Touring Around Jiuzhaigou, Enjoying The Scenery Of West Sichuan In The Colorful Forests Of Heishui.

Songping Valley is about 120km from Heishui County. It is a famous panoramic area in west Sichuan from which the read leaves scattered on the ground can be seen and appreciated clearly. In golden autumns, the red leaves here are all over the mountains and plains. Red spreads from the peaks to the river valleys, forming gorgeous and beautiful natural sceneries that look just like an oil painting.

Songping Valley Scenic Area consists of three valleys. The main Songping Valley, Yu'er Zhai Valley and Shuimo Valley. Within the valleys there are many lakes. The six most famous lakes have overgrowing reeds, many wild ducks, ink-like water and great profusions of colors. All of the lakes have their own distinctive features.

Besides its beautiful natural landscapes, Diexi Lake in Songping Valley preserves the ruins of Ancient Diexi City which was destroyed by an earthquake. Ancient Diexi City is the only well preserved ruin of an ancient city which was destroyed by an earthquake in the world. It thus has very important research value.

Miyaluo Scenic Area is located in Li County of the Ngawa Prefecture. It is comprised the scenic spots of the Bipeng Valley, Gu'er Valley and Taoping Qiang village forts. It is the largest red leaf viewing area in China. In the autumn of each year, the leaves here turn bright red and golden yellow, making up an intoxicating picture of golden autumn with a blue sky, and white clouds, mountains and rivers.

Besides the red leaves all over mountains and plains, the Zang and Qiang village forts in the depths of the forests are another feature of the Miyaluo Scenic Area. Stone forts, ancient castles, watchtowers and other featured buildings lay in the dense forest in a well-proportioned layout. There are many ancient folk customs still preserved there.

Se'ergu is located in the east of Heishui County. It is a Zang village fort of primitive simplicity. The Zang village fort is built along the mountain. Its houses are strewn around at random. Some people call the village the "old castle in the East". Some people also call it the "small Potala Palace in northwestern Sichuan".

In ancient times, the people of Se'ergu built Tibetan style folk houses to defend themselves from invasions of people who were not of the same clan. The whole Zang village fort is built with a rigorous structure. A clear stream flows along the buildings. In the event of any military conflict, the canal becomes an exit passageway and an important battlefield on which to fight enemies.

The opposite bank of the Zang village fort is a convex "lotus island" looking far into the distance. It looks just like a Buddha sitting on a plinth, staring at the Zang village fort. There is a pagoda built of white stone on the island. It is a holy place where Buddhists' sermons, religious teachings and religious rites. It is also a place where common people pilgrimage to.

Cailin Valley of Naizigou Valley is located aside the main road from Heishui County to Barkan. The world of colorful forests as long as 80 li (40km) is continuous. Therefore, Cailin Valley is also named the "Eighty-li Gallery". In autumn, the two sides of the river valley are embraced by colorful forests. The colorful forests become like oil paintings under the sunlight of autumn.

The trees in Naizigou Valley are of great variety and are rich in color. Purplish red, pink, reddish orange, golden red, yellow green and brownish red are all interlaced. There is a river crossing the whole valley of Cailin Valley. The water in the river is crystal clear, and the bushes along the river are also blazing with colors.

Dagu Glacier is located in Heishui County, and is only 9km from Heishui County. Dagu Glacier is the glacier with the lowest altitude and is nearest to the urban area of the city. In the scenic area, there is the highest ropeway in the world. By taking the ropeway, tourists are able to directly reach and touch the glacier at 4,860m.

Except for the majestic glacier at the peak, the Dagu Scenic Area has clear colorful pools just like those in Jiuzhaigou, red rock patches like those in Hailuo Valley, colorful forests like those in Miyaluo, and a glass sea like the one in Ruoergai. The Dagu Scenic Area can is often called the "Collection of Sceneries in West Sichuan".

Jiuding Mountain, named after the collection of peaks of nine different mountains. The most attractive thing here is the "100,000 mus (16473.7 acres) of flowers" which are all in full bloom in summer. In May and June, 10,000 mus (1647.4 acres) of azalea can be viewed here. It is a good place for admiring the beauty of flowers.

Besides the boundless seas of flowers, there is also the Taiziling Ski Resort, the largest ski resort in Southwest China. In the ski resort, there are three different types of ski tracks; high level, middle level and low level. The middle level Qinglong Track is 1.7km long. The track is very wide, making it suitable for beginner skiers.

Kalong Valley is located in Heishui County, Aba Prefecture, Sichuan. It is the scenic area with the most types of moss and the largest area in west Sichuan. Therefore, it enjoys its reputation as the "Chinese Moss Kingdom". The scenic area has a Karst open calcified landscape, and also has snowy mountains, meadows, forests and waterfalls. It is therefore referred to as "Small Jiuzhaigou".

Kalong Valley is composed of Changlong Valley, 40 kilometers of colorful forests, Reshui Valley and the Dagu Snow Mountain. It has moss landscapes, calcified waterfalls, and primeval and stone forests, all at both low and high altitudes. Of these, the calcified waterfall is the most unique. Its scale exceeds Huanglong Waterfall, and has a different style.

Except for this, stone forests at high altitudes are a unique landscape of the Kalong Valley. Stone gates, stone bridges and statues of different sizes and shapes can be seen everywhere in the stone forest. What surprises tourists most is that there is a huge stone taller than 20m. The stone is shaped like a stone Buddha, and is full of wonder.