Liuguanghe Grand Canyon (Liuguanghe Scenic Area)

Liuguanghe Grand Canyon (Liuguanghe Scenic Area)

Liuguanghe Grand Canyon is part of the Liuguanghe Gaoqiao Canyon Ecological Tourism Zone. It is located in Liuguang Town, Xiuwen County, northwest of Guiyang City, upstream of the Wujiangdu Scenic Area. It is the most typical karst river valley in western China. The Liuguanghe River is the section of the Wujiang River within Xiuwen County, serving as a boundary river between Xiuwen and the neighboring counties of Xifeng, Qianxi, and Jinsha. In 1977, the Wujiang Hydropower Station dam was completed, raising the water level to Sufeng (now below the Suofengying Dam), creating an over 70-kilometer-long artificial lake. To commemorate the achievements of Lady She Xiang from the early Ming Dynasty, who established the Longchang Nine Posts and built the Liuguang Post, the lake area was named “She Xiang Lake.” The upper section of the lake features towering cliffs and rapid currents, majestic and spectacular like the Three Gorges; the lower section boasts verdant mountains and broad waters, graceful and picturesque like the Li River. Wang Yangming, the renowned Ming Dynasty philosopher, strategist, and educator, once praised the beautiful scenery of Liuguanghe with the poetic line: “Having traversed all these wonders, why envy the peaks of Jiuhua?” In 2004, contestants of the Miss World Tourism Queen Pageant Guizhou Regional Competition also visited Liuguanghe for sightseeing.

Liuguanghe Grand Canyon is a representative of the natural resources in the Xiuwen Yangming Scenic Area. Major attractions include: Cuizhu Hotel, Seven Gorges, Gold and Silver Waterfalls, Sister Peaks, Ancient Ferry Rainbow, Asia’s Highest Bridge – the Gui-Bi Highway Bridge, Jiajia Cave, Datun Buyi Village, and Crouching Lion Roaring at the Sky. The Xiuwen section of the canyon stretches 35 kilometers from Baimatan to Huangjincun at the county boundary downstream, and can be divided into Six Guang’s Seven Gorges and Forty Scenic Spots (see Figures 3–10). They are: Baima Gorge – from Baimatan to Juzizhai, 3 km long with 3 scenic spots. The deep canyon features rapid currents resembling a herd of galloping white wild horses, hence the name “Baima Gorge”; Houtou Gorge – from Juzizhai to Liuguang Ferry, about 4 km long with 8 scenic spots. Steep cliffs tower on both banks, covered in lush forests. Rhesus monkey troops often play here, and it is named “Houtou Gorge” (Monkey Worries Gorge) because the monkeys find it hard to climb the sheer cliffs; Feilong Gorge – from Binjiang Village to Datun, about 3 km long with 3 scenic spots. Named after the right bank where an underground river emerges from Bailong Cave; Chibi Gorge – from Datun to La’aohe, 5 km long with 9 scenic spots. This canyon basin has narrowing cliffs on both sides, with the right side’s steep mountain wall dyed fiery red by hematite, cracked in all directions like characters or paintings, as if scorched by fire, hence the name “Chibi Gorge” (Red Cliff Gorge); Xiangbi Gorge – from La’aohe to Banjiazhai, about 4 km long with 5 scenic spots. Passing Ladder Rock and Ox Head Mountain, you’ll see a ridge stretching straight into the lakeside, shaped like an elephant playing in the water, hence “Xiangbi Gorge” (Elephant Trunk Gorge); Jianpi Gorge – from Banjiazhai to Jianpi Rock, about 7 km long with 7 scenic spots. After exiting Xiangbi Gorge, the river turns sharply right, suddenly widening. The rock layers on both sides are folded and fractured, as if cleaved by axe or sword, hence the name “Jianpi Gorge” (Sword Cleaved Gorge); Haima Gorge – from Jianpi Rock down to Fengziyan at the county boundary, 9 km long with 5 scenic spots. The boat heads right toward Haimakong, hence the name “Haima Gorge.” Here, the river is deep and wide, shimmering with waves. On the right, two towering rock peaks stand side by side in the lake, named “Sister Peaks.” Legend says they were formed when two sisters, whose lovers were both conscripted to guard the frontier, waited on the riverbank and eventually turned into stone.

Taking a boat downstream through the Seven Gorges of Liuguanghe, you can enjoy a variety of landform landscapes such as Emerald Screen Spring Love, Five Elders and Eight Immortals, Sword-Cleaved Rock, Reverse Fault, Miao Girl’s Colorful Skirt, Elephant Trunk Stone, Crouching Lion Roaring at the Sky, Eagle Soaring, Guanyin Sitting on Lotus, Sitting on Rocks Playing with the Stream, Double Moon Rock, and Yangming’s Magical Brush, as well as water landscapes like Jade Pillar Twin Waterfalls, Colorful Cliff Hanging Drapes, Beaded Curtain Layered Green, Silvery Thread Fine Rain, and White Water Flying Dragon. You can also appreciate the charm of the riverside Miao Village and Datun Buyi Village, known as the “Bagua Village” for being nestled against mountains on three sides along both banks of Liuguanghe. Additionally, you can drive upstream to admire Asia’s highest bridge, which spans 596 meters across the canyon, is 12 meters wide and 305 meters high, as well as the large-scale hydropower station Suofengying Dam, a key project in China’s West-to-East Power Transmission Program. The entire Liuguanghe Canyon combines cliffs, valleys, caves, waterfalls, geological relics, and hydroelectric science education, with scenery that changes beautifully across seasons. Its majestic presence, misty waters, cascading crimson waterfalls, and rugged peaks make the valleys as broad and upright as a noble man, while the waters are as tender as a lovesick maiden. As described in He Xiaoping’s poem “Liuguanghe”: “Fishermen’s joyful songs drift to the ear / Farmstead smoke curls up into the clouds / Egrets lightly skim the blue waters / Sunset gilds the canyon in radiance / Like dreaming of entering fairyland / Drunk, I’d sleep in this paradise and never leave.”

Liuguanghe Grand Canyon was developed and constructed in August 1998 with an investment of over 40 million yuan by the Guizhou Provincial Communications Construction Investment Group. It opened to the public in October 2000. The area includes the country’s largest tourist wharf, Cuizhu Hotel, and Guizhou’s most luxurious fleet of three cruise ships, equipped with tourism service facilities such as tour boats, ferries, and yachts. A variety of entertainment activities are available, including ethnic performances, water skiing, and beach volleyball. Liuguanghe (also known as She Xiang Lake), once described as “a stream winding through nine bends hidden in the misty valley,” now reveals a scene where “the garden’s splendor can no longer be contained.” Liuguang Town, where the canyon is located, is also famous as the “Hometown of Lanterns.”

(Compiled by He Xiaoping, Xiuwen County Tourism Bureau)

Transportation

Take a bus to Liuguang from Guiyang Passenger Transport Station on Yan’an West Road. Alternatively, go to Xiuwen first, visit Yangming Cave, then take a bus from Xiuwen Passenger Transport Station to Liuguang, and transfer to a local shuttle bus to the Liuguanghe Scenic Area.

Scenic Spot Location

Liuguang Town, Xiuwen County, Guiyang, Guizhou Province

Liuguang Town: Liuguang Town is located in the northwest of Xiuwen County in central Guizhou, 38 kilometers from the county seat. It spans between 26°45′ to 27°12′ north latitude and 106°21′ to 106°34′ east longitude, stretching approximately 22.4 kilometers from east to west and 7.5 kilometers from north to south, covering a total area of 94.1 square kilometers. The town borders Dashixiang in Xiuwen County to the north, Shidongxiang in Xifeng County to the northeast, Xiaoqingxiang to the southeast, Sapingxiang to the south, Anliu xiang in Qingzhen City across the Maoxi River to the southwest, and Supuxiang in Qianxi County across Liuguanghe River to the west.

The town is located in... Detailed information about Liuguang Town++