Jiubayuan Gorge

Jiubayuan Gorge

Jiubayuan Gorge is located about 45 kilometers from Qingtian County and is a typical water-eroded canyon. Shaped like a “V,” the scenic area stretches 8 kilometers in length and covers a total area of approximately 5.3 square kilometers. The canyon is most famous for its rocks, caves, pools, waterfalls, and cliffs.

The scenic area contains over a hundred natural pools, including three that are more than 4–5 meters deep and cover an area of over 2,000 square meters, as well as countless pools that are 1–3 meters deep and around 30-plus square meters in size, often referred to as “natural swimming pools” or “natural riverbeds.”

The surrounding rocks of the pools come in various unique shapes, such as Crocodile Rock, Stone Bench, and Stone House. Among the most remarkable sights are the “Wind-moving Rock,” Tianmen Gorge, and the natural riverbed.

The Wind-moving Rock is located at the highest point of the mountain. It is about 2 meters high, oval-shaped, weighs around 5 tons, and can be rocked by hand but will never fall.

Tianmen Gorge is about 7 meters high and 50 centimeters wide. Visitors can enter along a stone tablet path, which narrows to about 30 centimeters at a turn before opening into a natural cave that can accommodate over ten people. Above the cave, there is also a scenic formation of “Three Pillars Standing” made up of three rocks.

The natural riverbed is situated at the very bottom of Jiubayuan Gorge, stretching approximately 10,000 meters in length with an average width of about 70 meters. The water flows from west to east. The canyon riverbed consists of two natural rock walls that are smooth, slightly concave in the middle, and differ in height by about 1.5 meters.

The upper rock wall spans about 1,000 square meters, slightly concave in the middle with some pooled water, the deepest part being about 0.5 meters—like a natural bowl. Water flows down the rock face like a natural slide. The rock wall is about 1.5 meters high, 1 meter wide, and has a slope of around 45 degrees, all very smooth. The lower rock wall is about 2,000 square meters in area, also slightly concave with the deepest part around 1 meter and pooled water in the center. The stream water in the canyon is crystal clear, meeting national first-class drinking water standards.

The scenic area is surrounded by steep cliffs and boasts beautiful scenery, with a forest coverage rate of over 95%. The vegetation mainly consists of subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests, mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests, and bamboo groves. There are many wildflowers and grasses on the mountains, while the downstream riverbed is scattered with colorful stones in red, yellow, blue, white, and other hues, appearing to float and shimmer with radiant colors. The scenery varies beautifully across the four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

Address: Zhangcunyuan, Zhangbu Port, Zhixi Tributary, Qingtian County, Lishui City, Zhejiang Province

Type: Canyon, Geological Landform, Mountain, Pond