Situated in Songpan County, north-west part of Sichaun province, the Huanglong valley is made up of snow-capped peaks and the easternmost of all the Chinese glaciers.

In addition to its mountain landscape, diverse forest ecosystems can be found, as well as spectacular limestone formations, waterfalls and hot springs. The area also has a population of endangered animals, including the giant panda and the Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys.

Huanglong Scenic area has two parts: Huanglong and Muni Gorge. Huang Long includes Huang Long Valley, Danyun Gorge, Snow Treasure Peak, while Muni Gorge comprises two scenic spots the Zhaga Waterfall and the Erdao Lake. The special character of the area which extends over 700 square kilometers results from formations of talpatate which give a special color to ponds and beaches. With a background and of high mountains, snow covered peaks, valleys, waterfalls, lakes and forests, these talpatate scenes are quite spectacular.

Huang Long wins its fame for its magic landscape of lime formations, made up of 3400 multi-colored and uniquely-sized ponds, interlace along the valley. These amazing ponds are paved with golden lime deposit and cover nearly a half a square. Not to be excluded there are also five waterfalls, four stalactite caves and three ancient temples, and all in the same valley, which looks like a dragon surging down from snowcapped peaks of Mt. Minshan.

The scenic area provides a variety unique and wild scenery such as the Huanglong (Yellow Dragon) Ravine, at foot of the Xuebao Peak in the Minsha Mountain; it is 3.6 kilometers long and 30-170 meters wide. The section from the Fuyuan Bridge at the entrance to the Yuyu Pond is 3,160-3,574 meters above sea level and its surface is a thick layer of light yellow talpatate. In the sunshine, the ravine looks like a golden dragon winding its way through the forest.

In the ravine there are a variety of talpatate scenes, talpatate ponds, beaches, waterfalls, caves and dykes but the colorful talpatate ponds are the most attractive; they come in different shapes, sizes and colors and there are 3,400 of them in eight groups.

Other attractions are Huang Long Temple (Yellow Dragon Temple),Colored Terrace-Ponds, Huang Long Cave (Yellow Dragon Cave) etc. With so many wonderful views gathered in one place, Huang Long is not only the treasure of China, but also the treasure of the world.

Included in the UNESCO world heritage list in 1992.