Banxia

Banxia

Located in Yuxiakou Town, Changyang Tujia Autonomous County, Hubei Province. It is the uppermost of the Qingjiang Little Three Gorges (Pingluo Gorge, Bashan Gorge, and Banxia Gorge). Stretching five kilometers from Zhaolai River in the east to Longchi in the west, the gorge features towering peaks that seem to pierce the clouds, with the thin-bladed Blade Ridge thrusting straight into the sky. The scenery on both sides is picturesque—spring brings blooming flowers, birdsong, and fragrant blossoms, autumn paints the hills crimson with layers of forest in full color, while monkeys call, cranes cry, trees sway in the wind, and boats plow through the jade-like waters beneath a sculpted blue sky. The “Three Sights of Banxia” are widely praised.

The first sight is Lion Cave, where stalactites formed over years by underground water erosion resemble a lion at the cave’s center, with an underground river gushing out beneath the lion’s hips, known as “the lion urinating.” The second is Blade Ridge, a massive “stone screen” peak that stands abruptly above the surrounding mountains like a thin blade. The third is Yanchi Hot Spring—a soak here refreshes both body and mind.