Jiuzhaigou

Enjoy the picturesque scenery in the valley

The first thing to do in the valley, of course, is to enjoy the picturesque views in the valley. The colors of its lakes, mountains and trees combine to provide a scene out of a fairy tale. The valley has different but magnificent views in four seasons. In winter, the lakes and waterfalls are frozen and mountains and trees are covered with snow, which makes the whole valley a white world. Summers can be slightly crowded, but there tourists can take in the beautiful sunshine, and it sometimes rains in July and August. Autumn typically is the best season to visit Jiuzhaigou.

Buy Qiang Embroidery

Qiang embroidery is a typical handicraft in Jiuzhaigou which you can buy as a souvenir for your family and friends. The Qiang people still wear embroidered costumes with beautiful patterns.

Try Tibetan food and Drink Tibetan Tea or Wine

You can taste typical Tibetan food and snacks in the Tibetan villages of the valley or drink local barley wine, buttered tea and Yacha tea. It should be noted however that the food in the village is very expensive. Outside the valley, a surprising amount of bars and restaurants can be found in Bianbian Street.

Purchase Local Products

Jiuzhaigou is rich in Chinese medicinal herbs, so you can buy some medical herbs as you need. As for younger ladies, there are a number of Tibetan trinkets which are not very expensive.

Jiuzhaigou in each of the four seasons offers distinctive gorgeous views. At the end of spring and beginning of autumn, Jiuzhaigou is a very popular destination for tourists compared with other time. The best time to visit Jiuzhaigou is October but it can be little crowded.

In the late autumn, trees on the mountain take on different colors which are reflected in the lakes, so the incredible multi-colored lakes appear. This period is also the best time to travel to Jiuzhaigou.

Spinning prayer wheel

The Spinning prayer wheel is very popular among Tibetan society. The Buddhist mantra “Om Mani Padme Hum” is written in Sanskrit on the outside of the wheel. When prayers spin as they walk clockwise around the wheel, they have to recite the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum.

Deduo Festival

From winter solstice to the early spring of following year, it is not uncommon for fires to break out, so the Dalai Lama is invited to chant sutras for avoiding fire. This festival is composed of two ceremonies, including keeping the fire ceremony and driving the fire away ceremony. During the fire keeping ceremony, a member from every family is sent to keep Peng (a simple building which was constructed before ceremony). Before 12 o’clock in the evening, villagers begin to walk and sing around Peng to protect against fire.

Tibetan Opera

Tibetan Opera, also called Ace Lhamo in Tibetan, is a Tibetan folk opera begun in the 14th century by Thang Tong Gyalpo, a Lama and a bridge constructor. The opera is characterized with the masks worn by performers. The different colors of the masks have various meanings. Blue and black symbolize the working people; Red represents kingship; green stands for the princess, and yellow, the gods. There are many masks with the patterns of kinds of animals.

Taboos

When greeting or seeing off a guest, smile at him or her and bend your body toward your guest. When you are asked to sit down in the room, you should cross your legs. When you are given a gift, you should accept it with both hands Donkey, horse and dog meat is forbidden to eat in Tibet. Don’t chew large mouthfuls or chew noisily. Don’t spit and clap behind a Tibetan person.

What to eat in Jiuzhaigou

Milk Products

The people in Jiuzhaigou are used to raising dairy cows so that the Jiuzhaigou diet is rich in milk. Tibetan people use the milk to make all sorts of milk products such as cheese, milk dregs, creme, yogurt, which cannot be eaten or drunk in other places of Sichuan Province.

Potato Zanba

As a staple food of Tibetans, potato Zanba is found in Jiuzhaigou, but it is not eaten in common restaurants so that you have to taste it in Jiuzhaigou County. When cooking, the steamed potatoes are put into wooden tubs and then pounded to lumps. Then the lumps will be cooked with pickled vegetable and peppers. It is a convenient fast food, which Tibetans take wherever they go.

Yak Meat

Yak Meat is preserved in sauce and other ingredients. It is cut into slices as a salad with black pepper. Then the yak meat is processed and put into vacuum bags which become convenient for tourists to take to their families and friends as gifts.

Blood Sausage

Blood sausages are very famous food in Tibetan society, which are always used to welcome distinguished guests by Tibetans. The nutritious and delicious food is made of blood, spice, yak meat or pork.

Buckwheat Noodles

Buckwheat flour can be cooked into bread and noodle and other food. As a kind of roughage, buckwheat noodles are tasty and very good for your health.

Yacha Tea

Yacha Tea is made of branches and leaves of the tea plant. It is produced in the Yaan area, hence the name. During the Yuan Dynasty (1271 CE – 1368 CE), it was named Ma (literally, “horses”) Tea. During the Qing Dynasty (1636AD-1912AD), it was called “Bian tea”. Because Tibetans eat considerable amounts of much meat and little vegetables, they are short of vitamins. Drinking this tea can provide vitamins to help ameliorate this condition. It is also a component to remove the smell of milk when processing buttered tea.

Where to Eat in Jiuzhaigou

Inside the Valley, you can have a taste of typical Tibetan food in the Tibetan villages. There is a Tourists Service Center in Nuorilang which provides a buffet with prices from 40RMB to 140RMB. Besides this, take-away food can be bought outside the center.
Outside the valley, there are some restaurants in Bianbian Street where food is cheaper than that inside the valley. You can also have your lunch at Pengfeng Village nearby where you can find more restaurants.

What to Buy in Jiuzhaigou

Chinese medical herbs

Jiuzhaigou is one of major places to grow medical herbs which are used to cure illnesses by people in Jiuzhaigou. The famous and rare herbs include: angelica, aweto, saffron, vermiculate thamnolia thallus, and so on.

Thangka

Thangka, also known as Thang-ga and Tangka, is a Tibetan silk painting with embroidery, usually concerned with Buddhist themes in Tibet. Tangka is the pronunciation of the Tibetan language, meaning scroll painting, which recounts Tibetan history and Buddhist classics as the basic subject matter.

Qiang Embroideries

Tourists can also buy Qiang embroidery as a souvenir. With beautiful geometric patterns, Qiang embroideries has a long history among the Qiang people. Now, many Qiang people still wear traditional embroidered dress. Typical works of the Qing embroidery are Yunyun shoes and embroidered aprons which are worthwhile to buy as souvenirs.

Tibetan Knives

Tibetan knives are famous for their special producing way in the world. The knives are separated into three kinds: long broadswords, coutels and penknives, according to their length. The long broadswords can reach one meter in length. Coutels are about 40 cm and penknives about 10 cm. Tibetan knives are forged by steel with sharp edges and polished faces. The hilts of knives are decorated with gems and agates. Foreign tourists can do little more than admire Tibetan knives because they are not allowed to take with you in the airport.

Where to buy in Jiuzhaigou

There are no large department stores or supermarkets in Jiuzhaigou, but some shops and small supermarket can meet tourists’ needs. There is a market near the entrance of the valley where you can buy some local products and Tibetan trinkets.