Damotan Waterfall

　　   Damotan Waterfall is located in Tianma Village, Xiemǎ Town, Beibei District, Chongqing. It can be reached via the road from downtown Beibei to Xiemǎ Town. The waterfall is about 10 kilometers from downtown Beibei. It is a natural scenic area featuring a waterfall. As it is situated at the end of Longfeng Stream on Gaokengyan (High Pit Rock), it is also known as Gaokengyan Waterfall.

　　   Damotan Waterfall is a cliffside waterfall, 62 meters wide and 38 meters high. With thousands of white streams cascading down in a dazzling array of colors, it presents a majestic and thunderous spectacle. In the middle of the hanging waterfall, there is an artificially carved cave sealed off with stone slabs, which is inaccessible to people. On the right side, there are two man-made cave rooms hewn out of the rock, each measuring 6 meters long, 3 meters wide, and 2.5 meters high. One is above the other, and the two are interconnected. The lower room has a stone window through which visitors can view the waterfall. On the left side, there is a stone cave that requires climbing up to a yellow-leafed tree on the cliff face to enter. This cave was once used by locals to take shelter from bandits. To the left of the waterfall, lush woods provide dense shade; to the right lies a stretch of farmland that connects closely with Peach Blossom Mountain. When the peach blossoms are in full bloom, the scenery is particularly beautiful. Below the waterfall is a deep pool, over ten meters deep and more than a hundred meters wide, with crystal-clear, shimmering blue waters. Paddling here is an enchanting experience. Renowned figures such as Guo Moruo, Jian Bozan, and Yu Youren, along with many literati, have visited this site and left behind numerous poems. Among them, the poem “Gāotān Pēnxuě” (High Beach Spraying Snow) is the most representative: “Cliffs all day shower snowflake-like spray, / Ten-mile clear stream is Damotan’s domain. / Eternal skies shed jade fragments in array, / Even in June, I feel the cold here remain.”

　　   During the War of Resistance against Japan, Sun Ke, son of Sun Yat-sen and then-president of the Executive Yuan of the Nationalist Government, built a villa here. Several hundred meters below the waterfall, there is another smaller waterfall called Xiaokengyan Waterfall, which is 8 meters high and 40 meters wide. A stone bridge has been constructed over the upper part of this waterfall. The water strikes the rocks beneath the bridge, sending up splashes and mist, creating a uniquely charming scene. Below the waterfall, the river is wide and calm, with a sandbar in the middle where birds gather in flocks. On the left bank, a mountain has been cut through by the river, resulting in steep cliffs. On the right bank, ancient bamboo groves thrive in rich greenery — a rare and beautiful sight.

　　   Address: Tianma Village, Xiemǎ Town, Beibei District, Chongqing