Bronze Gorge Yellow River Grand Canyon Scenic Area

Bronze Gorge Yellow River Grand Canyon Scenic Area

The Bronze Gorge Yellow River Grand Canyon Scenic Area is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

“The Yellow River enriches Ningxia, and the Pearl of the Frontier is Bronze Gorge.” The Bronze Gorge Yellow River Grand Canyon is located in Qingtongxia City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, covering a total area of 126 square kilometers. It is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction, a major historical and cultural site protected at the national level, and a national science education base. Situated at the foot of the Helan Mountains and along the banks of the Yellow River, it is the core area of Ningxia’s Golden Yellow River Tourism Belt and the essence of the World Irrigation Project Heritage — the Ancient Yellow River Irrigation System of Ningxia.

The Bronze Gorge Yellow River Grand Canyon is the last canyon on the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River. The scenic area boasts abundant tourism resources, a long and profound history and culture, and exceptionally beautiful and spectacular natural scenery. It features six major attractions: the Ancient Yellow River Irrigation System of Ningxia, the Ningxia Water Conservancy Expo Hall, the Qingtongxia Hydraulic Hub, the One Hundred and Eight Pagodas, the Yu the Great Culture Park, and the Reservoir Bird Island. Together, they showcase a canyon landscape that combines grandeur, wonder, danger, steepness, and serenity. Visitors can enjoy the beauty of the Yellow River canyon, trace the origins of ancient irrigation canals that are thousands of years old, explore the magnificence of the hydraulic hub, touch the spirit of the ancient Western Xia pagodas, follow the legacy of Yu the Great’s water control achievements, and immerse themselves in the tranquility of the Yellow River bird island.

The scenic area features national and world-class landscapes as well as rare geological formations found rarely in China. With profound cultural heritage, strong resource integration, and intact ecological preservation, it is a representative destination for protecting, inheriting, and promoting the spirit of Yellow River culture. The area is scattered with ancient canal ruins, water conservancy projects, pavilions, towers, and historical relics. As the saying goes, “Ten miles of canyon, ten miles of scenery; a painted corridor lies within Bronze Gorge.”

The Ancient Yellow River Irrigation System of Ningxia has a profound historical and cultural foundation, spanning over two thousand years from the pre-Qin period to the present day. It serves as both a textbook and a living dictionary of Yellow River water conservancy.

The Qingtongxia Hydraulic Hub was one of the key projects of the First Five-Year Plan of New China. Its completion ended more than two thousand years of non-dam water diversion in Ningxia, ushering in the splendid chapter of “The Yellow River enriches Ningxia.”