Shu Zheng Falls - Jiuzhai Valley National Park

The Shu Zhen Falls is a round multi-level waterfall with thousands of water streams running through the stems and trunks of the plant life that grows from it.

Waterscape - Jiuzhai Valley National Park

A small stream joining the main river.

Waterscape - Jiuzhai Valley National Park

Another view of the Nuo Ri Lang Waterfall system.

Nuo Ri Lang Waterfall - Jiuzhaigou

Located at the centre of the Jiuzhai valley Y, Nuo Ri Lang is the largest waterfall of the park.

Mirror Lake - Jiuzhaigou

A newly wed couple chose the Mirror Lake for their wedding photographs. The calm of this reflective pool offers a strong contrast to the rushing waters of the Pearl Shoals Waterfalls just before the lake.

Pearl Shoals Waterfalls - Jiuzhaigou

Rushing water. Same waterfall, different location, feet were almost in the water with the 24mm glass on the camera.

An interesting feature of this waterfall is that it is growing outwards rather than eroding backwards as most waterfalls do. The reason for this is that calcium carbonate is combining with roots, leaves and branches to produce a matrix of cemented plant-stone, which then continues to grow once established. Additionally, since the water flowing over the shoals is shallow and filtered, lacking abrasive sand and gravel material, it has little erosive power that might otherwise cause the waterfall to erode back up the valley.

Pearl Shoals Waterfalls - Jiuzhaigou

Same vertically. I could not resist to post a second image from the same location... Almost in the water.

Pearl Shoals Waterfalls - Jiuzhaigou

Loud and breathtaking.

Pearl Shoals Waterfalls - Jiuzhaigou

View from the summit of the fall...

Pearl Shoals - Jiuzhaigou

Waterfalls alternate with lightly forested stream and mirror lakes.

Panda Lake Waterfalls - Jiuzhaigou

Same waterfalls but from a different angle. The microfiber cloth was most useful here to wipe dry the glass of the lens between the shots as the air was filled with droplets of water. Very refreshing indeed.

Panda Lake Waterfalls - Jiuzhaigou

Quite an impressive set of waterfalls just after the Panda Lake.

Panda Lake - Jiuzhai Valley National Park

Great views through the trees on the side of the Panda Lake.

Waterfalls - Jiuzhai Valley National Park

Small waterfalls between the Arrow Bamboo and Panda lakes.

Waterfalls - Jiuzhai Valley National Park

Smaller waterfalls between the Arrow Bamboo and Panda lakes.

Arrow Bamboo Waterfalls - Jiuzhaigou

A close up of the lower part of the Arrow Bamboo Waterfalls.

For most photographs of waterfalls, I used a low shutter speed (usually 1/15) to let the water flow during the exposure. It is quite all right to hand held the camera at this speed with a wide angle lens (24mm here) and a decent hand holding technique. When in doubt, I took several shots, some at different shutter speed.

Arrow Bamboo Waterfalls - Jiuzhaigou

The water from the Arrow Bamboo Lake aliments the 7 meters waterfalls pictured above, at the Northern end of the lake.

Arrow Bamboo Lake - Jiuzhaigou

The summits of the mountains seen in the background reach altitudes from 4'200m to 4'600m.

Arrow Bamboo Lake - Jiuzhaigou

The water of the lake is amazingly clear with a green hue when not reflecting the trees and the sky.

Arrow Bamboo Lake - Jiuzhaigou

The Jiuzhai Valley National Park comprises 114 lakes, 17 groups of waterfalls and calcified terraces along two valleys that meet half way through the park, forming a Y. 47km of broadwalks and trails circle the lakes, traverse and skirt the waterfalls.

Tibetan Lady - Jiuzhaigou

This lady was selling hides and skins as well as handcrafted pillow covers. I asked her nicely whether I could take her portrait. She agreed with a smile.

Interestingly, some of her jewelery was made out of red coral. This surprised me at first considering the distance of the Tibet plateau from any seas and the altitude of the region. It is however explained by the fact that 400 mio years ago, Jiuzhai valley was under the sea. This left behind fossilized sea creatures and diverse coral stones, which are slowly revealed by water erosion. The coral stones in particular are very popular in Tibetan jewelery.

Tibetan Village - Jiuzhaigou

The main religion in the region is the pre-Buddhism Bon or Benbo-Sec religion, which is one of the five sects of Tibetan Buddhism. Stupas, prayer wheels, prayer flags and chorten can be seen throughout the park. Colors correspond to primary elements - earth/yellow, water/green, fire/red, air/white, space/blue -, which should be properly arranged in order to balance the elements, which should bring harmony and good health.

Tibetan Village - Jiuzhaigou

A colorful street corner, with a mix of Tibetan and Chinese decorations.

Yak - Jiuzhaigou - China

The yak is a precious animal to the Tibetan. Beside the milk, fibres and meat obtained from them, they are also used to carry goods across mountain passes and draw ploughs. On the Tibetan plateau poor in trees, their dung is used as fuel. The milk is often made into cheese and butter, which goes into the butter tea that Tibetans love to drink.

Tibetan Village - Jiuzhaigou

Jiuzhai Valley National Park is considered to be one of the most spectacular in China. It is located on the edge of the Tibetan Himalayan Plateau where the Himalayas drop down from Tibet into the Sichuan basin. Located in the Min Shan mountain range between 2000m and 3000m altitude, the park is best known for its beautiful blue and green lakes, stunning waterfalls and its unique wildlife.

As Jiuzhaigou means "nine Tibetan villages valley", I thought about starting to cover the area with some images taken by the villages.

HuangLong - Yellow Dragon Valley

Hiking the trail back down the valley, the sun came out from over its mist and cloud cover, which allowed this photograph.

HuangLong - Yellow Dragon Valley

The name of the valley - HuangLong - or yellow dragon was inspired by the color of the soil that cups the pools of water. The color of the soil and, we are told, some minerals, gives this vivid blue green hue to the water. As the spring was late this year, the leaves of the tree are still young and retained a fresh light green tone against the pine tree forest in the back.

HuangLong - Yellow Dragon Valley

We then flew to Jiuzhai airport from Chengdu and went through a rough 3 hours bus ride to reach the scenic valley of HuangLong. The road is still being renovated on the whole of its length after its destruction during the 2008 earthquake.

HuangLong is a lightly forested valley through which a river flows, forming cupping pools of water in terrace due to the particular limestone / karst soil. Wooden paths stretching over 3.6km have been built on the side of the river as to reach viewpoint without affecting the site. The top of the valley is at an altitude of 3'700m. HuangLong has been a Unesco world nature heritage site since 1992.

Shrine To The Minister Of War - Chengdu

One of China's largest set of buildings from the Three Kingdoms Period, the Wuhou temple honors Shu Dynasty Minister of War, Zhuge Liang, who was given the title Marquis Wu, as well as Shu founding emperor, Liu Bei.

Girl in Cheongsam - Chengdu

Walking through the narrow streets, I ran into a group of photographers fully equipped with studio lights, reflectors and the latest professional cameras. I asked them whether I could take a picture of their model and they were kind enough to agree. It was a snap and go, without any light support though.

Wide & Narrow Alleys - Chengdu

Another Tea House along the wide & narrow alleys.

The Laoban, Chengdu

The boss, sitting at the terrace of one of the tea house along the wide alley.

Chengdu inhabitants have the reputation in China of having a laid-back attitude and for knowing how to enjoy life. As a matter of fact, Chengdu counts twice as many bars and tea houses as Shanghai, for half the population!

Wide and narrow alleys - Chengdu

Traditionally the residence of the Manchu officials in Chengdu, the wide and narrow alleys have been renovated and many ancient houses were transformed in trendy bars and restaurants. This neighborhood combines historical, cultural with commercial and touristic elements.

Sichuan Opera - The Puppeteer

While photographs were taken at ISO 800 during the show to ensure sufficient shutter speed, quality was still impressive.

Chinese Opera - Chengdu

Sichuan opera is more of a play that the other type of Chinese operas. Beside dancing and singing, it usually involves such acts as lamp rolling, shadow play, puppeteers, fire spitting and, as highlight, face changing. Jinjiang stage (where the above photograph was taken) is considered the "nest" of Sichuan opera.

Chengdu - Residential Suburbs

Chengdu counts over 11 mio inhabitants. Very large residential areas such as depicted above surround the city. The hazy conditions seen on the photograph are not due to pollution but to the fog, that was constantly present in and around the city.

Chengdu - Chunxi Shopping District

Another view of the Chunxi shopping area.

Chengdu - Chunxi Shopping District

A bustling shopping area in Chengdu: Chunxi Street, where one can find all Chinese and some international fashion brands and the usual McDo...

Red Panda - Sichuan Province, China

The red panda is more of a nocturnal and crepuscular animal. So during the day, it often lies on branches resting as in the photograph above.

Red Panda - Sichuan Province, China

The red pandas are just like cats with bear paws...

Red Panda or Firefox

Another mammal classified as vulnerable, the red panda, lives is the temperate forests of the Himalayas. It is a solitary animal that feeds for two thirds of his diet on bamboos and the balance on eggs, birds, berries, fruits, mushrooms, roots, etc. Quite a number of specimen are kept at the Giant panda breeding research base.

Giant Panda Cub - Sichuan Province, China

The youngest cub visible at the breeding base. Already feeding like an adult!

Portrait Of A Giant Panda - Sichuan Province

While giant pandas are bears with carnivore specific genes and digestive systems, they depend for 99% on bamboos for their diet. They therefore have to ingest between 9 to 14kg of bamboo shoots per day to cover their body requirement in protein and carbohydrate. As a result, they tend to lead a rather passive life, spent mostly feeding and resting, to save valuable energy...

Giant Panda Breeding Research Base - Sichuan Province

Sichuan is one of the three Central China Provinces where giant panda can be found. Out of 16 reserves dedicated to this animal in China, 11 are located in Sichuan, with Wolong Nature Reserve being the largest one. We visited the giant panda breeding research base, established 10km north of Chengdu.

For the photographer, the black and white coat of the giant panda is complex to expose properly. One cannot overexpose to catch details in the black as the white will be out of the dynamic range of the camera, especially under sunny conditions... Luckily, we arrived at the base early morning when the light is still soft and the pandas actively feeding. The usual foggy conditions helped, acting as a natural light diffuser. However and even with a further -0.7EV compensation, I still had some shots with blinkies on the bears foreheads... Another problem is that giant pandas tend to close their eyes when they feed...

Portrait Of An Old Man - Leshan, Sichuan Province

Another portrait of an old man from Leshan.

An Old Man With A Mao Hat - Leshan - Sichuan Province

This old man with a Chairman Mao style hat was just irresistible. So I added his photograph to my growing collection of Chinese portraits.

Chinese Chess - Leshan, Sichuan Province

Challenging game it seems! Another portrait.

The Giant Buddha of Leshan

When using a wide angle lens (here a 24mmPCE), the best results are obtained when an subject is placed in the foreground. This increases the "depth" of the image. A comparison can be made between the photograph posted earlier today and this one. In this later image, I placed the back of a river boat (with its Chinese flag visible!) in the left corner. As a result, this photograph appears not as "flat" as the earlier one. I could unfortunately not arrange to place a boat in the foreground of the landscape shot! I kept it anyway as it shows the two guardian figures that are flanking the Buddha. The little people at the toe of the statue gives an idea of the scale of the monument.

The Giant Buddha of Leshan

The giant 71 meter high Dafo (Great Buddha) was carved into red sandstone at the confluence of of the Min, Dadu and Qingyi rivers. The imposing statue was built in 713AD at the initiative of a monk, to safeguard the passing boats from the treacherous currents by creating a protective icon in the rock.

The Dafo is best seen from the river. Short cruises are arranged from Leshan to enjoy the site.

Countryside Between Chengdu And Leshan

A last snap before leaving the country side, destination Leshan and its giant Buddha.