Jiuzaigou,
China
Monday, August 28, 2006
Considered as the biggest attraction in China it is a national park with emerald green and turqoise lakes, numerous waterfalls and lush green mountains capped with snow peaks (in winter). With some of the most beautiful natural scenery in the world, it is a wonder to find it here in China of all places unspoilt. Along with the beautiful surroundings came the envitable tour groups where the only peace and quiet we had was in the first hour when we walked in at 7am. It seems like everyone was offering costumes for hire so that you could take photos of yourself in front of the dramatic backdrops. It worked though as people were lining up to get into dress up mode and they all snapped happily away. I noticed that the tourists here all have one thing in common, and thats bad photos. No matter how many people were in the way they would just snap and then move on. Some would even take a photo posing next to a tree when the lake and mountains were behind the photographer.
Before it was a national park and a UNESCO site it was home to a number of minority villages. Now the minority villages have turned into minority shopping village and the prayer wheels here spin clockwise and not anticlockwise. The filming of the lake scene in Crouching Tigers Hidden Dragon here made it even more popular.
