Jiuzhaigou National Park in Southwest China's Sichuan province fully reopened to visitors yesterday after the completion of post-earthquake restoration and reconstruction.
The park's name, which means "Nine Village Valley", comes from the nine Tibetan villages there. The scenic area is best known for its blue and green lakes, splendid waterfalls, karst land forms and its unique wildlife. It was listed as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1992. The park is also home to 3,634 species of plants and animals, including giant pandas and golden snub-nosed monkeys, winning the name of an "earthly paradise".
The national park covers an area of 720 square kilometers and ranges in altitude from 1,996 to 4,764 meters above sea level. On Aug.8, 2017, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Jiuzhaigou county, and the scenic area was closed due to damage. After continuous reconstruction and natural recovery, the park gradually reopened to visitors starting in March 2018.
Now, after four years of recovery, the tourist destination has regained its former charm. Tourism support facilities have also been improved to better provide service for tourists. Now the scenic spot has a maximum of 41,000 visitors per day. Tourists have to book tickets online at least one day in advance.
Recently, Jiuzhaigou county has been trying to provide a more diversified tourism experience for visitors, such as the staging of musical and dance dramas about ethnic cultures, launch of modern commercial buildings and cultural creative spaces. The opening ceremony of the 7th China (Sichuan) International Tourism Investment Conference and Ceremony for the Full Reopening of Jiuzhaigou Valley was held on Tuesday, bringing in 263 key investment projects on culture and tourism for the province, amounting to 490.4 billion yuan ($75.8 billion).
