October 2011
Road from Chengdu to Jiuzhai Valley
The new "tunneltastic" road from chengdu (as described by the Lonely Planet China 2011) has not yet been completed and as of November 2011 the journey takes about 8 hours by bus in normal weather and traffic conditions. As work continues on the road and new tunnels and bridges continue to open it is claimed that times will be reduced by a number of hours.
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August 2011
Jiuzhai Valley Blogs in the New York Times:
The below blogs give an insight into some of the ongoing research by the Jiuzhai Valley science department. The blogs were written by Amanda Schmidt, an assistant professor of geology at Oberlin College, who was based in Jiuzhai Valley National Park's Sceince Department for 10 months during 2010.
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August 2010
Weather update:
Jiuzhai Valley National Park has experienced no affects of the bad weather that has devestated other parts of China during the summer. There have been no mudslides or landslides in the national park or the area outside of the park where visitors will stay. Click here for more information.
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5 June 2010
World Environment Day:
On the 5th of June we celebrated World Environment Day 2010. The United Nations has declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity and the theme of this year’s World Environment Day was “Many Species. One Planet. One Future.” It echoes the urgent call to conserve the diversity of life on our planet. A world without biodiversity is a very bleak prospect and this is something that we in Jiuzhai Valley National Park are very aware of.
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June 2010
Summer 2010 in Jiuzhai Valley:
Jiuzhai Valley National Park is open from 7am every morning. We advise you to enter the park as early as possible to get the most from your experience. It’s a great time of year to take part in one of our eco-toruism hikes. For more details click here.
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May 2010
Jiuzhai Valley featured on Tides of Time:
For the third consecutive year, UNESCO have partnered with the International Herlad Tribune and Jaeger-LeCoultre to raise awareness and funds for the preservation of endangered ecosystems. View the features on Jiuzhai Valley on UNESCO's website and on Jaeger LeCoultre's.
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17 May 2010
Zharu Eco-tourism on Reuters:
Hiking into the heart of Tibetan “Paradise”. Jack Li, our eco-tourism manager accompanied this journalist and her family into Zharu Valley in April. Read her account here.
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5 June 2009
World Environment Day:
Jiuzhai Valley National Park, UNESCO World Heritage Site, will be supporting UNEP World Environment Day on June 5th. The theme of this year’s World Environment Day – “Your planet needs you” – is meant to inspire all of us to do our part.
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1 June 2009
Children’s Day:
June the 1st is International Children’s day and on that day all children under the age of 14 will enjoy free admission to Jiuzhai Valley National Park.
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12 May 2009
The busiest day in the history of Jiuzhai Valley National Park.:
A big thank you to all the friends and guests who came to Jiuzhai Valley on the 12th of May 2009. It was the busiest day in the history of Jiuzhai Valley and provided a much needed boost to the local economy.
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12 May 2009
Earthquake anniversary ceremony:
To cememorate the devestating Sichuan earthquake and those who lost their lives, Jiuzhai Valley will offer free entry to everybody on May 12th 2009.
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Spring 2009 Update
Spring time has arrived in Jiuzhai Valley and so the park’s opening hour’s will be 7am – 6:30pm from May 1st.
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1 April 2009
2nd day ticket from April 1st 2009:
From April 1st until June 30th 2009 your entry ticket is valid for two days (bus ticket is valid for one day).
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Eco-Tourism 2009
Eco-tourism, including hiking and camping is close to being opened in the park for the first time this year.
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1 March 2009
Jiuzhai Valley in the March ‘09 issue of the National Geographic Magazine.
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Plan your visit

Getting around the park

Bus:

Jiuzhai Valley National Park provides a shuttle bus service to transport visitors around the park. Busses start running at 7am when the park opens and run until the park closes. Jiuzhai Valley busses drop off and pick up visitors at each of the scenic spots throughout the park. You are free to get on and off busses as frequently as you like once you have purchased a bus ticket.

Walking:

There are over 70km of eco-friendly wooden trails throughout Jiuzhai Valley National Park. Not only do these increase the sustainability of tourism in the park by reducing the impact of visitors on the environment, they also maximise visitor enjoyment by facilitating walking through the national park to sites not visible from the road. In the forests, on the other side of the lakes and away from the road, walking through the park is even more peaceful.

It is possible to get the bus to the top of one of the park’s valleys and walk all the way out. This should take the best part of one day. If you would like to walk all of the three valleys two full days would be required.

For more information, take a look at our Map page.

The fastest way to see the park

Rushing through the park is a wasted opportunity and is not recommended since such scenery can take a while to be absorbed by the senses and thus properly appreciated. Having said that if you are short on time and only have one day to spend inside Jiuzhai Valley we recommend you follow this rough guideline. The time taken to get through the park will depend on your fitness level and time taken to rest, eat and take photos.

Get on the bus as soon as the park opens and start with either A or B and finish with C.

A. Get the bus to Long Lake. Walk to the Five Coloured Pool and get the bus back to the centre of the park at Nuorilang.

B. Get the bus to the Virgin Forest and walk down to Grass and Swan Lakes. It is advisable to then bus to Arrow Bamboo Lake and walk back as far as Nuorilang. Depending on your progress you could hop on the bus for the longer distances between scenic sites. These are marked on signs throughout the park.

C. Get the bus from Nuorilang to Rhinoceros Lake and walk to He Ye Village. From there get the bus to the entrance.

If you move quickly the above can be done in a day and all the main sites will be seen (albeit at a blur). If you have more time there is nothing more peaceful than strolling along the wooden walkways, away from the crowds and exploring the less seen parts of the park. If you have a second day in the park you can do the reverse of your first day and walk on the paths that you didn’t the previous day to get a completely different view of the park.