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.