Qiu Shui Grand Canyon

Qiu Shui Grand Canyon

Qiu Shui Grand Canyon

The Qiu Shui Mountain Range originates from the Tiantai Mountain Range, stretches across the central part of Sanmen, and is the main mountain range in Sanmen County. With an average elevation of 400 meters, its highest peak, Wangxiliang, stands at 882.4 meters, making it the tallest in Sanmen. The Qiu Shui Grand Canyon originates from the eastern foothills of the Qiu Shui Mountain Range. It is a narrow valley stretching over ten kilometers. It is currently the largest well-preserved secondary broad-leaved forest in Zhejiang Province.

This secondary broad-leaved forest covers an area of over 30,000 acres. Due to varying altitudes and differing climatic conditions, the distribution of trees is clearly stratified. At the mountaintop, there are alpine tree species such as Japanese black pine, shortleaf pine, golden larch, and Masson's pine. Mid-slope areas feature broadleaf species such as Chinese fir, Schima superba, and Lindera communis, along with shrub thickets of gallnuts and azaleas. The lower layer includes economic crops like chestnuts, wild peaches, kiwifruit, and citrus fruits. The “Zhengmei” and “Xiumei” teas produced here are considered premium varieties. In addition, the area is abundant in medicinal herbs such as honeysuckle, Paris polyphylla, and Daphne genkwa, making it a renowned base for medicinal plant cultivation. This dense broad-leaved forest is also home to hundreds of species of wildlife, including leopards, wild boars, wolves, rabbits, weasels, and pheasants. The streams are teeming with a variety of wild fish, such as creek fish and giant salamanders. Notably, the sweetfish found in the streams are slender-bodied, fragrant, and not fishy, earning them the reputation of being among the finest fish. The valley floor is formed by the Dayaoke Pit, a stream that flows from top to bottom and from west to east, stretching over 30 li, with year-round flowing springs. The pit is covered with pebbles and large rocks of various sizes, shapes, and colors. Over time, the constant flow of water has polished these stones smooth, creating many rock formations resembling objects and figures. The most famous attractions in the Dayaoke Pit are Dragon Swimming Gully, Pearl-Containing Pool, and Nine-Tiered Spring. The bottom of Dragon Swimming Gully is a single slab of white rock, 15 meters wide and about 100 meters long, with a section in the middle—about 60 centimeters wide and over ten meters long—that appears black, resembling dragon scale patterns. Legend says it is the trail left behind by the Qiu Shui Mountain Dragon as it swam out from the Dragon Pool at the source. The Pearl-Containing Pool is formed by two huge rocks sandwiching a pearl-shaped pebble, allowing water to pass only through the gaps around the pebble. The rushing water forms two deep pools, one above the other, each about three to four meters deep. The Nine-Tiered Spring is located above Dragon Swimming Gully, where spring water impacts and forms a series of pools of varying depths. Near the source of the Dayaoke Pit lies a pool commonly known as the Third Dragon Pool of Qiu Shui Mountain, also called Yuxi Pool. The pool is surrounded by steep cliffs with a waterfall cascading down, commonly referred to as the White Curtain of Qiu Shui. Along the pool is a hundred-meter-long, five-meter-wide mountain gully with rugged rocks and lush vegetation.

There are many folk legends about the Dragon of Qiu Shui Mountain. Since the dragon is named Yuxi, the Third Dragon Pool is also called Yuxi Pool. At the foot of Qiu Shui Mountain, there used to be a Yuxi Temple. In the past, villagers would visit the dragon pool on July 24th of the lunar calendar to pray for rain. Aside from the dragon pool and its waterfall, there are two other double-tiered waterfalls in the canyon. One originates from Shuangjian Mountain, and the other comes from the Dripping Rock Waterfall on Wangxiliang. Water from the pit pours down from Dripping Rock, forming a spectacular double-tiered waterfall with a 20-meter upper drop and a 30-meter lower drop. Below it lies a deep pool several zhang wide, the depth of which remains unknown. The Dayaoke Pit flows into the Baixi River, which meets the sea at Tiemachang Beach in Hengdu Town, also known as Oyster Beach, which is rich in oysters—a member of the “Lower Eight Delicacies,” known as the “milk of the sea.” Oysters are highly nutritious and can be used medicinally. In addition to oysters, the area also abounds in seafood such as fish, shrimp, crabs, clams, and mussels. The Qiu Shui Grand Canyon combines pools, waterfalls, rocks, peaks, forests, and springs, embodying the characteristics of clarity, serenity, beauty, grandeur, wonder, and danger. It is an ideal destination for tourism, leisure, summer retreats, and convalescence.