Yellow Dragon Scenic Area

Natural Features

Huanglong(Yellow Dragon)Scenic Area，also in northern Sichuan's Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture，neighbors the Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area. It was named after the ancient Huanglong Temple within the area.

The most remarkable scene in the area is the Huanglong Valley noted for its unique open karst landscape.The main attraction of the valley is the 3.6-kilometer-long and 30 to 70-meter-wide pale yellow calcareous deposits. At the end of the valley，water from melting snow mixes with limestone water from underground，flowing down the mountain terraces， depositing the calcium carbonate from the limestone water on the rocks，stones，and fallen branches in its path. The calcium carbonate，in turn，develops into solid，low travertine banks and reacts chemically with organic and inorganic substances，resulting in various kinds of calcareous deposits that reflect a golden color in the sunlight in the water that flows down the slopes just like a huge yellow dragon flying down the snow mountain. When water flows into two separate streams，it naturally turns into more colorful lakes and waterfalls，forming a ladder-shaped lake group. The water is crystal clear. The mineral deposits at the lake bottom look like jadeite and agate一magnificent and beautiful.

The altitude of the area is over 3 o00m above sea level，with snow peaks lake a forest，of which 7 are over 5 000m high，while the highest Snow Treasure Peak (Xuebaoding)is 5 588m above sea level。which is the summit of Mt Minshan and capped with snow all year round. In the area are also preserved a wealth of rare plants and animals，including t 500 species of higher plants，most of which are only found in China and 1 I of them are under Class I to Class III state protection. As for the rare animals，there are giant panda，golden snub-nosed monkey，takin， cloud leopard,white-tipped deer，brown-eared pheasant，and white-eared pheasant，all under state protection as Class I to Class III endangered animals.