Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟 / Jiuzhaigou) is quite simply the most photogenic spot in China. It is also the most popular and best managed forest reserve in China. The country's most popular national park is famous for its otherworldly beauty, with waterfalls and iridescent lakes that shimmer against a backdrop of deciduous forests and snow-capped mountains. According to legend, in an ancient love story a Tibetan god gave a mirror polished by clouds and wind to a goddess, who dropped it. Shards scattered, forming Jiuzhaigou's 118 lakes. Glacier fed crystal clear, emerald waters cascade down in a series of lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and rivulets punctuated by waterfalls.  A UNESCO World Heritage, the United Nations called it “the most biologically diverse temperate zone in the world.”  Discovered by loggers in the 1960s, this enchanted place is known to few foreigners. 90% of the park's visitors are locals.

Collection by 40 year National Geographic's Mike Yamashita 

www.michaelyamashita.com

The Four Seasons of Jiuzhaigou

Reflection Panda Lake. Photo ID #09991  

 Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟) is best known for its dozens of blue and turquoise-colored lakes. A national park, it is one of China’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites. 

 I first visited the park in 2007, shooting during four different seasons for the National Geographic story, Mystic Waters: Jiuzhaigou. Subsequently, and luckily, I made an additional four trips before the site suffered heavy damage in a magnitude 7 earthquake in 2017. Friends tell me several of the waterfalls were destroyed and some of the lakes and ponds were drained. Closed for repairs, it was reopened to the public on a limited basis just last year. Only a small number of tourists -- 2000, down from the 20,000 who visited before the quake -- are allowed in per day. My body of work on Jiuzhaigou represents the largest collection of photographs by a single photographer outside of China.

Seasons of Jiuzhaigou #20

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