Huanglong Travel Guide

Huanglong is located on the easternmost of Qinghai - Tibet Plateau. It belongs to Songpan county, Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province.

It is 300 kilometers far away from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. And Jiuzhaigou Valley is as its neighbor. It is close to the boundary of Sichuan, Gansu, and Shanxi province.

Huanglong scenic and historic area is famous for its colorful lakes, snow clad mountains, valleys and virgin forest. Huanglong scenic and historic area is regarded as the "world wonder and fairly land on earth".

Huanglong got its name for its special geographical features, which seems like a golden dragon winding its way through the virgin forest, stone mountains and glaciers. There are numerous ponds and lakes with different shapes and colors. Every lake is a beautiful picture and each pond can be an imagined image.

Possible Altitude Sickness

  • The altitude of Huanglong is higher than that of Jiuzhaigou, ranging from 3200 to 3600 meters, and you need to drive over a 4000-meter-high pass to get to Huanglong.
  • Even if you are fine at Jiuzhaigou, you need to pay attention at Huanglong.
  • Do not jump or run, or do any strenuous exercises. Walk and move slowly.
  • Eat more vegetables and fruits. Do not drink wine.
  • It is recommended to prepare an oxygen bottle, which is available in Chengdu, at the airport, and there are many oxygen stations in the park.

Another special scenic in Huanglong is its calcium carbonate (travertine) formation in every corner of the park. You will find every lake, pond, spring, waterfall was held by the travertine. The water is so crystal clear that you can see the bottom of the pond and lake by your naked eyes. With the colorful plants around them, every pond and lake is a beautiful picture that can not be describe by words.

In walking in the valley, your eyes will be caught to the imaginative sites that you can not believe in yourself. Famous ponds include the Yingbin (welcoming guests) Colored Ponds, Feipuliuhui (glowing waterfall), Xishen (washing body) Cave, Penjing (miniascape) Ponds, Huanglong (Yellow Dragon) Temple, Huanglong (Yellow Dragon) Cave, Shitazhenhai and Zhuanhua (whirling flower) Pond, etc.

It will be a difficult job to describe the beauty of Huanglong for the man who has never been there. It is a good saying that people who came from Jiuhaigou and Huanglong will have no need to appreciate the beauty of water in other places.

Weather

The average temperature is around 7 °C all the year round. It is misty in the morning and evening and rainy from May to August.

Aba has a complex landform, and therefore, has various types of the climate. The temperature is higher in the southeast, but lower in the northwest, because of the changing altitude.

The hilly plateaus in the northwest belong to the continental plateau monsoon climate. Therefore, the features of the four seasons are not too distinct. The weather in winter is cold and long, but cool and moisture in summer. The mean temperature is 0.8 °C - 4.3 °C. The region of plains and hills belongs to the cool and semi-moisture climate.

Thus, it is cool in summer and cold in winter and spring. The climate changes vertically. In the high hills, it is moisture and chilly. In valleys, it is dry, warm and cool. The mean temperature is 5.6 °C - 8.9 °C. In those areas, with the change of the altitude, the climate zone changes from the subtropical zone to the temperate zone, the cool temperate zone, and finally to the Frigid Zone.

Food and Restaurants

Zanba

A staple food of Tibetans, it looks like mainland China fried wheat flour, prepared with main ingredients of barley flour as well as pea and oat powder.

Tibetans bring the Zanba cake wherever they go, to farm, to graze and to travel. It is a convenient fast food, especially welcom in sparsely populated and fuel-scarce areas.

Butter Tea

Its main ingredients are butter and milk as well as walnut kernel, peanut and sesame, egg and salt, being stirred in a barrel, then mixed with boiled tea and brawn-red coloring matter. After being stirred for a few seconds, a fragrant barrel of buttered tea is ready. It is poured into a big kettle and kept warm on a stove for drinking.

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Q: yuqing Asked on 2013-02-27 Reply
What will be the best month to go to Huangshan & which month is the best to go to KanasThank You

Hi Yuqing, the best time for Kanas is Sep.15-25 while the color there if of its best.

And for Huangshan, any month would be okay. Late spring and early autumn are more preferable.

Whitney Liao Replied on 2013-02-27
Q: yuqing Asked on 2013-02-27 Reply
I need more information, We want to go to huang long, Jiu zai Gou, Zhang Jia Jie, Kanas, Huang Shan,Emeishan,Phu Tho Shan,Wu Thai Shan, Jiu Hua Shan so what will be the best route if we want to go all from Fu Zhou is better or from Shenzen is better or is it possible if I can go to shenzen & Fu zhou then what will be the next route of all those thank You

Hi Yuqing, no problem to start from Fuzhou or Shenzhen, usually Shenzhen would be more convenient for transportation.

Whitney Liao Replied on 2013-02-27
Q: yuqing Asked on 2013-02-27 Reply
We want to go to Jiu zai Gou, Huang Long, Zhang Jia Jie so we would like to know how the best route which one we have to go first among the 3 interest places and which month is the best to go there Thank you

Hi Yuqing, the route is flexible, depends on your inbound and outbound cities. Sep. to  Nov. is the perfect time to visit these places.

Whitney Liao Replied on 2013-02-27
Q: Phil Asked on 2013-01-14 Reply
Planning on going to Jiuzhaigou & Huanglong in middle of Sept 2013 with the family.What will the weather be like ?What would be a good place to stay ?
Dear Sir or Madam, The average temperature will be 18℃（64.4℉）， it varies greatly between day and night. You could wear shirt in the day and wear thick coat and sweater at night. It will be sunny in September. In Jiuzhaigou, you could stay in Sheraton Jiuzhaigou Resort(5*) and Jiuzhaigou Gesang Hotel(4*). In Huanglong, we don't have a good option for reference. In general, we also recommend our clients to stay in Huanglong, they usually have a one day tour in Huanglong, then go to Jiuzhaigou for rest. Lussie Lu Replied on 2013-01-14
Q: Meiboom Asked on 2012-12-29 Reply
How is the weather in Huanglong and in Jiuzhaigu during the end of March ? Is it too cold ?Rainy?

Hi Meiboom, based on the former data, during the end of March, the temperature in these places is between 7 ° C (44.6 ° F) and 10 ° C (50 ° F).  It doesn't rain very often.

Whitney Liao Replied on 2013-01-01