Jiaju Tibetan Village is a cluster of Jiarong Tibetan villages located in Danba County, Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan, about 8 kilometers north from the center of Danba town. The name Jiaju was taken to refer to these villages that now has become a main tourist attraction in Danba. The Tibetan village covers an area of about 5 square kilometers. It has more than 140 households of the Jiarong Tibetans. The villages start from the bottom of valley by Jinchuan River to the foot of Kapama Mountains.
Getting to Jiaju Tibetan Village
To go to Danba one needs to go to Chengdu first and then take a bus (Chengdu Chadianzi Bus Station is at 7:00 every morning). There are currently two roads to Danba. One is from Chengdu to Dujiangyan, Wolong, Siguniangshan and Xiaojin to Danba. The total distance is 320 kilometers. The other way is from Chengdu to Ya'an, Luding, Guzan to Danba, the whole journey is about 400 kilometers.
Now it requires admission fee to get into the village. You can either hire a car to get there or to drive up, or to use their tourist bus. The drive from Danba county to the village takes about 20 minutes. Tourist center is on half way.
Danba Jiaju is a Tibetan village called "Jiaju". In Jiarong Tibetan it means hundreds of families. The Tibetan village starts from the Big Jinchuan River valley to the foot of the Kapama mountains. The entire village lies on the rolling hillside. Its highest location is 1000 meters higher than its lowest location. Unique Jiarong Tibetan houses were scattered on the hillside among the green trees and fields. From time to time, the smoke and clouds sways, and together with the aura-filled valleys, clear streams, and snow-capped peaks, often display idyllic views. In 2005, “Danba Tibetan Village” represented by Jiaju Tibetan Village was rated as the first among "the six most beautiful ancient rural villages in China". At present Jiaju has become a tourist place that many people come pass here will stop at this village.
The entire Jiaju Tibetan village covers an area of about 5 square kilometers. The white color they use on the houses is in their universal blief. The reason for the unique Tibetan architecture is because the Tibetans here are called Jiarong Tibetans. The so-called "Jiarong" is the abbreviation of Jiamo Chavarong, "Jiamo" refers to the queen, and "Chavarong" refers to the river valley, which means "the queen's river valley." The queen indicates the femal leader of its people. Dongnv Kingdom (Kingdom in the east with female leaders) is a tribal group and local government that emerged in the sixth and seventh centuries AD, and its territory ranged from Jinchuan County, Xiaojin County, and Danba County in Ganzi Prefecture along the Dadu River. The descendants of this people naturally inherited the characteristics of Jiarong residential buildings, such as the use of original materials, the use of original technology, and the maintenance of simple but traditional style.
The Jiarong Tibetans call the villages where they live "Zhaizi", a fortress-like village. These villages are generally built on the relatively flat slops and consist of dozens or even hundreds of families. In terms of layout, the Tibetan village buildings expand their spatial layout horizontally along the contour lines. On the undulating terrain, they choose a flat terrace to build houses. The dwelling consists of 2-5 households to form a "group", each "group" is surrounded by farmland, and the building is built along the edge of the field and does not occupy farming land.
These houses are generally north-south layed out. One family lives in one house. 3-5 houses together is called "group" or such cluster of houses are often seen in Jiaju. The shape of their houses is unique, mostly three to five floors, all of which are stone and wood structures. The functions of each floor are clear. The first floor is for feeding animals, the second floor is kitchen, etc. The third floor is mostly used for when there is a guest. the fourth floor is used for stacking crops, storage, etc. The fifth floor is usually where local people keep their small shrine of Buddha statues, etc. This their traditional set of house. At present due to the develop of tourism, they have modified many rooms into guestrooms, etc. But in general the sketches and basics are still remaining.
On top of the building at each of the four corners there are usually small white pogodas and on top wdecorated with prayer flags. The outer wall of the houses are mostly painted with white, red and black circles, and painted with sun, moon, stars and religious patterns, showing a beautiful and neat appearance. It is said that every year on the eve of Losar, people will use the local "white mud" to carefully paint their wall.
Ticket info:50 yuan per person for entrance fee; Tourist Bus: 35 yuan per person
Recommended length of visit:2-3 hours
Opening Hour:all day
Route: Danba
Route: Chengdu - Danba - Tagong - Kangding - Chengdu
Route: Chengdu - Siguniangshan - Danba - Tagong - Kangding - Hailuogou - Chengdu
