Jiaju Tibetan Village - Most Beautiful Village in China by National Geographic

Jiaju Tibetan Village, with an area of 5 sq.km, has over 140 household living in this characteristic village at present. It is the group of Jiarong Tibetans living on this amazing land, and they are different from Kangba Tibetans and Anduo Tibetans in other regions.

Jiarong Tibetans settled in the valleys and mountains and built stone houses to prevent the chilliness and heat and animal attack. The houses in red and white have at least three-storey and many have five or six storey. On the top of the roof, colorful prayer flags are waving in the wind. White curtains can be found at eave, doors and windows. The Tibetan houses rise from Dajin Valley and settled level by level to the foot of Kapama Mountain. On the green mountains, you can see some of houses concentrated together, some are scattered, some are among the farmlands, even some are hanging on the cliff...all are built in harmony with nature. When clouds and mists covered, the whole land is like the fairy tale world. Jiaju Tibetan Village tells us a truth - human should learn to live in harmony with nature and protect it.

Ancient Watchtowers - Cultural Landmark of Jiarong Tibetans

Danba is called “A Place with Hundreds of Ancient Watchtowers” with over 3000 towers at present. The number of towers in Jiaju can be compared with Suopo Village which has the largest number of ancient watchtowers in the world. But many towers can be found in Jiaju. There are four kinds of towers - gate tower, beacon tower, communal tower and residential tower, which are mostly in quadrilateral, pentagonal, and hexagonal. The towers are made by stone. Some of them were used to pass signal, and some for family protection. Some are separately standing on the top of the mountains or at the bottom of the valley, some are close together in the middle of the mountain...Now, all the towers in Jiaju is the witness of history, the cultural landmark of Jiarong Tibetans. If you are interested in close observation, you can pay a visit to get inside. But it is not easy to climb up the tower for the wooden stairs are narrow and steep.

Pay a Visit to Local Jiarong Tibetan’s Home

When entering Jiaju Tibetan Village, you can see many locals dressed in traditional Jiarong Tibetan costumes - most of them are smiling to you with friendliness. Almost none of them can understand English. If you want to pay a visit to their home, you’d better follow your guide to do so. A very little amount of charge is needed. Almost every house is composed of a yard, cow or sheep enclosure, kitchen, fireplace on the ground floor, guest living rooms on the second floor, master living room on the third floor, sutra chanting hall on the top. All the roof can be visited which is used for storage of food. The white stones are placed in the quadrangle of the roof for prayer. Having the close look at the inside of the houses, you can have a basic understanding of the real life of Jiarong Tibetans. Besides, you can learn more from the locals to know their belief, festivals, and customs. How interesting it is.

Capture Panoramic & Idyllic View of the Whole Village

Don’t miss the chance to stand at a high point to capture the panoramic view of the whole Jiaju Tibetan Village. There are platforms, named No.1 Observation Deck, No.2 Observation Deck, and No.3 Observation Deck which are the best places to enjoy the panorama.

Photography Tips:

If you would like take some awesome photos, you’d better get to Jiaju Village in the morning around 08:00~09:30 when the sun is going to rise. It is suggested to reach the top of the platform No.3 and shoot your pictures and then move to the lower platform for more. Walk among the farmlands and take many photos of the exquisite Tibetan-styled houses with beautiful decorations.

Jiaju Tibetan Village in Danba County can be visited all year round. Different season offers different beauty. The most recommended time to visit Jiaju is in spring and autumn. When spring comes, the average temperature turns to 4-11 ℃. With temperature rises bit by bit, everything here is going to come back to life. It is going to be the truly fairyland, pear blossom all of the mountain, beautiful and idyllic, rising from the valley to the peak. The red and white Tibetan houses are scattered among the mountains and flowers, forming a traditional Chinese painting and you’ll get awed at the scene once you just have a look. When autumn comes, the average temperature is around 5-18 ℃. From September to November, the weather here is extremely cool. The whole world of Jiaju Tibetan Village is going to put a colorful dress which is different from the scene in spring. At this time, it turns from an elegant maiden to a charming lady. Leaves are going to change to golden, decorated with green trees, the red and white Tibetan houses are situated among the golden and green ones, erecting watchtowers stand out...It is very beautiful in autumn.

Jiaju Village is located in north of Danba County. Travelers who want to visit Jiaju should first get to Danba County first and then transfer to Jiaju Village.

Chengdu to Danba County:

Most travelers come from Chengdu to Danba by driving. The distance between Chengdu and Danba County is about 315 kilometers. If you go directly to Danba from Chengdu, you can go with China Discovery with our comfortable licensed private cars (7 hours’ driving) or go by long distance bus. Usually, there are about 2 buses in the morning running from Chengdu Chadianzi Bus Station to Danba Bus Station, taking about 9 hours in total.

About 14 kilometers away from Jiaju Tibetan Village is another famous Tibetan Village, called Zhonglu which means a place looking forwards to in Tibetan language. With an altitude of 2100 meters, Zhonglu Tibetan Village is quieter than Jiaju Village, isolated settled in the northeast of Danba County. It was selected as one of the “Top 100 Photography Places in Sichuan” by Chinese National Geographic. Zhonglu Tibetan Village is the perfect blending of Dadu River and high mountains and deep gorges. Reaching the middle part of the village, you can have a far look at the holy mountain - Muoerduo Mountain. Besides, there are 88 living ancient watchtowers erecting in this village that you can either have a close exploration or enjoy a distance appearance looking. It also proves that Danba is the incredible place with hundreds of ancient watchtowers. Local mini coach can take you there, taking about 20 minutes from Danba County.

Suopo Tibetan Village (梭坡古碉群)

Suopo Tibetan Village is also the typical village with over 100 ancient watchtowers. It is about 14 kilometers from Jiaju Tibetan Village and about 6 kilometers from Danba County. Suopo Tibetan Village is regarded as the most concentrated village with watchtowers in the world. Among the 100 towers, there is the only quinquangular tower in the world. Besides the unique quinquangular tower, there are other different shapes of the towers in quadrilateral, pentagonal, and hexagonal. A lot of legends also surround those towers - they were believed to protect people from demons. They are a beautiful symbol of the Jiarong Tibetan architecture. Local mini coach is available from Danba County to Suopo Village, taking about 15-20 minutes.

China Discovery is the local travel agency headquartered in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. We have been specialized in offering Chengdu tours, Panda tours, Jiuzhai Valley tours, Leshan Giant Buddha and Mount Emei tours, Mount Siguniang tours, Danba tours, Daocheng Yading tours and other interesting tours.

No matter you want to travel Danba from Chengdu simply, or cover Danba Tibetan Villages with other destinations in Sichuan and China, China Discovery can provide you best tour guides and experienced friendly drivers with comfortable private cars. Our English-speaking tour guide will accompany you all the way, showing you the best traveling route and telling beautiful stories of the mysterious Sichuan.