Nuorilang Falls
320 metres wide.
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A mountain valley on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau in the Min Mountains, counted among China's most beautiful landscapes, with dozens of turquoise lakes, terraced waterfalls, forests and snow-capped peaks; it covers 72,000 hectares between 2,000 and 4,500 metres above sea level and has been on UNESCO's World Heritage List since 1992. Its name means «Valley of Nine Villages», after the nine Tibetan villages along it, seven of which are still lived in; it stayed almost unknown until a scientific survey in 1975, became a nature reserve in 1980 and opened to visitors in 1984. In August 2017 a magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck, closing it until March 2018, when it reopened. The valley forks like a Y into three branches; in the main Shuzheng valley 19 ribbon lakes step down one after another and Nuorilang Falls thunder 320 metres wide and 20 metres high, said to be the widest highland waterfall in China, while park buses carry visitors between stops and long boardwalks follow the lakeshores. Tickets cost CNY 190 plus CNY 90 for the valley bus from 1 April to 15 November, and CNY 80 plus 80 for the rest of the year, booked online in advance in the visitor's name with a passport and capped at 41,000 visitors a day; the buses run from 8:00 to 18:00 in season, per visitor guides. October, when the forests turn colour, is the loveliest month, and bring warm layers, as mountain weather changes fast.
320 metres wide.
19 stepped lakes.
Along the valley.
Valley entrance, Jiuzhaigou County, northern Sichuan
Yes, the ticket and bus are bought online in the visitor's name with a passport, with a daily cap on visitors, and the ticket is valid for one day, per visitor guides.
Jiuzhaigou town at the valley gate has many restaurants, Tibetan food relies on yak meat and barley, and neighbouring Songpan County, on the road to Huanglong, is home to Hui Muslims; look for the halal sign and always ask about ingredients.