Shuanglong Gorge

Shuanglong Gorge

Legend has it that in ancient times, the area around Shuanglong Gorge was coastal, with beautiful mountains and clear waters, birds chirping and flowers blooming, attracting many dragon princes and princesses to visit. One day, Xiao Qinglong, the son of the Dragon King of the South Sea, and Xiao Huanglong, the daughter of the Dragon King of the East Sea, met and fell in love here, refusing to return home. Their parents strongly opposed the relationship and sent dragon generals and soldiers to capture them. To remain true to their love and unable to part with the landscape and the local people, they transformed into the entwined Qinglong Mountain and Huanglong Mountain—now known as Shuanglong Gorge. The spot where the two dragons’ heads coil together forms a natural three-dimensional Taiji symbol, considered a marvel of natural scenery. Taoist culture from Mount Wudang and Buddhist culture from Shaolin have formed deep connections here. In the late Western Han Dynasty, to save the people from war, the dragons made three miraculous appearances: offering nine sons to help build a bridge, causing a stone drum to sound in encouragement, and prompting a rooster to crow to signal the advance—all helping Liu Xiu defeat Wang Mang and establish the Eastern Han Dynasty. Since then, the stone drum and Shuanglong Gorge have been renowned through the ages.

Shigu Town, Danjiangkou City, Hubei Province, borders the “Little Pacific”—the widest section of the Danjiangkou Reservoir, the source of the central route of China’s South-to-North Water Diversion Project—to the east, neighbors the Xiangyan Temple Scenic Area, one of Henan Province’s four famous temples—to the north, faces the Taoist sacred site of Mount Wudang across the Han River—to the south, and is 40 kilometers from downtown Danjiangkou. The provincial Dan (River)–Yun (County) Road runs through the town. It is abundant in high-quality agricultural products such as citrus, chili peppers, and apricot kernels, and rich in mineral resources including gypsum, oil shale, marble, and dolomite.

Shigu Town got its name from the miraculous story of Liu Xiu’s initial victory over Wang Mang and the establishment of the Eastern Han Dynasty here. Located in the western suburbs of the ancient Chu capital of Danyang (now submerged under the Danjiangkou Reservoir), it was an important ancient route through which Central Plains people traveled via Mount Wudang into Sichuan and Shaanxi. As such, it boasts a profound cultural heritage, having been visited by historical figures such as Confucius, Qu Yuan, Liu Xiu, Wang Mang, Zhang Zhongjing, and local (Danyang-born) figures like Fan Li and Qiang Hua. Here, Taoist and Buddhist cultures converge, and the Yellow River and Yangtze River civilizations intersect.

Covering a total area of 48 square kilometers, Shigu Geological Park consists of the Shuanglong Gorge Scenic Area, the Yuhuangding Ecological Sightseeing Park Scenic Area, and the Tianchi Stone Forest Scenic Area. It offers rich natural resources for tourism, sightseeing, vacationing, leisure, adventure, scientific research, historical exploration, and landscape painting.

The people of Shigu Town and Shigu Geological Park warmly welcome investors and tourists from all over the world to come and develop, invest, and explore the area.

Contact Number: 0719-5709088

Source: Official Website of the Danjiangkou Municipal People's Government