World of Wonders - Fairyland on Earth

Cascades of water glittered as diamond-like drops tinkled melodiously. It was a fairyland, a place where turquoise saturated lakes seemed transparent. We had believed a place of this kind of beauty could only be found in the imagination of children or romantics.

Such a place does exist in the north west of China’s Sichuan province, on the edge of the mountainous Tibetan plateau.

The Chinese have a saying, “Once you have been to Jiuzhai Gou, you never have to see another waterfall or lake in your life,” and this place is indelibly imprinted on our minds as one of the most beautiful places we have ever visited.

Of equal impression was getting to Jiuzhai Gou, and how the Chinese can engage in mass tourism. Signing up on a cheap Chinese tour , we get what we paid for and are crammed in for a fourteen-hour bus ride on a bus with insufficient seats, or space for luggage.

From Sichuan’s capital Chengdu we travel northward over rutted, winding mountain roads into an area inhabited by ethnic Tibetans rather than Chinese.

Despite the Chinese tourists on our tour bus singing Karaoke as we bounce through charming Tibetan villages, it does feel as if we are getting off the beaten track.

We are, after all, heading to a place the Chinese promotional brochure describes as, “Fairyland on earth” with lakes, waterfalls, beaches, rivers, snow covered peaks, and forests.

Arriving at the Jiuzhai Gou Scenic Area entrance we are stunned into silence, not by the beauty of the place but the harsh concrete welcome center and a sea of a thousand black heads. Meekly, we follow our guide and group as we are deposited on a “Green Bus,” apparently so called because they are environmentally friendly.

These buses are designed to transport around 3,000 tourists a day on a route of scenic stops around the Jiuzhai Gou Scenic Area. The buses are overfull and the windows are dirty. Shocked by the thousands of tourists we are silent, but arriving at Arrow Bamboo Lake, reflecting an arrow shaped alpine mountain in its depths, all is forgotten but its’ incredible beauty.

Jiuzhai Gou means Nine Villages Gully for the Tibetan communities that originally inhabited this spectacular area. We elect to walk rather than pile on the Green Bus and follow rivers that gush and trickle through this pretty mountain scenery.

At Five Flower Lake the water is sapphire blue and still, reflecting the snowcapped peaks while it is so transparent we can see the branches accumulated in its depths.

Sparkling captivatingly, catching the light that filters through a rainbow of yellow, orange and green leaves, at Pearl Waterfall, the water drops like crystals on a chandelier. These cascades cause one to catch breath in sheer appreciation of nature.

Certainly, we need to wait our turn to take a photograph, and its impossible not to see the thousands of other tourists, but their excitement is infectious and we can’t help be energized and enraptured by this wondrous place.

Our day is filled with snow capped peaks, clear lakes and forest and in the afternoon we wander by Tibetan prayer wheels, driven by gushing streams while stupas add to the charm.

Over 100 kilometres south of Jiuzhai Gou, lies Huanglong Valley, surrounded by snowcapped peaks over 5,000 metres. UNESCO made both areas World Nature Heritage Sites in 1992.

Visiting Huanglong Valley the day after the exquisite nature of Jiuzhai Gou, our hearts are light; and we wondered whether Huanglong, promoted for its colorful terraced pools, can meet our expectations.

These coloured ponds are a surreal shape and give off a curious hue. Huang Long means “Yellow Dragon, perhaps for the dominant yellow colour in the pools that is an accumulation of calcium sediments.

According to the Chinese, these ponds look like a “Great Dragon flying down from the Snow Mountains”.

We climb upwards, for hours, ascending over 1000 metres in altitude as we traverse a valley studded with terraced, coloured ponds (blue, yellow, white and green) and waterfalls.

This too, is a magical land of fantasy, where fairies could frolic in ethereal surroundings.

Due to the rapid ascent, people can often begin to feel the effects of altitude sickness. We have hired an exorbitantly priced oxygen balloon on the advice of our guide who is concerned with my mother’s fitness, but though we carry the awkward item, we don’t indulge, unlike the fading Chinese around us.

After several days of travel our tour group had taken us in as their own and we pose for endless photographs, finding that the enchanted nature of this place fills us with excitement, and takes on an celebratory atmosphere that enhances the experience.

Undoubtedly one of the loveliest places in the world, this remote area of Sichuan revealed to us extraordinary beauty. And while perhaps we westerners would treat such a place with the reverence associated with natural beauty, we learnt this is not the only way to appreciate scenery.

After all, we all need a little magic in our lives.

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