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Jiuzhaigou is a narrow strip of lowland, four hundred kilometers long, in the Minshan Mountain Range in Nanping County, northeast Sichuan. It got its name because there are nine Tibetan villages in the valley. As it is a remote place with unusually charming scenery and few inhabitants, it is often called the ?wonderland on earth.? The valley, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, is covered with luxuriant primitive forests and dotted by more than a hundred lakes and ponds of various sizes. At the bottom of the clear blue lakes, stones and waterweeds twinkle in the sun, producing a rainbow of colors. As the valley is of a terraced topography, waterfalls are created between lakes on different levels, the biggest drop being over twenty meters. The roaring sound of the falls echoes through the valley.
The valley is home to a great variety of plants and rare animals, such as the giant panda, lesser panda, golden monkey, and antelope.
To develop tourism here, China plans to build a hotel with 50 beds, a restaurant, and other facilities. The valley will be divided into five scenic areas along a 54-kilometer route with five tourist service centers. The highway will be widened, and an airport will be built.
(china.org.cn)
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