The Yellow Dragon Valley gets its name from its most prominent feature – large deposits of calcium carbonate, a yellow substance, wind through the valley in the shape of a dragon. According to ancient legend, this dragon helped the emperor of Xia rid his kingdom of floods by creating the Minjiang River to direct excess water into the sea.

The valley lies in the Huanglong area of Songpan County, Sichuan Province. This 3.6 kilometer valley is a lovely combination of white snow clad mountains, thick green forests and luscious blue lakes. The scenery has earned the valley names like “World Wonder’ and ‘Fairy Land on Earth’. The valley was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1992.

The valley’s limestone deposits give its ponds and lakes a golden shimmer. The waterfalls are clear and musical. The Yellow Dragon’s Cave is a popular spot partly because of the three Ming Era sitting Buddha statues there, themselves as golden as the rest of the valley’s limestone.

The Yellow Dragon Temple is located at the base of Snow Treasure Peak.  It’s a combination of three temples, representing the tail, body and head of a dragon.

The other scenic spots of the valley include the Washing Body Cave, the Glowing Waterfall and the Mindscape Ponds.

The Huang Long Valley is well-traveled tourist spot. Its scenic beauty is protected by the government, but it still includes modern comforts. Public transport to the valley is very good and there is an Internet café as well as a public phone booth. The valley itself must be seen on foot though, as there is no cable car as yet.

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