That's Life!: June 2010

[From WiKipedia]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leshan_Giant_Buddha
History
Construction was started in 713, led by a Chinese monk named Haithong. He hoped that the Buddha would calm the turbulent waters that plagued the shipping vessels travelling down the river. When funding for the project was threatened, he is said to have gouged out his own eyes to show his piety and sincerity. After his death, however, the construction was stuck due to insufficient funding. About 70 years later, a jiedushi decided to sponsor the project and the construction was completed by Haitong's disciples in 803.

Apparently the massive construction resulted in so much stone being removed from the cliff face and deposited into the river below that the currents were indeed altered by the statue, making the waters safe for passing ships.

Dimensions
At 71 metres (233 feet) tall, the statue depicts a seated Maitreya Buddha with his hands resting on his knees. His shoulders are 28 metres wide and his smallest toenail is large enough to easily accommodate a seated person. There is a local saying: "The mountain is a Buddha and the Buddha is a mountain". This is partially because the mountain range in which the Leshan Giant Buddha is located is thought to be shaped like a slumbering Buddha when seen from the river, with the Leshan Giant Buddha as its heart.

An amazing place. The best season here is Aguest to October, You can see a colorful world at that time.
Although May is not the best season, the scene also let you shock.

Enjoy.

(A brief introduction attached, from WikiPedia.org)

Jiuzhaigou National Park (simplified Chinese: 九寨沟; traditional Chinese: 九寨溝; pinyin: Jiǔzhàigōu; lit. "Valley of Nine Villages"; Tibetan: Zitsa Degu (gzi rtsa sde dgu)) is a nature reserve in the north of Sichuan, a province in south western China. It is known for its many multi-level waterfalls and colorful lakes, and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. It belongs to the category V (Protected Landscape) in the IUCN system of protected area categorization.

Geography and climate

Known in English as Jiuzhai Valley it lies at the southern end of the Minshan mountain range, 330 km north of the provincial capital of Chengdu. It is part of the Jiuzhaigou County (formerly Nanping County) in the Aba Tibetan Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of northwestern Sichuan province, near the Gansu border.The valley covers 720 km², with buffer zones covering an additional 600 km². Its elevation, depending on the area considered, ranges from 1,998 to 2,140 m (at the mouth of Shuzheng Gully) to 4,558 - 4,764 m (on Mount Ganzigonggai at the top of Zechawa Gully).The climate is cool temperate with a mean annual temperature of 7.2 °C, with means of -1 °C in January and 17 °C in July. Total annual rainfall is 661 mm, 80% of which occurs between May and October.

History

The remote region was inhabited by various Tibetan and Qiang peoples for centuries, but was not officially discovered by the government until 1972. Extensive logging took place until 1979, when the Chinese government banned such activity and made the area a national park in 1982. An Administration Bureau was established and the site officially opened to tourism in 1984; layout of facilities and regulations were completed in 1987. The site was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1992 and a World Biosphere Reserve in 1997.Since opening, tourist activity has increased every year: from 5,000 in 1984 to 170,000 in 1991, 160,000 in 1995, to 200,000 in 1997, including about 3,000 foreigners. Visitors numbered 1,190,000 in 2002.[1] As of 2004[update], the site averages 7,000 visits per day, with a quota of 12,000 being reportedly enforced during high season. The Town of Zhangzha at the exit of the valley and the nearby Songpan County feature an ever-increasing number of hotels, including several polished five-stars, such as Sheraton.

Population

Jiuzhaigou (literally "Nine Village Valley") takes its name from the nine Tibetan villages along its length. Seven of them are still populated today. The main agglomerations that are readily accessible to tourists are Heye, Shuzheng and Zechawa along the main paths that cater to tourists, selling various handicrafts, souvenirs and snacks. There is also Rexi in the smaller Zaru Valley and behind Heye village are Jianpan, Panya and Yana villages. The Valley's no longer populated villages are Guodu and Hejiao.
Finally, the Penbu, Panxing and Yongzhu villages lie along the road that passes through the town of Jiuzhaigou/Zhangza outside the valley.
In 1997, the permanent population of the valley was about 1000, made up of about 130 Tibetan families. Due to the protected nature of the park, agriculture is no longer permitted so the locals now rely on tourism and local government subsidies to make a living.

Ecology

Jiuzhaigou's ecosystem is classified as temperate broad-leaf forest and woodlands, with mixed mountain and highland systems. Nearly 300 km² of the core scenic area are covered by virgin mixed forests. Those forests take on attractive yellow, orange and red hues in the autumn, making that season a popular one for visitors. They are home to a number of plant species of interest, such as endemic varieties of rhododendron and bamboo.
Local fauna includes the endangered giant panda and golden snub-nosed monkey. Both populations are very small (less than 20 individuals for the pandas) and isolated. Their survival is in question in a valley subject to increasing tourism. Jiuzhaigou is also home to approximately 140 bird species.

Geology and hydrology

Jiuzhaigou's landscape is made up of high-altitude karsts shaped by glacial, hydrological and tectonic activity. It lies on major faultlines on the diverging belt between the Qinghai-Tibet Plate and the Yangtze Plate, and earthquakes have also shaped the landscape. The rock strata is mostly made up of carbonate rocks such dolomite and tufa, as well as some sandstone and shales.
The valley includes the catchment area of three gullies (which due to their large size are often called valleys themselves), and is one of the sources of the Jialing River, part of the Yangtze River system

Jiuzhaigou's best-known feature is its dozens of blue, green and turquoise-colored lakes. The local Tibetan people call them "Haizi" in Chinese, meaning "son of the sea". Originating in glacial activity, they were dammed by rockfalls and other natural phenomena, then solidified by processes of carbonate deposition. Some lakes have a high concentration of calcium carbonate, and their water is very clear so that the bottom is often visible even at high depths. The lakes vary in color and aspect according to their depths, residues, and surroundings.
Some of the less stable dams and formations have been artificially reinforced, and direct contact with the lakes or other features is forbidden to tourists.

九寨沟风景名胜区位于中国四川省北部。域跨东经103°46'~104°4'；北纬32°54'~33°19'。属四川省阿坝藏族羌族自治州九寨沟县（原南坪县），因沟中有荷叶、盘亚、亚拉、尖盘、黑果、树正、则查洼、热西、郭都九个藏族村寨而得名。九寨溝水系流經白河、白水江、嘉陵江，最後流入長江。

九寨沟处在青藏高原东南的尕尔纳山峰北麓，海拔在2000米至3106米之间，属世界高寒喀斯特地貌。总面积约620km²，约有52%的面积被原始森林所覆盖，期间夹生箭竹和各种奇花异草，也有诸多野生动物栖息于此，如大熊猫、金丝猴、白唇鹿等。在冬季，九寨溝所有海子均會結冰，唯獨五花海因為湖底的泉眼影響，令湖水在冬天仍能保持在攝氏6度。
地貌成因推测九寨沟大多数湖泊形成源于水中所含碳酸钙。远古时代，地球处于冰期时，水中所含碳酸钙质无法凝结，只能随水漂流。到距今约12000年前，气候转暖后流水中的碳酸钙质活跃起来，一旦遇到障碍物便附着其上，逐渐积累，形成今天九寨沟中一条条乳白色的钙质堤埂，这些堤埂堆积起来形成堰塞湖。也就是所谓的“海子”。九寨沟山水约形成于第四纪古冰川时代，现保留大量第四纪冰川遗迹。由于富含碳酸钙质，湖底、湖堤、湖畔均可见乳白色碳酸钙形成的结晶，而来自雪山活水本身清澈，加之梯状湖泊层层过滤，其水色显得更加透明。

主要景区九寨沟分三条沟：日则沟、树正沟、则查洼沟3条主沟。景观分布在树正、诺日朗、剑岩、长海、扎如、天海六大景区。[编辑] 日则沟夏季五花海全景珍珠滩瀑布镜海原始森林天鹅海芳草海箭竹海熊猫海瀑布熊猫海五花海珍珠滩珍珠滩瀑布孔雀河道镜海诺日朗瀑布 [编辑] 树正沟树正沟是九寨沟风景秀丽的大门，全长13.8km，共有海子（湖泊）40余个，约占九寨沟景区全部湖泊的40%。火花海犀牛海老虎海树正群海树正瀑布树正寨卧龙海双龙海芦苇海盆景滩 [编辑] 则查洼沟长海五彩池长海五彩池上季节海中季节海下季节海则查洼寨