Jiuzhaigou Travel Forum

We are hoping to go to the Jiuzhaigou Nature Park early next month. What is the best way to get there from Guangzhou? We have about 5 days spare on our business trip to visit this area. As we do not speak Chinese do you think it would be best to book through a travel agent. Also we live near the beach, will we need to take altitude sickness medication with us?
Thanks heaps.

No need to go on a tour for Jiuzhaigou, in fact that's the worst way to "enjoy" the beauty of the place!
There seems to be no direct flights for Guangzhou -- Jiuzhaigou, so the most probable option would be to fly via Xi'an, Chongqing or Chengdu. Flights from Chengdu are the most frequent, but from experience the flights from Xi'an and Chongqing tend to be cheaper.
You might want to bring along some "hong2 jing3 tian1" in case you have problems with the altitude. It's a herbal medicine that's quite easily available in normal pharmacies in Chengdu, Jiuzhaigou and major cities.

Thank you so much.

Avoid travelling in the west part of Sichuan Province recently due to the earthquake.

If you still plan to visit Jiuzhaigou, take a flight only. Although it's not in rainy season, I am sure there will be frequent landslide after yesterday's earthquake in Wenchuan county, the town lies between Chengdu and Songpan.

The roads from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou are blocked due to the earthquake and are not expected to be open for some time. Flying to Jiuzhaigou is the best way to get there now. The government are advising against travel to the region however. Flights may not be running as normal. You will need to contact the park or a travel agent to see if the park is remaining open.

Having said that the Jiuzhaigou region was not seriously affected by the earthquake. There does not appear to be any structural damage to any of the hotels or businesses in the area. The park itself experienced falling rocks but no land slides or land slips occured. No tourists were injured in the park or its surroundings.

....also just to clarify, Jiuzhaigou is north of Songpan, not between Songpan and Chengdu. Mobile phone and internet communication have not been damaged. If you decide to book your trip through a travel agent make sure that you are free to view the park at your own pace - by this I mean make sure that the trip does not include a pre-arranged tour bus for transport within Jiuzhaigou. You should get an individual bus ticket where you can hop on and off any bus, whenever you want during the day.

Previous poster meant that Wenchuan (where the earthquake occurred) is between Songpan and Chengdu. Not Jiuzhaigou!