Jiuzhaigou Valley

Jiuzhaigou 九寨沟
IUCN category III (natural monument or feature)
Five Flower Lake
Location	Jiuzhaigou County, Sichuan
Nearest city	Songpan
Coordinates	33°12′N 103°54′E / 33.200°N 103.900°E / 33.200; 103.900Coordinates: 33°12′N 103°54′E / 33.200°N 103.900°E / 33.200; 103.900
Area	720 km2 (280 sq mi)
Established	1978
Visitors	1,190,000 (in 2002)
Governing body	Sichuan Provincial Commission for Construction
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area 九寨沟风景名胜区
Type	Natural
Criteria	vii
Designated	1992 (16th session)
Reference no.	637
State Party	China
Region	Asia-Pacific

Jiuzhaigou
"Valley of Nine Fortified Villages (Jiuzhaigou)" in Simplified Chinese (top), Traditional Chinese (middle), and Tibetan (bottom) characters
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	九寨沟
Traditional Chinese	九寨溝
Literal meaning	"Valley of Nine Fortified Villages"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Jiǔzhàigōu Wade–Giles Chiu3-chai4-kou1 IPA [tɕjòuʈʂâikóu] Wu Romanization Jieu平 tsae入 koe平 Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Gáu-jaaih-gāu Jyutping Gau2-zaai6-gau1 Southern Min Tâi-lô Káu-tsē-kau
Tibetan name
Tibetan	གཟི་རྩ་སྡེ་དགུ།
Transcriptions Wylie gzi-rtsa sde-dgu Tibetan Pinyin Sirza Degu

Jiuzhaigou (pronounced pinyin: jiǔzhài gōu;[tɕjòuʈʂâikóu]; Chinese: 九寨沟; literally: "Valley of Nine Fortified Villages"; Tibetan: གཟི་རྩ་སྡེ་དགུ།, ZYPY: Sirza Degu) is a nature reserve and national park located in the north of Sichuan province, China.

Jiuzhaigou Valley is part of the Min Mountains on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau and stretches over 72,000 hectares (180,000 acres). It is known for its many multi-level waterfalls, colorful lakes, and snow-capped peaks. Its elevation ranges from 2,000 to 4,500 metres (6,600 to 14,800 ft).

Jiuzhaigou Valley was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1992 and a World Biosphere Reserve in 1997. It belongs to the category V (Protected Landscape) in the IUCN system of protected area categorization.

Jiuzhaigou (literally "Nine Village Valley") takes its name from the nine Tibetan villages along its length.

The remote region was inhabited by various Tibetan and Qiang peoples for centuries. Until 1975 this inaccessible area was little known. Extensive logging took place until 1979, when the Chinese government banned such activity and made the area a national park in 1982. An Administration Bureau was established and the site officially opened to tourism in 1984; layout of facilities and regulations were completed in 1987.