Rainbow Grand Canyon

　　Rainbow Gorge is situated in the eastern part of Pingshun County. The canyon is flanked by towering cliffs, with clear springs flowing at the bottom. The landscape varies dramatically with the seasons, and the climate is mild and agreeable, offering a rich and marvelous array of scenery. The valley is enclosed by high ridges, with deep river channels, long-flowing streams, towering ancient trees, and various animals roaming freely. Historical relics further enrich the area, creating the stunning, uniquely atmospheric, and naturally spectacular Rainbow Gorge.

　　Rainbow Gorge is located on the eastern side of the southern end of the Taihang Mountains. The entire canyon slopes from west to east. From its three tributary gullies—Dongsitou, Hongtiguan, and Yanglaoyan—it descends along sheer cliffs to the base of the Taihang Mountains. The southern side of the canyon connects closely with the Shibanyan Scenic Area and Linlu Mountain Scenic Area of Linzhou City, while the northern side links to the Zhuozhang River of the Taihang Water Town.

　　Transportation:

　　1. From Shanxi: Enter the highway in Ruzhou, take the Er’guang Expressway to Changzhi (note that there is a spectacular group of dozens of caves at the Shanxi-Henan border, but the highway tolls are relatively high), then head in the direction of Lucheng or Pingshun. You can either go from Lucheng to Pingshun or go directly to Pingshun—the roads are not very good. This time, due to congestion on the direct route to Pingshun, we took S325 from Lucheng. About 2–3 kilometers before reaching Pingshun, there’s a fork in the road (Zhanghe Highway)—turn left (if coming from Pingshun, you should turn right). The village here is Zhangjing Village. Cross the bridge and drive about 12 kilometers east to reach Hongtiguan Township. Part of this section is an unpaved dirt road without asphalt or cement—it’s quite rough. From Hongtiguan to Hongni Village, the road is mostly a winding dirt mountain road; vehicles with fewer than 20 seats can make the turns, but larger ones have difficulty. This time, our 28-seat bus barely made it, thanks to the driver’s skill. About 3 li (1.5 km) north of Hongtiguan Village, there’s a small fork in the road (with a bus stop sign for Choushuicun Village to the south). Drive a few more kilometers to reach Choushuicun Village. Then, on a rural dirt road, reach the back of Choushuicun Village, where you can park your car and walk onto the ancient trade route—that is, the ancient Hongtiguan trade route. This time, due to time constraints, we drove directly to Hongni Village and did not experience the ruggedness of the ancient path. The journey from Ruzhou to Hongni Village took 7.5 hours.

　　2. From Henan: Take the Zhengshao Expressway from Dengfeng—Zhengzhou Southwest Ring Road—Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Expressway—to Anyang, then switch to the Anlin Expressway S301 toward Linzhou. From there, take the road to Renhe Town, passing through Yao Village and Renhe Town. Shortly after Renhe Town, there’s a three-way fork—turn left and follow the road to a village probably called Yang’erzhuang Village. There’s another three-way fork ahead—remember not to go toward Shibanyan. The road continues as a winding mountain road. Heading down the mountain is more common (we were on our return trip, so heading up was more frequent). Passing through Yang’erzhuang—Shuopu Village—Shiguang Village—Majiayan, you enter Shanxi territory, where the cement road turns into a dirt road, and large vehicles cannot pass each other. Then continue through Longbo’an—Pilan’yan—Huai shuping—to Hongni Village. The total travel time was nearly 7 hours.

　　Transportation characteristics: The Shanxi route has expensive highways but a shorter distance, though the later sections have poor road conditions and long stretches of dirt roads; the Henan route is longer, consumes more fuel.

　　Features of Rainbow Gorge:

　　1. This gorge is a semi-developed scenic area—that is, development was halted halfway. It mainly spans five natural villages: Huai shuping, Hongni Village, Beitan Village, Tigeng Village, Tihou Village, and Choushuicun Village.

　　2. Highlight one: Rainbow Grand Gorge and the No. 1 Waterfall of the Taihang Mountains—the Hongni Village Waterfall. The starting point is Hongni Village. At the eastern end of the village, looking from west to east, it appears flat, but looking from east to west, you’ll see cliffside houses and a hundred-meter-high waterfall. Descending to the valley floor, you can see a large waterfall with a drop of over 100 meters. Due to the construction of the highway above, the water flow is reduced, but it’s still spectacular. The endpoint is Huai shuping, and it should take less than two hours.

　　3. Highlight two: The national cultural relic protection unit—the Minghui Master Pagoda. This pagoda is located in Hongni Village, Hongtiguan Township. There used to be a temple here called “Haihui Temple.” The Minghui Master Pagoda is the tomb pagoda of the late Tang Dynasty eminent monk, Master Minghui. After his death, the emperor bestowed the title “Master,” and the pagoda was named accordingly. Due to the theft of the vajra and arhat statues inside the pagoda, it is now surrounded by walls, and visitors cannot enter.

　　4. Highlight three: The starting point of Tihou Grand Gorge. Two kilometers west of Tihou Village, there is a gorge. Ascending 1 kilometer along the gorge, you’ll find a small waterfall. Climbing up via man-made steps, you’ll see a relatively flat area with an abandoned red house (this is where we camped this time). This is the starting point of Tihou Gorge. Here, the gorge splits into two attractions, which I call Tihou Gorge and Tihou Ancient Road (I personally think this might be part of the Hongtiguan Ancient Trade Route). These two attractions may not be connected (some villagers say they are connected, others say they are not).

　　5. Highlight four: Tihou Gorge. Walking up from the starting point, you’ll see a trough-like pool. Going further in reveals classic Taihang Gorge features. After 40 minutes, the gorge narrows significantly, and at the narrowest point, you must wade through the stream. Because the water is too cold (around 5°C in late October) and too deep (about 80 cm in some spots), we didn’t proceed further, so we don’t know what mysteries lie deeper in the gorge. (In summer during the dry season, you might cross barefoot. During the rainy season, it’s not recommended for safety reasons.)

　　6. Highlight five: Tihou Ancient Road. It features zigzagging iron ladders, which are quite thrilling. Halfway up the mountain, there’s a small temple rebuilt during the Republican era. We didn’t read the inscriptions on the stele. It takes about two hours to reach the mountaintop winding road, where there’s a small village of 3–4 households. We forgot the name of the village when asking the locals—unfortunate.

　　7. Highlight six: The irrigation channel in the gorge. In the southern Tihou Gorge, there’s a dam, beside which an irrigation channel runs down the sheer cliff of the gorge, passing through four tunnels to reach the red house at the starting point of the gorge. The four tunnels are called Yuejin Cave, Guangming Cave, etc. The first tunnel is the longest, about 600 meters. This time, we didn’t bring a headlamp and had to walk in the dark—it was a bit scary to go alone.

　　8. Highlight seven: The Hongtiguan Inscription. This is a large stone stele (from the Ming Dynasty’s Jiajing era), located in Beitan Village. It’s also the largest stele I’ve ever seen. The village name seems to come from this stele located by the small river beach.

　　9. Highlight eight: The cliff-hanging road. There’s a section between Hongtiguan Township and Tihou Village. This time, we didn’t stop there due to the inability to pass each other, but it’s largely similar to the Guoliang Road.

　　10. Highlight nine: Hongtiguan, one of China’s Top Ten Ancient Passes. It should be located north of Tihou Village and west of Beitan Village. This time, due to time constraints, we didn’t see it—what a pity.

　　11. Highlight ten: The Hongtiguan Ancient Trade Route. Located on the cliffs connecting Pingshun in Shanxi to Lin County in Henan, it has historically been a vital transportation route between southeastern Shanxi and the North China Plain. The Hongtiguan Path has long been one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Shangdang. However, since the opening of the cliff-hanging road in the 1970s, the ancient road has lost its purpose. For the past 30 years, aside from a few hikers, no one has traveled it. Today, much of the ancient road is overgrown with weeds, which ironically attracts adventurers from all over to explore it. A full traverse begins in Choushuicun Village. Ascend through the valley and village, then turn right uphill upon exiting the village—the footpath is the former ancient road. After hiking uphill for about 20 minutes, you’ll reach the ridge. Cross a man-dug mountain pass, where the path splits into two: one goes slightly uphill to another pass, the other descends slightly before leveling out. Take the lower path, which makes a wide loop, passes by a spot with a few utility poles (here, you don’t cross the ridge but continue along the ridge), then go through another pass and begin descending. After descending and seeing the main road again, you’ll reach the upper part of Xiaotigou. From there, you can see a large flat terraced field to the left front. On the opposite side of the main road, find a small path and continue descending through the terraces to reach Xiaotigou. At the end of Xiaotigou, you’ll see a very small temple. The inscription in front of the temple indicates it was originally built and later renovated during the Daoguang era. Below the mountain god temple, the mountain path follows the cliff edge forward. Though treacherous, it becomes fairly gentle. Along the way, there are numerous stone houses, most with collapsed roofs but intact walls and arches. Locals say that 30–40 years ago, people lived here and sold “yellow cakes” (a type of cornmeal steamed bread, durable and resistant to drying) to passing merchants—akin to roadside inns. There are also remnants of stone troughs and millstones along the path. The stone path under the cliff is about four or five feet wide and very flat, with anti-slip grooves carved into it. “Three-li Bridge, Five-li Temple, Twenty-li Main Street”—the ancient road is the “Main Street” mentioned in the folk rhyme. From here onward, there are no forks in the road, and the conditions are much better preserved than the section above Xiaotigou. It’s mostly level, so you can walk with ease, just be cautious at a few washed-out spots. Midway along this relatively flat section of the “Main Street,” there’s a set of three large stone stelae recording the grand effort in the 55th year of the Qianlong Emperor’s reign (Qing Dynasty) to expand the trade route through donations from various regions. The two side stelae show the wide geographic distribution of donors: from today’s Pingshun, Changzhi, and Huguan in Shanxi Province to Linzhou, Shuiye, and Anyang in Henan Province—illustrating the broad beneficiaries and high usage of this trade route back then.

　　The Qianlong-era stele bears the inscription: “Since ancient times, Shangdang has stood as the backbone of the realm, like dark clouds hovering mid-sky, and Hongtiguan Pass is like a rainbow hanging mid-sky, even higher atop Shangdang’s spine. In the Jiaqing era, Xia Yan quelled Chen’s rebels at Yuxia Pass and built... the pass sits atop myriad mountains, a bird-path sheep-track stretching tens of li, where one man could hold against ten thousand—an unsurpassed peril.” These vivid words depict the origin and imposing presence of the ancient pass. After walking this flat stretch for over ten li, you’ll arrive at the famous Hongtiguan Pass. It lies at the turning point where the cliffside mountain path sharply descends to the steep valley floor. Once past the gate, you’ll face man-made stone steps—these are the “Hong Steps,” excluding the “ladder” near the gate itself. There are 54 flights of steps descending hundreds of meters to the valley floor, leading eastward to Henan. If defended from the pass, it truly has the strength of “one man holding against ten thousand.”

　　The ancient trade route originally had no pass. Hongtiguan Pass was established by the Ming government in the eighth year of the Jiajing era to prevent peasant uprisings against the government.

　　Emperor Zhengde, Zhu Houzhao, was indifferent to state affairs and disillusioned with governance. During his 16-year reign, central and local governments were extremely corrupt. ... The common people suffered, taxes were heavy, and corruption ran rampant. In the 15th year of the Zhengde era (1520), Chen Qing, a former minor official from Shicheng County, Lucheng, from Shibu Village, Pingshun County (recorded as “Qi” on the Hongtiguan cliff inscriptions), along with his father Chen Qi (recorded as “Qi”), uncles Chen Nang, Chen Liang, Chen Duo, younger brother Chen Lai, villager Wang Tinglu, and others, joined forces with Yuan Guang, Qin Hulong, Qin Biao from nearby areas, as well as Henan’s Wang Zhongxing and Wang Zhongqi. They built a stronghold on Baiguo Mountain in Shenhezhai, Qingyangli (northeast of Pingshun County), resisting corvée labor and taxes, gathering followers, and preparing for rebellion. In the first lunar month of the following year, Chen Qing’s plot was exposed.

　　Wang Tinglu was arrested. Chen Qing and others accelerated their preparations, contacting various factions. Peasant armies from Shanxi, Hebei, and Henan flocked to join them, and in the first year of the Jiajing era (1522), they rose in revolt.

　　In the third year of the Jiajing era, the Luzhou Prefecture sent Yang Liangchen, magistrate of Licheng County, to the mountain to offer amnesty to the rebel army. The rebel leader Chen Qi was deceived and captured, and Chen Qing was sentenced to death. But in September of the same year, Chen Qing escaped during transport. Upon returning to Qingyang Mountain, he became the leader of the rebel army. By then, the rebel force had grown unprecedentedly, numbering 20,000. Chen Qing led his troops in successive victories, capturing counties such as today’s Changzhi, Jincheng, Zuoquan, and Qinxian, pushing straight toward the Central Plains. In the seventh year of the Jiajing era, the court ordered a joint campaign by the three provinces of Shanxi, Hebei, and Henan. On the fifth day of the tenth month, 50,000 troops from the three provinces attacked the rebel army. The rebels, fighting head-on, were outnumbered and ultimately defeated. After suppressing the rebels, the court sent Xia Yan to handle aftermath matters. Xia Yan received imperial approval to strengthen governance in southeastern Shanxi. Luzheng Prefecture was elevated to a prefecture-level city, and Changzhi County was established. In the eighth year of the Jiajing era (1529), Pingshun County was newly created to strengthen administrative control. Militarily, Xia Yan established Hongtiguan and Yuxia Passes, and set up four patrol inspection offices at Yudou Cliff, Baiyun Valley, Hongtiguan, and Panxifeng, stationing troops for defense.

　　Judging by the massive stele still standing in Beitan Village, inscribed by Xia Yan himself, he must have felt quite accomplished at the time. The establishment of the new prefecture and renaming of places everywhere reflect his ambitious spirit. The term “Hongti” was also changed by Xia Yan—from the original “Hongti” (洪梯). While this change lent a more refined literary meaning and beautiful imagery, it was only that—a century later, the Ming Dynasty still fell to the “bandits.”

　　Chen Qing’s uprising originated on Baiguo Mountain. When we asked villagers, they said they hadn’t heard of Chen Qing being stationed at Hongtiguan. But according to the inscription in the Hongtiguan Cliff Carvings written by Xia Yan—“In recent years, the Qingyang bandits relied on this place to resist the Bian army”—it seems the rebels did come to Hongtiguan and fought tough battles from the strategic high ground.

　　Finally, here’s the fate of the two main figures related to Hongtiguan: Chen Qing was defeated, captured, and executed in Beijing the same year. Xia Yan later rose to the highest ranks of government. During the famous “Hetao Debate,” he stood with Zeng Xian, advocating for the recovery of Hetao, but was framed by Yan Song and later executed. The Hongtiguan Pass established by Xia Yan remained guarded by soldiers. According to the Pingshun County Annals of the Republican era, guards remained until the end of the Qing Dynasty, and police were still stationed there after 1930.

　　Our visit to Hongtiguan, nearly 480 years after Chen Qing’s execution and Xia Yan’s establishment of the pass, still evokes a sense of heroism amid the overgrown grass and perilous cliffs and valleys. The locals around Hongtiguan have a saying: “A true emperor doesn’t arise in a hundred years; when one does, he’s a bandit king”—likely a folk memory of those passionate ancestors.

　　After being a stronghold for local rough-and-ready heroes reminiscent of the "outlaws of Liangshan," Hongtiguan later welcomed such groups as: in 1926, the forces of Henan’s Han Yuming from the Heaven Gate Society; during the War of Resistance, the Fourth Sub-district of the Taihang Military Region, the New First Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, the 344th Brigade of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army, and the Independent Guerrilla Detachment of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army. Japanese invaders who had occupied China once came here from Ren Village in Henan to survey the terrain but mostly turned back in intimidation. The few who attempted to climb were met with rolling boulders hurled by local militia and fled in panic. Known as one of Shanxi’s Eight Great Passes, Hongtiguan has neither towering walls nor a fortress gate—there isn’t even a proper gatehouse, just a symbolic archway. Hongtiguan is located at the turning point where the cliffside mountain road begins its steep descent to the valley floor. Once past the gate and onward, there are man-made stone steps layered one above the other—this is what is called the “Hongti” (Rainbow Stairs)—not including the “access ladder” near the gate itself. There are 54 flights of stairs that descend hundreds of meters straight down to reach the valley bottom, leading eastward toward Henan. If defended from this pass, it truly holds the strategic advantage of “one man guarding the pass can hold off ten thousand.” Hongtiguan is situated at the turning point where the cliffside mountain road begins its steep descent to the valley floor. Once past the gate and onward, there are man-made stone steps layered one above the other—this is what is called the “Hongti” (Rainbow Stairs)—not including the “access ladder” near the gate itself. There are 54 flights of stairs that descend hundreds of meters straight down to reach the valley bottom, leading eastward toward Henan. Looking back at the ancient pass, its ridges pierce the sky like sword tips. The phrase “Hongti Reaching the Heavens” is one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Shangdang. Local legends tell of Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu, passing through here. At the foot of the mountain in front of the ancient pass lie three adjacent villages in sequence, all named after Hongtiguan—the eastern one is called:

　　Beitan, where the famous Hongtiguan Inscription stele stands tall on the riverbank at the village entrance. The Hongtiguan Inscription stele stands on the riverbank at the village entrance, bearing witness to history and silently questioning the surrounding mountains. The middle village is called: Tigen, the eastern starting point of the ancient Hongtiguan Road. The western village is called: Tihou, praised as the “heel of the Taihang Mountains.”