黃龍

Huanglong - huáng lóng - Yellow Dragon


Useful Information

photography
Huanglong, China. Public Domain.
photography
Huanglong, China. Public Domain.
Location: Songpan County, Sichuan.
(32.7432, 103.833)
Open: All year daily 8-16.
[2020]
Fee: JUN to 15-DEC: Adults CNY 170.
16-DEC to MAY: Adults CNY 60.
Hongyanguan Cableway: Up CNY 80, Down CNY 40.
[2020]
Classification: KarstKarst Spring KarstTufa Deposits KarstSinter Terraces TopicDragon Cave
Light: n/a
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:
Address: Huanglong, Huanglong Village, Songpan County, Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1992 inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Description

photography
Huanglong, China. Public Domain.
photography
Huanglong, China. Public Domain.

黃龍 (Yellow Dragon) is a rather generic name and thus it is used several times in China. One of the most spectacular yellow dragons is a set of rimstone pools in Sichuan Province, which actually fills a valley resembling a yellow dragon, each pool a scale on the dragon's skin. Mineral rich springs at the upper end of the valley are the reason for the deposition of limestone along the river, which produces typical rimstone pools and small waterfalls. The mineral rich water has a turquoise color, sometimes green. The baroque style of Chinese names resulted in a Five-Colored Pond (五彩池 – wǔ cǎi chí). It is located at the upper end of the valley, where the Huanglong Ancient Temple (黃龍古寺 – huáng lóng gǔ sì) is located.

The valley is a tributary of the Fu river. and is filled with pools from the Fu valley to the spring. There are wooden elevated trails all along the valley and two temples, one halfway and the socalled Ancient Temple right below the spring. It is possible to reach the upper end with a cable car, so most people use the cable car to the upper end and walk down. The other way is cheaper, but actually it is more spectacular in this direction, because the pools and cascades lokk much better from below than from above. There are also numerous caves, one is actually a simple waterfall named "Bathing Cave". If it was ever used for bathing is not clear, but with the current number of visitors any bathing activities would definitely destroy the pools. Much more interesting is a real cave, a tufa cave near the Ancient temple at the upper end of the valley. It is named ShowcaveHuánglóng dòng (Yellow Dragon Cave).


Huanglong Gallery