SiChuan - HuangLong Scinic Area 黄龙钙华地貌

6/29/2014 Sichuan, Huanglong Scenic Area (黄龙)

crystal clear water

Aaron:


The calcium carbonate
formations scenery

We went to Huanglong Scenic Area in the morning. It undulates through the southern part of the Minshan range (岷山山脉)  in the Songpan County (松潘县). It is famous for its outstanding calcium carbonate (钙华) formations. With the forest as its backdrop, the calcium carbonate scenery holds colorful ponds, beaches, lakes, springs, forests, and waterfalls. The calcium carbonate formations scenery (规模最大的钙华彩池群) is No.1 in China.

Many rare animals are also found in the forests in Huanglong Scenic Area, such as the giant panda and Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey.



zhuanhua ponds



Five Colored Ponds



We went on a cable car to the top of Huanglong to see the Five Color Ponds (五彩池). It is around 4000 meters above sea level. There is not as much oxygen as there is on the ground.  On the way to the top, there were a couple of oxygen stations. If you feel uncomfortable, just stop at one. We were searching for wild animals, but didn’t find a lot. We only found some lovely birds near the ponds. We finally arrived at the famous Five Color Ponds. The five color ponds were beautiful. It definitely worth the long walk.



yingbin colored pond

When we went back to the bottom, we saw the Yingbin (Guest-Welcoming 迎宾池) Colored Ponds. Along the valley, there were many more attractions including the Feipuliuhui (glowing waterfall 飞瀑流辉), Xishen (washing body 洗身池) Grotto, Huanglong (Yellow Dragon 黄龙寺) Temple, Huanglong (Yellow Dragon 黄龙洞) Cave, and the Zhuanhua Pond (Revolving Flower Pond 转花池). The Huanglong scenery place is truly remarkable.



xishen grotto

 

Gordon:





 beautiful lake water

On a cloudy afternoon, we arrived at Huanglong scenery park. Huanglong was big and beautiful. All of the lakes look like yellow dragons. It is very high above sea level. On top of the mountain, we saw the Five Colored Lake. The reason why it is called the Five Colored Lake is because it has five colors, green, sky blue, dark blue, yellow, and turkey blue. It was really colorful. It looks like a pool.

waterfall

At the bottom of the mountain, there was a waterfall. Water goes in different directions. The water splashed like rain. Huanglong sure was a splashy trip.