Jiuzhaigou Travel Guide: Getting There from Chengdu, Passport Booking, Tickets and Huanglong

Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟, Jiǔzhàigōu) is worth the trip from Chengdu, and a foreign visitor can now book it: the park sells tickets online with passport details and has a passport-only lane at the entrance. It is open every day of the year, but only with a real-name booking, and each day has a cap on visitors. From 1 April to 15 November you pay 190 yuan for entry plus 90 yuan for the park bus; from 16 November to 31 March it is 80 yuan plus 80 yuan. The last entry is at 14:00 and the park closes at 18:00. The fastest train from Chengdu East takes 1 hour 39 minutes to Huanglong Jiuzhai Station, and from there it is about two more hours by road to the park. Plan three days from Chengdu for Jiuzhaigou alone, and four if you add Huanglong.

The short answer: getting there, booking and cost

• Can a foreigner book? Yes. The park's own news page says tickets can now be bought online with passport information, and the entrance has passport lanes where you check yourself in, with staff as a backup.
• Where to book. The official channels are the "九寨沟旅游官方平台" (Jiuzhaigou Tourism Official Platform) WeChat account or mini program, and the "阿坝旅游网" (Aba Tourism) mini program or website.
• How far ahead. For busy dates the park has advised booking 7 to 14 days ahead.
• Daily cap. 41,000 visitors a day in the peak season and 23,000 in the off-season; when a day is sold out, sales stop.
• Hours. Entry ends at 14:00 all year and everyone leaves by 18:00; the gates open at about 7:30 to 8:00 in the peak season and at 8:30 in the off-season.
• Getting there. Train from Chengdu East to Huanglong Jiuzhai Station, then a park shuttle bus of about two hours to the Jiuzhaigou entrance. The long-distance coach from Chengdu takes 9 to 10 hours.
• Where to sleep. Outside the park. Nobody may stay overnight inside it. The usual base is Zhangzha town (漳扎镇, Zhāngzhā Zhèn), at the park entrance.

The card below has the full set of tickets, booking rules, hours and park rules in one place.

A simple plan that works for most people: day one, morning train from Chengdu and the shuttle to Zhangzha; day two, the whole day inside the park, at the gate when it opens; day three, back to the station and the train to Chengdu. Add a day if you want Huanglong as well. Where Jiuzhaigou fits in a longer Sichuan trip is covered in our Chengdu travel guide.

Booking a ticket with a foreign passport

Every visitor needs a real-name booking, including people who get in free or at a discount, and every ticket counts toward the daily cap; once a day is sold out, nothing more is sold for it. So you cannot count on just turning up: even a ticket bought at the park's own self-service machines is a real-name ticket checked against your passport.

Which channel to use

The park's notices point first to the WeChat mini program "九寨沟旅游官方平台" (Jiuzhaigou Tourism Official Platform), which the park names in its notices as the place to book, refresh for returned tickets and join the waiting list. The second official channel is "阿坝旅游网" (Aba Tourism), as a mini program or a website.

For foreign visitors, the important news is that passport bookings now work. In October 2026 the park's official site reported that tickets can be bought online with passport information, that signs and visitor help cover several languages, and the Aba prefecture government reported self-service ticket machines in several languages and a dedicated passport lane at the entrance. In a 2025 interview, the park's deputy director said passports can be used to book on the official site and on the major online travel platforms, paying with international credit cards or the international version of Alipay.

The park has not published step-by-step instructions for booking with a passport, so here is the practical order to try things:

1. Try the official WeChat mini program first. Search "九寨沟旅游官方平台" in WeChat, choose your date and add yourself as a visitor with your passport, typed exactly as printed in the passport you will carry.
2. If WeChat will not cooperate, try Aba Tourism. The "阿坝旅游网" website is the other official channel.
3. No WeChat? Try a major online travel platform. In the 2025 interview, the park's deputy director said passport bookings also work on the major online travel platforms; check that the ticket is issued in your passport name for your exact date before you pay.
4. If none of these works, call the ticket line. Jiuzhaigou ticket enquiries are on +86 837 776 9999; the park does not say whether English is spoken, so a Chinese-speaking friend or your hotel can help with the call. The Aba Tourism line is +86 400 088 6969, then 1, and 400 numbers often cannot be reached from a foreign SIM, so test the call first.
5. Bring the same passport on the day. At the entrance you check in at the passport lane, with staff checking by hand if the machine does not read it.

Book the park before you book trains and hotels. The ticket is the one thing you cannot fix on the spot, and trains and rooms are easier to change.

When to book

Before National Day 2026 the park advised booking 7 to 14 days ahead. Popular autumn days really do sell out early: tickets for 1 November 2026 hit the 41,000 limit at 11:00 on 29 October. The park does not say how many days ahead a new date opens or at what time of day, so open the mini program about two weeks before your visit and check which dates are on sale. In the off-season, with fewer visitors and a smaller cap, a few days ahead is usually enough, but confirm availability as soon as your dates are firm.

If your date is sold out

Do not give up straight away. When people cancel tickets for a sold-out date, those tickets go back into the pool, and the park releases them twice a day, at 08:00 and 17:00 Beijing time, in the official mini program, where you can book them directly. These two times are for returned tickets on dates that are already full, not the moment new dates go on sale, so check at both times on the days before your visit.

On the day itself, if tickets are gone, the mini program opens a waiting list; a 2025 notice said you must already be within 40 km of the park to join it, and if you do not get a ticket your money is refunded. That makes the waiting list a last resort for people already in Zhangzha, not a plan. If your date stays full, the honest fix is to move the trip by a day or two, which is another reason to book the park before your train.

Do not buy a "ticket" from someone at the gate or online who is not an official channel. The booking is real-name and checked against your passport at the entrance, so a ticket in someone else's name will not get you in.

Tickets, park bus and opening hours by season

Jiuzhaigou has two seasons, and the price depends on the day you visit. You always need two things: the entry ticket and the park bus (观光车, guānguāng chē, "sightseeing bus"). From 1 April to 15 November that is 190 yuan plus 90 yuan; from 16 November to 31 March it is 80 yuan plus 80 yuan. The bus is not optional in practice. The valleys are long, and the official day route relies on the bus between stops.

Discounts and who they apply to. For the off-season the park's English site lists a youth ticket for ages 15 to 18 (40 yuan entry plus 80 yuan bus), free entry for people over 60 who still pay the 80-yuan bus, half price on both entry and bus for children aged 6 to 14 or 1.2 to 1.5 metres tall, and free entry and bus for children aged 6 and under or 1.2 metres and under. The page does not say whether these discounts are open to foreign visitors, so check the price shown on the booking page before you pay rather than counting on a discount. You can also buy optional insurance at the park for 10 yuan a person.

What the hours mean for your day. The 14:00 last entry is the rule that catches people. It means you cannot arrive from Chengdu on the morning train and go straight in: the train takes at least 1 hour 39 minutes and the road adds about two hours more, so even on the first train you would reach the gate in late morning at best and have only a few rushed hours. Sleep in Zhangzha and go in when the gate opens. Opening time moves with the season: notices in 2025 gave 7:30 in summer, autumn 2026 notices give 8:00, and the off-season pattern is 8:30, with 18:00 closing all year. The park publishes its winter notice for each off-season around mid-November, so check the latest notice for this winter's opening time.

What closes in winter. From 16 November to 31 March, some areas close because of the winter weather, including the Primeval Forest at the top of the Rize Valley. The rest of the park stays open.

No staying inside. Everyone must leave by 18:00 and overnight stays inside the park are not allowed. The park's own phrase for this is "沟内游、沟外住" (visit inside the valley, sleep outside it). Hotels in Zhangzha are the closest; you can compare them on Booking.com. Pick a hotel within walking distance of the entrance, or one that runs a morning drop-off, so you are not hunting for a taxi at 7:30.

Getting there from Chengdu

The train is now the best way for most people. The Chengdu East–Huangshengguan section of the Sichuan–Qinghai railway (川青铁路, Chuān-Qīng Tiělù) opened on 30 August 2024, with up to 30 trains a day and the fastest taking 1 hour 39 minutes to Huanglong Jiuzhai Station. Older guides that say you must fly or take a 10-hour bus are out of date.

Train plus shuttle bus (recommended)

Trains leave from Chengdu East (成都东站, Chéngdū Dōng Zhàn) and run to Huanglong Jiuzhai Station (黄龙九寨站, Huánglóng Jiǔzhài Zhàn). In a September 2026 listing on Ctrip, second-class seats on this route cost 130 to 151 yuan, with departures from early morning to early evening; check the fare and times for your own date on 12306. Foreign passports are accepted on the 12306 website and app, and the English 12306 site takes valid foreign passports. Our high-speed train guide walks you through registration and the passport check. If you would rather use an English booking app, Trip.com sells China rail tickets with a passport.

The station is high: 2,977 metres above sea level. You go from Chengdu's lowland to almost 3,000 metres in under two hours, so take the walk across the station slowly and drink water.

From the station, park shuttle buses (景区直通车, jǐngqū zhítōngchē) run to the bus terminal at the Jiuzhaigou entrance, timed to meet the trains; the ride is about 93 km and about two hours. There is a similar shuttle from Songpan Station. Tickets are sold in the WeChat mini program "九旅悦行" (Jiulü Yuexing), or the "团子汽车票" mini program, where you enter your start and end points. The park does not publish the fare or timetable online, so check both in the mini program when you book your train. If you cannot use the mini program, ask your hotel in Zhangzha whether it can arrange a pickup from the station.

Flying to Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport

Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport is in Chuanzhusi town in Songpan County, 88 km and about 1.5 hours by road from the Jiuzhaigou entrance. It has direct flights from cities including Chengdu and Chongqing, and the airport bus company runs buses from the airport to the main scenic areas; check the bus fare at the airport counter. It is a high-altitude airport, and snow in winter can cancel flights, so leave a spare day on the way home. Flying makes most sense if you are coming from another city with a direct flight; from Chengdu the train is now about as quick door to door. Our domestic flights guide covers booking and baggage rules.

Long-distance coach

Coaches still run from Chengdu's Xinnanmen and Chadianzi bus stations. The Xinnanmen coach leaves at 7:00 and goes straight to the park entrance; the Chadianzi coach stops in Zhangzha and ends in Jiuzhaigou county town; the trip is about 440 km and takes 9 to 10 hours. Check fares and the current departure time at the bus station or on the Sichuan bus ticket site before you go. With the train available, the coach is a backup for days when trains are sold out.

How many days you need

Three days is the minimum from Chengdu: one to get there, one full day in the park, one to get back. Four days lets you add Huanglong without rushing, and five gives you a spare day for weather or a sold-out date. Jiuzhaigou does not work as a day trip from Chengdu; our Chengdu day trips guide covers the places that do. Travellers on 240-hour visa-free transit cannot go to Jiuzhaigou or Huanglong: in Sichuan the policy only allows 11 cities, including Chengdu and Leshan, and Aba Prefecture, where both parks are, is not one of them. If that is how you entered China, you need a visa for this trip.

Inside the park: the one-day route

Jiuzhaigou is shaped like a "Y": three main valleys, about 60 km in total. The bus runs up and down all three, and boardwalks connect the lakes and waterfalls along the road.

• Rize Valley (日则沟, Rìzé Gōu), the right arm. The best part of the park: the Primeval Forest, Fragrant Grass Lake, Swan Lake, Arrow Bamboo Lake, Panda Lake, Five Flower Lake (五花海, Wǔhuā Hǎi), Pearl Shoals (珍珠滩, Zhēnzhū Tān), Mirror Lake and Nuorilang Falls (诺日朗瀑布, Nuòrìlǎng Pùbù).
• Zechawa Valley (则查洼沟, Zécháwā Gōu), the left arm. Long Lake (长海, Cháng Hǎi), Five-Color Pond (五彩池, Wǔcǎi Chí) and the upper and lower Seasonal Lakes, where the bus does not stop.
• Shuzheng Valley (树正沟, Shùzhèng Gōu), the stem. From the entrance up to the fork: Rhinoceros Lake, Tiger Lake, Shuzheng Waterfall, Shuzheng Village, the Shuzheng Lakes, Sleeping Dragon Lake, Double Dragon Lake, Reed Lake and Bonsai Shoals.

Nuorilang, where the three valleys meet, has the central bus stop and the lunch area.

The official one-day route

The park recommends a "one-day highlights" route that goes up first and works its way down. The park's published version starts at 7:00, earlier than the gates open now, so start at opening time and expect each step to run a little later than the park's times.

1. Morning: Rize Valley. From the entrance, take the bus about an hour up to the Primeval Forest. Then work down the valley by bus and on foot: Fragrant Grass Lake, Swan Lake, Arrow Bamboo Lake, Panda Lake, Five Flower Lake, Mirror Lake and the Nuorilang lakes. The park's version spends the whole morning here, and it is the stretch most worth walking. The boardwalk from Five Flower Lake past Pearl Shoals is the part to do on foot if you only walk one.
2. Lunch at Nuorilang. Eat and rest at the Nuorilang central station.
3. Early afternoon: Zechawa Valley. Take the bus about 30 minutes up to Long Lake, then walk down to Five-Color Pond. This is the highest part of the route, so walk slowly.
4. Late afternoon: Shuzheng Valley. Take the bus to Rhinoceros Lake, then go down the Shuzheng Valley on foot and by bus to Double Dragon Lake and Bonsai Shoals; in the park's version you are back at the entrance at about 17:35. If you are running late, stay on the bus through this valley and save your legs for the lakes you care about.

That is a full day of eight to ten hours. The park also notes that the bus routes on any day follow its dispatch centre, so if a stop is skipped, ask the driver or staff at Nuorilang. In the off-season the Primeval Forest is closed, so start the morning at the highest open stop in the Rize Valley and follow the same order from there.

With two days, the park suggests Zechawa and Shuzheng valleys on the first day and walking the Rize Valley on the second. Remember that each day needs its own booking.

Altitude and park rules

The visitor area lies between about 2,000 and 3,100 metres. Most healthy visitors manage it fine, but you will feel short of breath on the uphill boardwalks. The park asks visitors to slow down, avoid hard exercise, and go back down or get medical help if they feel unwell. The park's rescue number is +86 837 773 8818. If you have heart or lung problems, talk to your doctor before the trip, and read our health and medical care guide for how hospitals, pharmacies and paying for treatment work in China.

The park rules are strict and enforced:

• No drones anywhere in the park.
• No pets, no smoking, no lighters or other flammable items, and no fires.
• No walking into the lakes or shoals, no swimming and no taking water.
• No feeding the fish, climbing over railings or picking plants.
• Stay on the boardwalks, and do not go into areas that are not open to visitors.

Bring snacks and water, a warm layer even in summer, and rain gear. The bus is the only way to cover the distances, so there is no need to rush from one bus to the next; another one comes along.

Adding Huanglong

Huanglong (黄龙, Huánglóng, "Yellow Dragon") is a valley of yellow travertine terraces and small coloured pools, and it pairs well with Jiuzhaigou because the same railway station serves both. Huanglong Jiuzhai Station is about 27 km and 35 minutes from Huanglong, against about 93 km and two hours to Jiuzhaigou.

Tickets and seasons. Huanglong's seasons are not the same as Jiuzhaigou's. Its off-season runs from 16 December to 31 May: in 2025–26 that meant 60 yuan for a full ticket and 30 yuan for a reduced ticket, and from 1 June 2026 the peak price is 170 yuan, or 85 yuan for a half-price ticket. So from 16 November to 15 December, Jiuzhaigou is already on winter prices while Huanglong is still on its peak price; check the new off-season notice, which comes out in early to mid-December. The notices do not say who qualifies for the reduced or half-price ticket, so expect to pay the full price. Bring your passport and confirm at the ticket office or through your hotel whether you need to book ahead.

Hours and the cable car. In the 2026 peak season, the park and the cable car start at 8:00, ticket sales stop at 16:30, the last cable car up is at 17:00 and the last one down at 17:30; in the off-season the park opens at 9:00. Check the cable car fare at the ticket office. Taking the cable car up and walking down the boardwalk is easier on your lungs than walking uphill the whole way. The terraced pools near the top, also called Five-Color Pond (五彩池), are the main sight; this is a different place from the pond with the same name in Jiuzhaigou.

Altitude. Huanglong's boardwalk climbs higher than anything you reach in Jiuzhaigou. The station that serves it already sits at 2,977 metres, and the walk goes uphill from there. Sichuan's health commission says altitude sickness mainly starts above 2,500 metres, often within a few hours, with shortness of breath, headache, dizziness, poor sleep or nausea; a severe headache, vomiting or unsteady walking means stop climbing and get medical help quickly, and people with serious lung disease, asthma, congenital heart disease or pulmonary hypertension are advised not to go to high altitude. Walk slowly, take breaks and skip alcohol the night before. Doing Jiuzhaigou first gives your body a day to adjust.

How to fit it in. Give each park its own day. Jiuzhaigou takes a full day on its own, and the drive between the Jiuzhaigou entrance and Huanglong is long. A comfortable order is: day one, train and shuttle to Zhangzha; day two, Jiuzhaigou; day three, transfer toward Huanglong and visit it; day four, train back to Chengdu, or visit Huanglong on the morning of day four and take an afternoon train if you sleep near Huanglong. Ask your hotel in Zhangzha about a car or bus to Huanglong, and check the last train back to Chengdu on 12306 before you plan a same-day visit. If you would rather not organise the transfers yourself, multi-day tours from Chengdu are listed on GetYourGuide; the park ticket is still real-name, so ask whether the tour books it in your passport name.

When to go

Autumn. The park says the colours are at their best in mid to late October, and suggests avoiding the National Day holiday week (1–7 October) and going a week or two later; for a first visit, it recommends autumn. Late-October and early-November dates sell out: tickets for 1 November 2026 reached the 41,000 cap two days ahead, so book early. Chinese law lets parks cap visitor numbers and use bookings to control them, which is why busy days sell out instead of getting more crowded. For the dates of China's holiday weeks and how to travel around them, see our Golden Week guide.

Winter. From 16 November the park is on off-season prices and a smaller cap. The forests are under snow and the waterfalls freeze, with Pearl Shoals and Nuorilang the best for frozen falls; Long Lake and Panda Lake freeze about 60 cm thick, but the other lakes do not freeze completely, so most of them still show their colour. It is cold, some areas are closed, and snow can cancel flights, so the train is the safer way in. If you like quiet and do not mind the cold, winter is good value.

Summer. Summer is green and full, but it is the rainy season, and heavy rain can close parts of the park. On 26 July 2026 a local debris flow closed some areas, and the whole park reopened on 30 July. Check the park's official notices page before you travel in summer, and keep a spare day.

Spring. April and May bring the peak price at Jiuzhaigou from 1 April, while Huanglong is still on its off-season price until 31 May. Expect cold mornings.

Comparing Jiuzhaigou with other scenic areas in China? Our guide to China's natural wonders sets it next to places such as Zhangjiajie and Huangshan by landscape and season.

A little background

Jiuzhaigou has been on UNESCO's World Heritage List as a natural site since 1992, and its name means "Nine Village Valley", after the nine Tibetan villages in the valleys; three remain inside the park today, Shuzheng, Heye and Zechawa. A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Jiuzhaigou County on 8 August 2017, and after more than three years of repair work the whole park reopened on 28 September 2021. The park's English visitor information page sets out the ticket prices and park rules in English.

Before you go

Book your Jiuzhaigou ticket first, with your passport, on the official mini program or Aba Tourism, about two weeks ahead for autumn dates. Then book the train from Chengdu East to Huanglong Jiuzhai Station on 12306, a hotel in Zhangzha, and the station shuttle. Plan three days for Jiuzhaigou alone and four with Huanglong. On the day, be at the gate when it opens, ride up to the top of the Rize Valley and work your way down, and keep an eye on the 14:00 last entry and 18:00 closing. In summer, check the park's notices for closures; from mid-November, expect winter prices, frozen waterfalls and a few closed areas.

Last updated: October 2026