JiuzhaigouNationalPark(九寨沟)isanaturereserveinthenorthofSichuan,aprovinceinsouthwesternChina.Itisknownforitsmanymulti-levelwaterfallsandcolorfullakes,andwasdeclaredaUNESCOWorldHeritageSitein1992.ItbelongstothecategoryV(ProtectedLandscape)intheIUCNsystemofprotectedareacategorization.

　　Geographyandclimate

　　KnowninEnglishasJiuzhaiValleyitliesatthesouthernendoftheMinshanmountainrange,330km(205mi)northoftheprovincialcapitalofChengdu.ItispartoftheJiuzhaigouCounty(formerlyNanpingCounty)intheAbaTibetanQiangAutonomousPrefectureofnorthwesternSichuanprovince,neartheGansuborder.

　　Thevalleycovers720km2(278sqmi),withbufferzonescoveringanadditional600km2(232sqmi).Itselevation,dependingontheareaconsidered,rangesfrom1,998to2,140m(atthemouthofShuzhengGully)to4,558-4,764m(onMountGanzigonggaiatthetopofZechawaGully).

　　Theclimateiscooltemperatewithameanannualtemperatureof7.2°C,withmeansof-1°CinJanuaryand17°CinJuly.Totalannualrainfallis661mm,80%ofwhichoccursbetweenMayandOctober.

　　History

　　TheremoteregionwasinhabitedbyvariousTibetanandQiangpeoplesforcenturies,butwasnotofficiallydiscoveredbythegovernmentuntil1972.Extensiveloggingtookplaceuntil1979,whentheChinesegovernmentbannedsuchactivityandmadetheareaanationalparkin1982.AnAdministrationBureauwasestablishedandthesiteofficiallyopenedtotourismin1984;layoutoffacilitiesandregulationswerecompletedin1987.ThesitewasinscribedbyUNESCOasaWorldHeritageSitein1992andaWorldBiosphereReservein1997.

　　Sinceopening,touristactivityhasincreasedeveryyear:from5,000in1984to170,000in1991,160,000in1995,to200,000in1997,includingabout3,000foreigners.Visitorsnumbered1,190,000in2002.Asof2004[update],thesiteaverages7,000visitsperday,withaquotaof12,000beingreportedlyenforcedduringhighseason.TheTownofZhangzhaattheexitofthevalleyandthenearbySongpanCountyfeatureanever-increasingnumberofhotels,includingseveralpolishedfive-stars,suchasSheraton.

　　Population

　　Jiuzhaigou(literally"NineVillageValley")takesitsnamefromthenineTibetanvillagesalongitslength.Sevenofthemarestillpopulatedtoday.ThemainagglomerationsthatarereadilyaccessibletotouristsareHeye,ShuzhengandZechawaalongthemainpathsthatcatertotourists,sellingvarioushandicrafts,souvenirsandsnacks.ThereisalsoRexiinthesmallerZaruValleyandbehindHeyevillageareJianpan,PanyaandYanavillages.TheValley'snolongerpopulatedvillagesareGuoduandHejiao.

　　Finally,thePenbu,PanxingandYongzhuvillagesliealongtheroadthatpassesthroughthetownofJiuzhaigou/Zhangzaoutsidethevalley.

　　In1997,thepermanentpopulationofthevalleywasabout1,000,andduetotheprotectednatureofthepark,agricultureisnolongerpermittedsothelocalsnowrelyontourismandlocalgovernmentsubsidiestomakealiving.