The Clearest Ponds and Pools of Huanglong Valley in China

Well, when you staring at a painting, photograph, or even a beautiful video, have you ever faced the feeling of wanting to dive into the world of that stunning piece? I’m sure; the term for this feeling is unrevealed but for the following photographs, is sure that you’re prepared to fight yourself in case your heart skips.

Off course, these are an exaggeration. Furthermore, blame it on the astonishing emerald-to-turquoise ponds of Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area, which can make us say, “Hey nature, you overdid it again. Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area is a UNESCO- certified World Heritage Site surrounded by gorgeous snow-capped mountains and contains a series of travertine lakes, waterfalls, forests, and majestic mountain scenery. The site is well located in the north-west of Sichuan Province, China, around 3 to 4 hours from Jiuzhaigou. Huanglong is actually the home of the valley, notorious for its intriguing ponds that scattered around the area, strewn with gold-colored limestone creating shimmering golden water.

When the sky most powerful thing, “sun” rays hit the narrow valley, it seems that a silhouette of a golden dragon mysteriously emerges from the valley; thus, the name “Huanglong” or “Yellow Dragon” in English was used for the surreal area. If you’re mentally and physically fit, and wanting to see, then you’ve to travel 3.6-kilometer valley, with two options on how you’d take this trip. Hmmm, you can take a cable car that’ll lead you up to the place where the main sights are located and back down to the entrance.

If you’re riding a cable car isn’t your favorite option, you can even go ahead and explore the park through foot. But you must be prepared to fall in love with the entire scenery from the blue sky, the reflection on the series of clear ponds, icy forests, and caves. The ponds you will see in the valley are the Yingbin ponds, actually comprises of 350 crystal clear ponds at the 3,230 meter level mirroring its surroundings to make its blue and green colors. Another pond belongs to the Zhengyan ponds. Which is located in the middle part of the valley, Zhengyan holds more than 500 ponds of different sizes. Though, the more colors can be visible here like yellow and white together with blue and green.

But make sure, these colors changing purely depending on the season and the weather in the area. Therefore the largest and highest cluster of travertine ponds belongs to Wucai Chi, also recognized as the Five Color Ponds. This group has almost 700 ponds and pools that have almost the same color as the ponds of Zhengyan but these can glow and reflect a rainbow of colors when hit by sunlight. The so-called “Fairy Land on Earth” isn’t only about its series of ponds.

Furthermore, as you walk along the valley, you will also see its other attractions such as the Feipuliuhui Waterfall, the Huanglong Temple, Huanglong Cave, the Xishen Cave, and more. However the best time is to visit the valley during fall when the trees and bushes are at their most colorful state with yellow and red leaves that affect the colors reflected by the clear ponds. It is highly recommended to have better visit of valley in morning time, when it is very quiet and peaceful, as compared to noon when this destination becomes more crowded. So, if you really want to enjoy this valley, then best dates, are in September, before the October national holidays.