8 August 2008
Jiuzhai Valley and Northern Sichuan Tourism, Official Re-Opening:
Although Jiuzhai Valley or Huanglong National Parks in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of northern Sichuan did not experience any significant damage as a result of the May 12th earthquake, the national government restricted access to organised tourism to most of the northern Sichuan region. During this time Jiuzhai Valley and Huanglong National Parks continued to welcome tourists that travelled independently.
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1 September 2008
New Jiuzhai Valley National Park english language website:
Welcome to the new version of the Jiuzhai Valley National Park website, we are adding new content constently, so please check back again soon. We hope you enjoy it!

Science and Nature

Jiuzhai Valley's Wildlife

The varied habitats and wide altitudinal range make for a highly diverse and biologically important fauna. There are 170 vertebrate species, ten animals and two fish. This includes 27 state-protected rare and endangered species like the giant panda, golden monkey, gnue, white-lip deer, black-neck crane, swan, lovebirds, red-belly golden pheasant, snow leopard, forest musk deer, and otters.

The population of giant pandas in Jiuzhaigou National Park is 17 individuals although visitors are unlikely to see one in the wild. One reason for the low number of pandas is a result of the flowering of the Jiuzhai Valley’s bamboo flowering during the 1980’s. Once bamboo flowers it almost inevitably dies. The result of this was a loss of the pandas food source so it was necessary for them to move on to pastures new.

141 species of bird have been recorded in Jiuzhai Valley National Park. These include the lesser kestrel, Chinese grouse, Sichuan Jay, snowy creek laughing thrush, rufus-headed robin and a sub species of Tengmalm's owl.

Giant Panda:

Having lived for several million years, it is one of the oldest animals of the world that survived to date. The Giant Panda has been adopted as the symbol for the WWF since it's formation in 1966.

Giant pandas live in very limited areas of china and are a protected species. Threats faced by the Giant Panda included the fact that its forest habitats are fragmented and populations are small and isolated from each other and poaching. Jiuzhaigou National Park has been very successful to date in many programmes aimed at protecting the panda’s habitat, helping them to find each other through a panda corridor and eradicating poaching.

Sichuan Golden Monkey

Of the three golden monkey species in the world, the Sichuan species lives in Sichuan, Shanxi, Gansu and Hubei provinces in coniferous and broad-leaf mixed forests. This agile animal belongs to the primate family, feeds on wild fruits, and lives in spruce and fir woods. A rare species endemic to China, particularly to Jiuzhai Valley, the Sichuan golden monkey is medium sized, has a blue face, brown neck, and golden body hair which is usually over 30cm in length, and has an upward pointing nose.

Sichuan golden monkeys live in groups, often dozens or even hundreds of them in each group. The head monkey leads the group and enjoys services of several of its safekeeping guards that usually stand on some high spot for vigilance. When danger approaches, the guards will send out warning cries and the group will flee to a safer place.

Information on some of the park’s other inhabitants to follow shortly:

Rhesus Macaque, Asian Wild Dog, Red Panda, Asiatic Black Bear, Brown Bear, Yellow Throated Marten, Siberian Weasel, Gray Wolf, Leopard Cat, Asian Golden Cat, Large Indian Civet, Himalayan Palm Civet, Pallas’s Cat, Eurasian Lynx, Chinese Forest Musk Deer, Alpine Must Deer, Sika Deer, Tufted Deer, Chinese Goral, Serow, Blue Sheep, Boar, Hog Badger, Hedgehog, Himalayan Marmot, Pére David's Rock Squirrel, Duke of Bedford’s Vole.

Birds:

Swans:

The swans of Jiuzhai Valley are migrating birds that fly north in spring and settle in the south in winter. They inhabit the lakeside and swamps of Jiuzhai Valley and feed on aquatic animals as well as shells, fish and shrimps. Swans of Jiuzhai Valley are mostly large-sized and cygnets.

Lovebirds:

Endemic to china, they are small in size with flowery feathers and reddish brown beak and yellow-white rings around its brown eyes. They tend to inhabit quiet places, such as the lake surface or in secluded tree holes. The male and female always stay together, hence the name “lovebirds”.

Green-tailed pheasant:

A rare pheasant species, it inhabits alpine meadow shrubs or among rocks, at an altitude between 3000 to 4000 meters. As it feeds on fritillary corms, it is called the “fritillary cock”. And, because it sometimes secretly approaches the farmhouse or hunter's tent to eat their charcoal, it is also called the “charcoal cock”.

Red-Belly Golden Pheasant

Endemic to china, it has large crown feathers dropping down to its neck. The neck feathers cover its shoulders, the colour of which changes from golden yellow to rusty red with emerald-green spots. In the heat, it erects its neck feathers into something like a fan. This pheasant can often be seen in Jiuzhai Valley.

Blue Eared Pheasant:

Blue and grey, it has crimson cheeks, with white feathers around the ear and the upper neck almost like the facial makeup that has been likened to that of Beijing Opera! It also has a marvellous pair of lucent feathers dropping down from the neck. Endemic to china, it is a precious fowl equally precious as the giant panda and golden monkey.

Some of the park’s other birds: More information will follow shortly.

Chinese pond-herron, Little Egret, Whooper Swan, Ruddy Shelduck, Mallard, Common Merganser, Black Kite, Common Buzzard, Golden Eagle, Northern Harrier, Eurasian Hobby, Merlin, Lesser Kestrel, Chinese Hazel Grouse, Snow Partridge, Tibetan Snowcock, Pheasant Grouse, Blood Pheasant, Temminick’s Tragopan, Chinese Monal Pheasant, White Eared Pheasant, Blue Eared Pheasant, Yellow-necked Koklass Pheasant, Common Pheasant, Golden Pheasant, Black-winged Stilt, Snow Pigeon, Spotted Dove, Indian Cuckoo, Eurasian Cuckoo, Lesser Cuckoo, Asian Koel, Tengalm’s Owl, Fork-tailed Swift, Black-capped Kingfisher, Eurasian Hoopoe, Speckled Piculet, Black Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Three-toed Woodpecker, Hume’s Short-toed Lark, White Wagtail, Orienfnl Tree Pipit, Rosy Pipit, Long-tailed Minivet, Grey-backed Shrike, Eurasian Jay, Red-billed Blue Magpie, Large-billed Crow, Collared Crow, White-throated Dipper, Brown Dipper, Wren, Rufous-breasted Accentor, 55

Fish:

Songpan Naked Carp:

Without scales, it is small in size and grows and matures slowly. This alpine cold-water fish feeds on various kinds of food. The Songpan naked carp is a lucky species, being regarded by the local people as the aquatic eidolon. It is a wonder that, only this naked carp, of all other fish, survives in Jiuzhai Valley. In 1983, Sichuan Bureau of Aquatic Production and Dujiangyan Administration jointly conducted an experiment in the Jinghai (Mirror) Lake. They set free 55 trout but all disappeared one year later.