Jiuzhaigou Gully九寨沟

Natural Features自然概况

Situated in the depths of the mountains in the border area of Napping， Songpan and Pingwu counties in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of northwestern Sichuan，is a fairyland called Jiuzhaigou--Nine-Village Gully. Until recent years，it had remained undisturbed in high mountains due to its inaccessibility，except by some horse trails or mountain paths. Scattered along the gully with the alpine lakes are nine Tibetan settlements，hence the name Jiuzhaigou、meaning"nine villages gully".九寨沟位于四川西北部阿坝的南坪、松潘和平武三县交界之处的崇山峻岭之中，是一片深藏不露的人间仙境。多少年来，这里一直交通不便，只有马道和山间小路沟。这里有九个藏族村寨散落在高山湖泊群中。因而得名九寨沟。

Jiuzhaigou Scenic area refers to the"Y"shaped three gullies of Shuzheng， Rize and Zechawa，altogether covering an area of 720km} and stretching out for a total length of over SOkm. It is a habitat of Tibetans，and geologically a cold alpine Karst topography in nature. The nine villoges and the mountain lakes，called"haizi"(sea or son of sea),shining like crystal mirrors，dot in the depth of forests and snow mountains.At the upper most lies the Long Lake，while the Grass Lake is the end of Rize Gully. The two gullies run down northward and join together at Nuorilang to form the beginning of Shuzheng Gully. The height drop amounts to 1 000m or more from the joint of the two gullies to the outlet of Shuzheng Gully. Lining along the distance are 114 stepped lakes(The water is so clear that the bottom is visible despite depths of several dozen meters)，between which are 17 waterfall groups(Waterfalls are the essence of the scenery in Jiuzhaigou)，11 torrents，and 5 calcareous tufa shoals， forming"a fairy land under the sky" that features in alpine lake groups，waterfall groups，and calcareous tufa shoals，as well as snow mountains，virgin forests， and Tibetan folklore.九寨沟是眠山山脉中里‘Y”字形分布的树正、日则、则查汁三条沟谷的总称。风景区面积积约720平方公里，总长50多公里，属世界高寒喀斯特地貌。当地为藏族聚居区，九个村寨和许多被称为“海子”的高山湖泊仿佛一面而明亮的镜子，神奇地镶嵌在雪山森林深处则查汁沟的尽端是长湖，日则沟的尽端是草湖，两沟由南向北在诺日朗合为树正沟。两沟尽端湖泊至树正沟口高差1000余米，其间有呈梯级分布的大小湖泊114个(湖水之清，虽深达好几米，也能清澈见底)、湖泊之间有17个瀑布群(瀑布是九寨沟风景的精华),11段激流、5处钙华滩流，相串相联、形成以高山湖泊群、瀑布群以及钙华滩流为特色，集湖、瀑、滩、流、雪峰、森林、藏族风情于一体的人间仙境。

Jiuzhaigou Gully boasts for having the freshest air on the earth，where the horizontal visibility is as far as 50km. The climate there is that of temperate monsoon，sunny，clear, cool in summer but not windy in winter. It is the ideal resort for sightseeing and holidays.九寨沟拥有堪称地球最清新的空气，其大气水平能见度达50公里、九寨沟属温带季风气候，特点是晴天多、云雾少、夏日凉爽、冬无烈风，是旅游、观光、度假之佳地。Jiuzhaigou Gully is rich with flora. At present it has 30 000 hectares of natural forests，2 576 species of higher plants as well as 400 species of lower plants. With the numerous lakes and various vegetation，Jiuzhaigou has a self complete ecolog- ical system，which provides the best habitats for wild animals. Investigation shows in the gully there are 170 kinds of vertebrates，and 141 species of birds，of which 3 are under Class I state protection，4 under Class II，and 10 under Class III.九寨沟植物种类繁多，现有天然森林近3万公顷，高等植物2576种，低等植物400余种。九寨沟湖泊众多，植被多样，生态系统完整，为各种野生动物栖居繁衍提供了良好的条件。据调查，现有脊椎动物170种、鸟类141种，属国家一类保护的有3种，二类保护的有4种，三类保护的有10种。In 1982，the State Council of the People's Republic of China recognized Jiuzhaiyou Gully as a key scenic area of the nation. In December of 1992 it was inscribed on World Heritage List by UNESCO. In October of 1995 it entered reserves for Man and the Biosphere Program.1982年，中华人民共和国国务院市定九寨沟为国家重点风景名胜区 。1992年九寨沟被联合国教科文组织作为自然遗产列入《世界遗产名录》。1995年，九寨沟又荣获联合国人与生物圈委员会颁发的《人与生物圈保护区》证书。