World Natural Heritage: Huanglong Scenic Area (2)

The Wucai Pool cannot fill so much beautiful scenery so it flows with spoondrift all the way through the 2.5 km-long sloping field to form another magnificent spectacle – the Golden Sands Floor. Originally, along the landscape, the slope was covered with layers of cream squamous travertine. Under the sun, accompanied by turbulent waves, the whole valley glitters, looks just like a huge yellow dragon soaring down from the mountains, with embossed squama on its waist and back just like pieces of armor; hence the name Huanglong Valley. The Huanglong Temple was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368—1644) to worship the yellow dragon. The Huanglong Valley is well known in the world, with strange, absolute, beautiful and secret natural landscapes.

There are many pools ranging in size with the larges one at about one or two mu, and small ones at a few square meters. They convey different poses and expressions and have unguis, palms, water chestnuts, and lotuses. They flow along the valley and pour into lakes, falling level by level, and traversing the forest, crossing the embankment, and rolling onto the beach. The first pool group into the ravine is set off in the verdant jungle and they flow through the grey branches and jade green leaves. More than 20 various pools are staggered and scattered, with glimmering waves, falling layer by layer, with an acoustic “Ding Dong” sound. Some pool group banks are low, and water overflows into small pools which are white, with the water color being blue. They look colorful in the sunlight. In some lakes, there are ancient wood and old vines clumps, some that look like an eagle spreading its wings, some like a tiger running down the mountain. They are vivid and lifelike. In some pools, pine, cypresses and other trees grow, higher than the water, or submerged in the water, graceful and lovely, shaped like "water bonsai."

The Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area also has precious animals and plants resources, with more than 1,500 species of higher plants that are unique to China. Among which, 11 species of plants are belong to the first to third grade state protection, as well as the rare animals such as giant pandas, golden monkey, wildebeests, clouded leopards and other national key protected animals.

Natural Heritage Value:

Large surface travertine landscapes

The large-scale, various surface travertine landscape with distinctive configuration and abundant color is the main landscape of Huanglong (Table 1), and it is a unique scenic area in China. The comprehensive landscape is outstanding and has magnificent plateau scenery and specific ethnic customs as the tone for the integrated landscape of Huanglong. The Ferris mountains, vertical and horizontal valleys, gray jungles and rippling waterscapes, are inlaid with elaborate pools, lakes, beaches, waterfalls, springs, caves and other kinds of travertine landscape, dotted with all native style custom such as mysterious villages, temples, farms, herds, song and dance. The view is comprehensive and the landscape forms are specific, while the combination is organic and harmonious and under the unique blue sky and white clouds, sun and brash, twilight and dark seasonal aspects in the plateau, it presents a natural and infinite dynamic picturesque scene with landscapes everywhere constantly. The main feature of Huanglong is a ditch that is 3.6 kilometers long and 30 to 170 meters wide with a light yellow surface travertine accumulation, the shape of which is like a golden "dragon.” The pools cascading, waterfalls roar, flowing spring gently singing, flowers and herbs, ancient wood and vines embellish the travertine, rare animals such as giant pandas and others are enjoying themselves. More than 3,400 travertine pools are clean in the sun. Each has their own charm and spirituality. There is an old saying about Huanglong, "Yu Zhang (a cultural relic of Shang Dynasty) reaching the sky, facing white blood through grey pines; golden sands flooring, thousands layers of clear water flowing through Huanglong.”