Tourists Rescued from China's Fairy‑Tale Jiuzhaigou After Sudden Mudslides

Early Monday morning, a sudden burst of rain – the lingering fingers of Typhoon Noul – turned the crystal‑clear valleys of Jiuzhaigou into a hazardous maze of mud and water. The UNESCO World Heritage park, famed for its turquoise lakes and multicolored waterfalls, found several of its main attractions blocked by fast‑moving slides.

State broadcaster CCTV reported that officials had ordered the immediate closure of the Arrow Bamboo Lake area in Rize Valley and the entire Zechawa Valley. Tour groups that had been wandering the trails found themselves stuck, and rescue teams quickly moved in to shepherd them to safety. By mid‑day, all stranded visitors were evacuated, many escorted by local police and park rangers on foot or via small shuttle buses.

The decision came as China’s Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration issued a red‑level flash‑flood warning – the highest alert – for several provinces, including Sichuan, Jiangxi and Hunan. The warning covers the period from Sunday night through Monday, warning of “high risks” of further landslides and sudden floods.

Jiuzhaigou isn’t the only place battered this week. In Chongqing, a massive landslide claimed 11 lives and left dozens missing. Gansu province saw a deadly slide in Tanchang that killed 21 people, while a flash‑flood at a camping site in Weiyuan county took 10 tourists’ lives and injured 23 more. Even far‑north in Shanxi, a loess collapse buried a house, killing five residents. These tragedies underline how the summer rainy season, coupled with increasingly intense storms, is straining China’s disaster‑response capacities.

Experts say the peak flood‑control window – known locally as Qixia Bashang – runs from mid‑July to mid‑August, and they expect the frequency of extreme rainfall to climb in the weeks ahead. For now, Jiuzhaigou’s pathways remain shut, and visitors are reminded to stay tuned to official updates before planning any trips to the area.