Colorful banners fluttering in the wind at a Tibetan village.

In 1992, UNESCO registered this scenic area onto the world natural heritage list and many Chinese regard it as the nation's premier national park.

Compared to other Chinese tourist hubs, with north-south, east-west grid patterns the township's layout is unusual. The town is basically a 10-km strip of road sparsely lined with hotels, restaurants and shops. During peak season, in the spring and summer months, the place is humming with more than 30,000 people. During winter, between November and early March, it's a ghost town.

I visited during Spring Festival, hoping to find a quiet China hideaway, far from the maddening crowd of Beijing. I found it in Jiuzhaigou. My huge hotel, which had about 300 rooms, had only a dozen guests. The hotel staff, and most local tourist industry people, such as taxi drivers, restaurant operators and shopkeepers, could not speak English, making it a challenge for native English speakers. But don't let that stop you.

This place is all about the park and getting to this 70-hectare paradise from your hotel is an easy 10-minute taxi ride. The overwhelming serenity of its natural beauty makes up for any shortcomings. I spent hours walking through the park alone in splendid isolation. My vivid photographs took themselves.

A visitor stays in one of the dozens of hotels scattered along the main road, and room rates vary from 200 yuan ($28) a night to more than 2,000 a night at the Sheraton. But except for sleeping, why stay indoors, when the great outdoors is shining with such natural beauty?

It costs 220 yuan ($31) for a day ticket into the park, plus 90 yuan ($13) for a bus pass. You need a bus pass because the 50-km-long valley is impossible to cover by foot. A fleet of gas-powered minibuses circle every 10 minutes, and visitors can alight at dozens of stops. Walkways are built across the park, allowing visitors to be one with everything.