China's turquoise fairy tale — 108 multi-coloured lakes in a high Sichuan valley
Jiuzhaigou ('Nine Village Valley') is a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Minshan mountains of northern Sichuan — a 72km valley containing 108 lakes of impossible colours, from cobalt blue to jade green to milky turquoise, fed by calcareous springs that deposit travertine terraces and allow you to see collapsed trees, ancient coral, and submerged forests perfectly preserved under crystal-clear water. The valley was closed after the 2017 earthquake and reopened in 2019 with strictly limited visitor numbers, making it one of China's most pristine natural areas; snow-capped Ganze peaks form the…
Jiuzhaigou has been home to Tibetan and Qiang minority communities for centuries — the nine villages (jiuzhài) that give the valley its name are still inhabited, and traditional Tibetan prayer flags, watermills, and carved mani stones line the wooden boardwalks between lakes. The valley was first surveyed by Chinese foresters in 1975 and declared a nature reserve in 1978, with UNESCO inscription following in 1992. A 7.0 magnitude earthquake on August 8, 2017 collapsed several lakes and reshaped the valley floor; the subsequent restoration effort involved 3,000 workers and carefully reposition…