Jiuzhaigou

Tag: China

Jiuzhaigou is the most incredible national park I’ve ever been to, and the highlight of my recent trip to China. One friend said “it looks a bit like New Zealand” after seeing the photos, and that can only be a compliment.

It used to require a 8-10 hour bus ride from Chengdu. Thankfully, since August 2024, there’s a high speed rail line from Chengdu East railway station to Songpan and Huanglongjiuzhai stations. Huanglongjiuzhai station is essentially a fork which is a 1 hour bus ride to Huanglong (Yellow Dragon) Scenic Area (east) and 2 hour bus ride to Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area (north, then east). Add half an hour for Songpan which is further south. As it is a fork, to get between Huanglong and Jiuzhaigou, you need to go back the way you came.

Huanglong National Park

Rating (in Michelin stars out of 3): ★★ (worth a detour)

Huanglong National Park

Getting there

March 1

We actually went to Songpan station, which is the less popular station (due to it being further away), due to the train getting us into the area ~2 hours earlier than if we waited for the next Huanglongjiuzhai service.

From either Songpan or Huanglongjiuzhai stations, there are buses to take you to Huanglong Scenic Area or Jiuzhaigou National Park, timed to leave roughly half an hour after each train arrivals. You can book them (or charter cars) on trip.com (the 九旅悦行 WeChat mini-program requires a domestic mobile number).

However, we wanted enough time to see Huanglong whilst finishing the day at Jiuzhaigou, which if we took buses would require transferring at Huanglongjiuzhai station (the fork), hence we booked a charter car for about 850 RMB (for Songpan → Huanglong → Jiuzhaigou and then later → Huanglongjiuzhai).

Unfortunately, the travel agency I booked the charter car through (not via trip.com) arranged an unlicensed car, that got pulled over on the final day and fined 12,000 RMB. It wasn’t a big deal for us (besides a 15 minute delay which we could accommodate) as the agency quickly arranged a replacement car. The advice our new driver gave us was to use official vehicles (which we saw plenty of in Jiuzhaigou, but not in Huanglongjiuzhai or Huanglong), which we could also charter for the day - with the benefit that they were insured for carrying tourists.

Inside Huanglong

In early March, most of the park was covered with snow and the lakes were frozen, except for the very top (the Five Colour Pond, pictured).

To get up the mountain, there’s a cable car that takes you most of the way. Once you’re up there, you can either take a sightseeing bus or walk for an hour to the actual trail. Unfortunately, sightseeing bus tickets aren’t available for purchase on trip.com as of April 2025, and they are limited which may be a problem during peak periods, but it was fine for March.

The elevation is quite high in Huanglong, so you may want to bring a canister of oxygen with you. The going rate is 20 RMB, don’t get scammed. We didn’t end up buying any oxygen, though we were mindful to take lots of breaks to catch our breath.

Once you get off the sightseeing bus, the Five Colour Pond is just a bit higher up, and then you can walk down the mountain, which took us nearly 4 hours.

Jiuzhaigou National Park

Rating (in Michelin stars out of 3): ★★★ (worth a special journey)

Jiuzhaigou National Park

There’s a great map of the Jiuzhai Valley National Park on their official website.

Jiuzhai Valley National Park

We followed a recommended two-day itinerary I found somewhere on their site, starting at The Virgin Forest (top-right) on day 1 (though that was closed in March, so we started at the Grass Lake), and making your way down back to the tourist centre before lunch, before going up to Long Lake (top-left), and making your way back down to the Nuo Ri Lang Waterfall. Day 2 would then cover the remaining attractions south of the tourist centre.

In the past, off-peak tickets used to be a buy one day, get a second day free deal. But as of 2025, off-peak tickets are discounted, which is effectively the same.

You get around the park with shuttle buses included in the ticket price. From the park entrance, it’ll take you to one of the two ends of the forks. As you approach the tourist centre, the staff at the front of the bus will ask in Chinese (and not English), if anyone is returning for a second day (almost nobody does), which will influence either which fork they take or they will stop at the tourist centre where you can change buses. If you’re coming back for a second day, I would recommend speaking to the staff earlier in the trip to avoid miscommunication. You can either walk between the various attractions or take the shuttle bus.

There’s a tonne of food options at the visitor centre, across the multiple buildings - there’s a newer one with an outdoor courtyard in the middle which we really enjoyed, as well as an older multi-storey one which seemed to cater for tour groups.

I absolutely loved the blue pristine waters, the snow-capped mountains and waterfalls. The timber boardwalks made it pleasant to walk around with lots of bathrooms and food vendors, and there it wasn’t crowded once people dispersed from the bus stops.

Jiuzhaigou National Park

We ended up leaving after lunch on the second day, a bit earlier than originally planned, so it wasn’t a full two days, but one would have felt a bit too rushed, which is not necessary during off-peak and when the park is so beautiful.

Finally, we stayed 3 km to the north-east of the park. I would recommend staying to the north-west of the park (Pengfeng Village) instead for more vibrant night life and food options.

Getting out

Chengdu

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding

Rating (in Michelin stars out of 3): ★★ (worth a detour)

I had seen online that pandas don’t like rain, they eat really early (8 am) and they go to sleep after they eat (11 am).

To accommodate the pandas:

Yeah, the pandas were a big deal.

We arrived at 8 am and stayed until around 1 pm. The park is absolutely huge - and it only dawned on us around 11 am that we’d need to be more strategic to see a good portion of it in the time we had.

The south side is older and has more panda enclosures closer together, where you can get closer to them. The west side is newer (with air conditioned spaces for the pandas in summer), more spacious and distant. I’d recommend checking both sides out, and paying for the shuttle bus that gets you around the park.

Jianshe Alley

Rating (in Michelin stars out of 3): ★★ (worth a detour)

Incredible street food. We enjoyed:

And regret not staying longer for more!

Chunxi Road and Tianfu Square

Rating (in Michelin stars out of 3): ★ (worth a stop)

Chunxi Road is a huge pedestrian shopping street.

Tianfu Square is a huge public square.

Neither are particularly interesting, but as they’re in close proximity to each other, collectively they’re worth a stop.

People’s Park

Rating (in Michelin stars out of 3): ★ (worth a stop)

We loved this park, not because there was anything inherently beautiful about it, but because of the liveliness of it. There were people playing cards, dancing, singing, playing badminton without a net, browsing printed displays of dating profiles, drinking tea, as well as a surprisingly large (and mostly empty) mini amusement park for children.

Kuanzhai Alley and Jinli Road

Rating (in Michelin stars out of 3): N/A

Both felt inauthentic in their pristine, restored architecture, overly touristy. I would avoid and spend more time in Jianshe Alley instead.