:55 PM
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JiuZhai Gou

Could not find any post of JIUZHAI GOU in this forum, there has been bit and pieces of info only.
Very little mention of visits by posters,
Even my Eyewitness guide book has only a little one pager of info about the park. How difficult is it to visit on your own without the benefit of organized tour.
My understanding is to fly into Chengdu and take a long distance bus from there.

Would appreciate any input such as tranportation, accomondation in or outside of the park, personal experience, both good or bad.

Is the road leading to the park narrow and mountainous. Therefore, road safety is a concern.

Is this the kind of park that appeals more to Chinese tourist than Westerners?

We plan to visit mid-Nov. too cold?

Final question, is my time better spent at mountains such as Emei Shan or Dafo, Le Shan.

Many Thanks
samuell is offline  
Old May 19th, 2007, 05:07 PM
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I have not been to Jiuzhaigou, but my parents have been there twice, and many other relatives of mine have been there too. However, each time they were on an organized tour.

There's now the Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport (IATA code: JZH) that serves those two national parks, and flying is the preferred way to get there. Before, it was a 2-day trip by road from Chengdu. The airport is closer to Huanglong, and is still about 100km from Jiuzhai.

Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong are very popular with Chinese tourists these days. They, along with Zhangjiajie in Hunan, have become "must go" places for newly-affluent Chinese from the coastal cities.

Jiuzhaigou is particularly bad. You must ride the national park bus inside between scenic spots (even if you're on a group tour), and getting on the bus at each stop is a huge hassle.

Huanglong has much higher elevation, and is a little less crowded. Altitude sickness is a problem there, and many people would ride on sedan chairs instead to the highest spot.

In my very personal, humble opinion, we are about 12-15 years too late to really catch the natural beauty of those parks, especially Jiuzhaigou. Now, all you see are Chinese tourists all over the place. It's very very beautiful, but I wouldn't go there during regular seasons.

Now, those parks can easily be totally snow covered by mid-November, but I'm not sure how accessible they are, and if they're open to visitors. Huanglong, probably not. Jiuzhai, I don't know.
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Old May 19th, 2007, 07:02 PM
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JZG is one of the most amazing scenic spots I have ever visited. We were there a few Easters ago and experienced quite extreme temperatures. At the top it was snowing and at the bottom the temperatures were much warmer. You see the most amazing colours in the pools. Unfortunately we didn't get to Huanglong (which I gather is prettier) because the road was closed. Don't take the bus but fly. JZG appears to be a Chinese secret. There were some foreign tourists but it's mainly locals who visit and if you ask any Chinese I'd say they would nominate that as a top scenic spot compared to Quilin etc.
I have been to Le Shan and it's not comparable. I only got to the cable car station of Emei Shan but I've been told that Emei is a must. My recommendation is if you are in the area to not miss JZG and Emei.
No road safety issue in the park or around JZG but the road from Chengdu to JZG is hazardous.
We stayed at the Sheraton which I would highly recommend as it's near the JZG national park. Inside the park you can only ride in the buses provided, no private vehicles allowed.
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Old May 19th, 2007, 09:47 PM
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Planing to go there this July. BKK to Lijiang and Jiuzhaigou.
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Old May 20th, 2007, 12:11 PM
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Thanks you so much, I guess we will pass this time, may be next trip.
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Old May 20th, 2007, 01:44 PM
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For those who may not know, one of the main scenes in the movie "Hero" is pictured there, with a sword fight between Jet Li and Tony Leung over one of the lakes there.

Think about combining the Sierra Nevada mountains, Yellowstone as well as Plitvice Lakes in Croatia. Unfortunately, also add thousands of Chinese tourists.
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Old May 21st, 2007, 12:45 AM
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I have visited both places - they are beautiful, but as rkkwan says they are very busy! A lot of time was spent being jostled along pathways - we went in July/August time. It may be cold in mid Nov, but this may mean its less crowded & nicer.
I didn't feel any worry about road safety.
The other places you mention as alternatives are quite different to this area scenically.
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