Vale of Eternal Blossoms

The Vale of Eternal Blossoms is a region at the center of the continent of Pandaria, and has great cultural importance to both the pandaren and mogu, particularly due to the Mogu'shan Palace. Formerly known as a Cradle of Life and used as a place of experimentation by the titans similar to Sholazar Basin and Un'Goro Crater, this vale of golden flowers and trees served as the seat of power for the rulers of Pandaria, such as the mogu rulers following the death of Lei Shen.

After the Alliance and Horde came to Pandaria bringing their war with them, the August Celestials decided to reopen the gate after sealing it following the downfall of the mogu empire. The Alliance and Horde proved themselves in aiding the Golden Lotus in defeating the Shao-Tien mogu. Later, Warchief Garrosh Hellscream used the vale's power as a means to revive the Heart of Y'Shaarj. The Old God's power utterly destroyed the eastern half of the vale, causing some to refer to it as the Vale of Eternal Sorrows. Following the Siege of Orgrimmar, Emperor Shaohao's spirit planted a magical tree in the center of the destruction, providing hope that the vale will heal one day now that Pandaria need no longer fear the seven breaths of Y'Shaarj.

Ancient history
In the years that the titans were on Azeroth, the Vale of Eternal Blossoms was a place Freya created and experiment with forms of life, like Un'Goro Crater and Sholazar Basin. All three locations were places where the power of the Well of Eternity had coalesced. The Wild Gods emerged from these cradles of life.

Freya also crafted and planted the tree Fu Zan in the Vale. It grew strong and tall, drinking deeply from the vale's resonant power, and more trees arose around it. Lush forests, both in the Emerald Dream and in the walking world, sprang to life across the region. The Wild Gods, later known as the August Celestials by the inhabitants of Pandaria, gathered near the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, and Freya approached them, giving them her staff to protect, while she set off north to fight an evil.

At the same time, they were fighting the Old Gods and their servants, the mantid, so they created the mogu to be guardians of the Vale and fight off the waves of mantid. When the Old Gods were defeated and the titans became silent, the mogu continued their work until the Curse of Flesh swept through the land. Unsure of what to do, the mogu started forming into clans and began fighting with each other, until Lei Shen rose and united the clans. Lei Shen and his mogu enslaved the creatures of Pandaria and forced them to build the Great Wall to block the mantid from his new empire and protect the Vale at the same time.

The jinyu had their beginnings in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, evolving from murlocs fortunate enough to live near the enchanted pools of the Vale. The magic of the pools expanded their minds and grew their bodies until they became one of the great ancient cultures of Pandaria. At some time following the departure of the titans, but before the rise of Lei Shen, the jinyu empire ruled over Pandaria from the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. During the reign of mogu emperor Lei Shen, the mogu invaded the jinyu kingdoms and slaughtered all who opposed them, presumably wresting from them control of the Vale.

When the mogu were overthrown by the pandaren, the capital was moved east to the Jade Forest, and the Vale's gates were closed off to the outside world, to all but the chosen few who become a member of a small group of caretakers known as the Golden Lotus, the guardians of the valley, keeping it pristine and safe, with occasional help from the Shado-Pan. After the Vale was sealed off, it became something of a mythical place in pandaren culture. The land's towering waterfalls, white-capped peaks, and beautiful architecture have spawned legends, myths, and poems, such as the "Song of the Vale".

Shortly before the Great Sundering, Emperor Shaohao traveled to the Vale after having purged himself of his burdens, and it was in the Vale that Shaohao became one with the land to save Pandaria from the Sundering. It is said that all the trees in the vale blossomed as he entered, and continued to blossom for thousands of years.

Mists of Pandaria


Magic waters flowing from the Vale eventually seeped in the Valley of the Four Winds, and its Heartland became a source of large crops of giant vegetables.

In more recent times, the Golden Lotus have become increasingly concerned after spotting mogu scouts that somehow circumvented the gates. They are in need of the Shado-Pan's aid again, and perhaps new strangers as well, should they prove worthy of the privilege. Any adventurer who is able to aid the Golden Lotus will quickly discover that the mogu intend something grander than simple scouting within the Vale. Xin the Weaponmaster has gathered several Mogu clans under his banner at Mogu'shan Palace and the Shao-Tien to the west have begun a full-scale assault on the Vale, and their plot ties in with the return of the master of all mogu, the dreaded Thunder King himself.

Bleeding Sun
The Golden Lotus learned that a child within the Vale was destined to join their order, but after testing several pandaren children at the Shrine were unable to locate the child. Chi-Ji then appeared and found his way to Dezco's sons, announcing that one of them was destined to serve the vale. The Tauren unwilling to be departed from either of his children decided to leave the Vale and return to Mulgore in secret. However he was intercepted by Mokimo the Strong, Weng the Merciful and Rook who choose to protect until he had left. However the group was ambushed by the Shao-Tien mogu, and in the end only one of Dezco's two sons survived. While Dezco was free to leave for Mulgore, he decided to give Redhorn to Mokimo in order for him to serve the Vale and the Golden Lotus.

Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde
Following the rebirth of the Thunder King, Lei Shen ordered the Zandalari to begin the process of resurrecting his generals. Learning this Vol'jin, Tyrathan Khort, and the Shado-pan allies sought to prevent the resurrection of Warlord Kao. However, despite their best efforts, the group was captured, Brother Dao and Brother Shan used as two of the four sacrifices and Warlord Kao was reborn. The quick actions of Vol'jin and Khal'ak protected the lives of Chen Stormstout and Brother Cuo from the Mogu's wrath. Disgruntled at this Warlord Kao directed the Zandalari to return him to his master and the group, prisoners and all, departed for the Isle of Thunder.

Escalation
Garrosh Hellscream ordered his goblins to excavate the vale in order to find artifacts. The goblin mining crew unearthed a dark secret.

Siege of Orgrimmar


The Vale's desecration by the Horde excavation and subsequent unearthing of the Heart of Y'Shaarj by Garrosh has stirred the final Sha prime, the Sha of Pride. The immense corruption laid waste to the once beautiful landscape, and the lesser sha now roam the swath. Mogu'shan Palace and the mogu statues were also damaged. The Eternal Blossoms, the namesake of the Vale, started to die despite having once been said to never wilt.

The water pools have been warped by the Sha energies and reformed into an elemental horror, Immerseus.

The August Celestials have determined that they will work together to rebuild the Vale, with a cleansed tree given by Emperor Shaohao. By the time of the Iron Horde's invasion of Azeroth, the Vale has been cleansed thanks to the efforts of the Golden Lotus.

Battle for Azeroth
Now visibly restored, the Vale has become the base of operations of Keeper Ra and mogu loyal to him, the Rajani. After N'Zoth was freed from his prison the Vale came under attack both from N'Zoth's forces and from mogu seeking to take advantage of the chaos to claim the Vale for themselves. Ra and the Rajani worked with the Golden Lotus to protect the land.

Getting there
The very short quest chain to open the Gate of the August Celestials begins at level 87 in Kun-Lai Summit at the Temple of the White Tiger. There, Xuen, the White Tiger, is hearing petitions to open the gate, but he has tests for members of the Alliance and Horde after the disaster at Serpent's Heart in the Jade Forest. Over the objections of Taran Zhu of the Shado-Pan, Xuen accedes to Anduin's and Dezco's requests to open the gate. After A Witness to History, the gate is opened and adventurers can travel into the vale at their leisure.

Alternatively, any player of any level can enter the Vale of Eternal Blossoms by traveling to the Shado-Pan Fallback in Kun-Lai Summit, climbing the stairs within to the top of the Serpent's Spine, and then jumping off of it into the Vale. A mage can also open a portal to the faction hub in the Vale for players of any level.

Geography
The land contains six sacred pools, which are the lifeblood of the vale. Each of these powerful pools represent a positive emotion and is capable of healing wounds that even the Light is not capable of. Only five of the pools can be seen, while the last is found deep within the Mogu'shan Palace.

Each pool corresponds with the negative emotions of the sha: Anger, Despair, Doubt, Fear, Hatred, and Violence. They are the pools of Fellowship, Hope, Faith, Courage, Love, and Peace.

Recently the Bilgewater goblins have begun excavating the Summer Fields in search of an artifact by Garrosh Hellscream's orders. During the dig, they destroyed one of the sacred pools.

Later, all of the pools have been corrupted by the Sha of Pride and reformed into an elemental named Immerseus. The eastern part of the Vale is either withering or covered in Sha energy. Mogu'shan Palace was damaged in the process and a hidden entrance to some sort of inner complex was unearthed.

Instances

 * '' 1 Only when the zone is being assaulted by N'zoth.

Travel hubs

 * Shrine of Seven Stars
 * Shrine of Two Moons
 * Setting Sun Garrison

Quests
The Vale of Eternal Blossoms is driven primarily by a single faction, the Golden Lotus, the caretakers of the Vale. The Golden Lotus has long been peaceful, with little need to fight inside their tightly locked valley, but when things come to conflict, the Golden Lotus seek out the nearby Shado-Pan to aid them. Though players are working for the Golden Lotus for the entirety of their time within the Vale, they are also fighting alongside several Shado-Pan heroes along the way, aiding the Shado-Pan at the Setting Sun Garrison, and are joining the Shado-Pan in the defense of the Serpent's Spine wall.

In working for the Golden Lotus, players are able to experience more than 100 daily quests within the Vale, by far the most daily quests for a single faction in the game. Each day, after aiding the Golden Lotus in fending off mogu attacks near the central Vale, players can expect to be sent to random locations, each location seeded with random quests, and each quest environment featuring random variations to the monsters, defenders, traps, and other features located there. To provide even more variety, a mogu attack force roams the vale, moving to different locations each day, so players may find that the peaceful village is now being raided by the mogu, or that the normally spider-infested ruins have been turned into an established mogu camp, entirely changing the experience at these locations for the day. No matter what reputation the players have or where they were sent in the vale, they are getting to end their day with one of more than 20 unique boss fights that were constructed just for this zone.

Resources
Fishing Herbalism Mining
 * Emperor Salmon
 * Golden Carp
 * Jewel Danio (removed in 5.4.)
 * Redbelly Mandarin
 * Golden Lotus (herb)
 * Green Tea Leaf
 * Rain Poppy
 * Ghost Iron Ore
 * Black Trillium Ore
 * White Trillium Ore

Wild pets

 * Dancing Water Skimmer
 * Effervescent Glowfly
 * Gilded Moth
 * Golden Civet
 * Golden Civet Kitten
 * Yellow-Bellied Bullfrog

Wild creatures

 * Cloud serpents
 * Crabs
 * Crocolisks
 * Frenzies
 * Gazelles
 * Goats
 * Hawks
 * Mistlurkers
 * Quilen
 * Spiders
 * Wolves

Notes and trivia

 * The Vale of Eternal Blossoms is a unique zone, where much of the storyline takes place through daily quests, which open up as the player gains reputation with the Golden Lotus, revealing more story each time they visit. This culminated with patch 5.4, with the zone being mostly corrupted by the Heart of Y'Shaarj, ending the story-driven daily quests.
 * The old website stated that the Vale of Eternal Blossoms had been "hidden for generations, shrouded in mists and walled-off by impassible mountains". However, this description does not seem to be accurate or sensical, as the gigantic Gate of the August Celestials in Kun-Lai Summit shows the exact location and entrance of the Vale, and pandaren flocked to it as soon as it was opened which means they knew of its location. Moreover, the pandaren people have written songs and poems describing the Vale and its rivers and mountains, meaning they, at least approximately, knew how it looked like. Finally, there has been no other element backing up that statement.
 * Since 5.4, gaining reputation with the Golden Lotus is done by killing the mobs within the zone and through the few quests still remaining here.