Shangri-La 11 - Danba "JiaJuCangZhai/甲居藏寨" is the most beautiful village in China

Jiaju Tibetan Village, about 8 kilometers northwest of Danba County, was rated as “the Most Beautiful Village in China” by Chinese National Geographic in 2005. In Danba County, there are over 180 Tibetan villages, while Jiaju Tibetan Village is the best example and most concentrated place to present Jiarong Tibetan culture. “Jiaju” in the local Tibetan language means a hundred and describes the number of families living in this village. The stone buildings and stone towers painted in white and covered in colored symbols stand out on the green mountains and among fields. In the most beautiful seasons of spring and autumn, Jiaju Tibetan Village becomes a fairy tale village decorated by beautiful blossom flowers and tall trees with colorful leaves. Overlooking this expansive village at high platforms, you can capture all the scene in front of your eyes - Tibetan-style houses built level by level on the mountains, from the river to the peak. Most importantly, you won’t miss the chance to experience the different and interesting Jiarong Tibetan culture in the most relaxing way.
Danba is called “A Place with Hundreds of Ancient Watchtowers” with over 3000 towers at present. The number of towers in Jiaju can be compared with Suopo Village which has the largest number of ancient watchtowers in the world. But many towers can be found in Jiaju. There are four kinds of towers - gate tower, beacon tower, communal tower and residential tower, which are mostly in quadrilateral, pentagonal, and hexagonal. The towers are made by stone. Some of them were used to pass signal, and some for family protection. Some are separately standing on the top of the mountains or at the bottom of the valley, some are close together in the middle of the mountain...Now, all the towers in Jiaju is the witness of history, the cultural landmark of Jiarong Tibetans. If you are interested in close observation, you can pay a visit to get inside. But it is not easy to climb up the tower for the wooden stairs are narrow and steep.