Flower Lake (Huahu Lake)

Flower Lake actually is a magnificent wetland embedded in Ruoergai Grassland in northwest Sichuan Province. Featured for flowers, grasslands, swamps and lakes, it was once rated as the most beautiful wetland in China by “National Geographic”. During the summer, the lake is full of flowers while red leaves add to its beauty in autumn. Cattle and sheep can often be found here in groups making it a great place for photography too. It is said that the reason why it is called Flower Lake is because the lake looks like a petal from a bird’s eye view.

Flower Lake

Plank Road Leading into Flower Lake

Huahu Lake is famous for small flowers in the lake. The best time to visit it is in July when Flower Lake is full of beautiful flowers which look ordinary but can dye the pure blue lake into a faint lavender. You can hike to the middle of the wetland along the plank road to get a closer look at the charming scenery. In addition, from June to August every year the weather is quite pleasant. Since the water of this lake is indescribably pure and in combination with reflections of blue sky and white clouds, it makes visitors feel as though they are entering into a magical fairyland.
 Yellow ducks and creek gulls perch on the shores of the lake or splash in the water; bobak marmots and gray rabbits shuttle around; swans and white geese flock in groups, dance in the air, or soar in the blue sky. The scenery is so spectacular and impressive. If you are lucky enough, you can see the rare black-necked cranes.
 1. There are many insects in summer here, be careful.
2. The sun is very abundant when the weather is fine, so applying a liberal amount of sunscreen lotion is necessary.
3.The altitude of Flower Lake is about 3,468 meters (3,793 yards). To protect you from altitude sickness, take some anti-altitude medicine.
4. Huahu Lake has no nearby accommodations. Only during the tourist season from June to August, the local villagers set up some tents on the grassland for tourists to live at a price of about CNY10-30 per person. For the remaining days, visitors can only go to the surrounding counties to live.
5. It is a good idea to bring some food by yourself as there are no restaurants nearby, but please ensure that no garbage is left behind. The restaurants gather in the surrounding counties where you can taste the local cuisine.
 By long-distance bus: Flower Lake is 500 kilometers (300 miles) northwest of Chengdu, Sichuan Province. There are three buses available from Chengdu Chadianzi Bus Station to Ruoergai County which will take about 12 hours. The departure time is around 6:40, 7:20, 7:40, and the fare is about CNY 170. Because local transportation is not convenient and there is about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Ruoergai County to Flower Lake, it is recommended to rent a local car. The cost of renting a car is around CNY 500 a day and you can also visit the Yellow River First Bay on the way.

By air: You can fly to Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport and then hire a local car to arrive in Ruoergai County which takes about 2-3 hours and the fare is about CNY 200- CNY400. You can share a car with others to save money.
 

Adimission Fee	CNY 75 CNY 30 for tour bus inside the scenic area; it is recommended to take the tour bus because the scenic area is vast.
Suggested Visiting Time	1 Day