\　(Chinapic.people.com.cn)

Well known for its colorful pools, snow-capped peaks, valleys and virgin forest, Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area are usually called “World Wonder” and “Fairy Land on Earth. ”

It is located in Songpan County of southwest China’s Sichuan Province. The scenic spot`s beauty is beyond mere words, especially in Huanglonggou (Yellow Dragon Gully).

The world-famous travertine landscape is Huanglong`s main attraction. The total length of the travertine is 3.6 kilometers and people think it looks like a huge golden dragon wheeling through the snow-capped mountains of the valley. The main landscapes are travertine banks, amazingly colorful ponds, travertine waterfalls and caves.

Dotted upward along the valley, the 2,300 ponds are divided to eight groups, such as the Guest Greeting Ponds, The Flowing Pools of the Waterfall, the Potted Landscape Ponds, the Fragrant Ponds, the Jade-bathing Ponds, etc. The last group, the Five-Color Ponds are the best of all, which perch atop the highest part of the valley, at the back of the rear temple. Amid it stand a pair of stone towers, stone houses with up-curved roofs, which have been there since Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644). Due to varied depth of the ponds and all kinds of mineral pigments and deposits on the bottom, the water reflects a variety of charming colors.

　　(Chinapic.people.com.cn)