Liuguang River Grand Canyon

　　The Liuguang River Grand Canyon is part of the Liuguang River Gaoqiao Canyon Eco-Tourism Area, situated in Liuguang Town, Xiuwen County, to the northwest of Guiyang City, upstream from the Wujiangdu Scenic Area. It is one of the most typical karst river valleys in western China. The Liuguang River is the section of the Wujiang River basin that flows through Xiuwen, serving as the 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 in the early Ming Dynasty, who established the Longchang Nine Posts including the Liuguang Post, the lake area was named “She Xiang Lake.” The upper section of the lake features towering cliffs and rapid currents, presenting a majestic beauty akin to the Three Gorges; the lower section boasts verdant mountains, broad waters, and picturesque scenery reminiscent of the Li River. The renowned Ming Dynasty philosopher, military strategist, and educator Wang Yangming once praised the beautiful scenery of the Liuguang River with the line: “Having traversed all these wonders, I need not envy the splendor of Jiuhua amid these river views.” In 2004, contestants of the Miss World Tourism Queen Pageant Guizhou Division also visited the Liuguang River for sightseeing.

　　The Liuguang River Grand Canyon represents the natural highlights of the Xiuwen Yangming Scenic Area. Major attractions include: Green Bamboo Tower Hotel, Seven Gorges, Gold and Silver Waterfalls, Sister Peaks, Ancient Ferry Rainbow, Asia’s Highest Bridge – the Gui-Bi Highway Bridge, Jia Family Cave, Datun Buyi Village, and Crouching Lion Roaring at the Sky. The Xiuwen section of the canyon stretches 35 kilometers from Baima Beach to Huangjin Village at the downstream county border, encompassing the Sixty-Four Scenic Spots of the Liuguang Seven Gorges (see Figures 3–10). These are: Baima Gorge – from Baima Beach 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”; Monkey Worry Gorge – from Juzizhai to Liuguang Ferry, about 4 km long with 8 scenic spots. Steep cliffs tower on both sides, covered in lush forests. Rhesus monkey troops often play here, and it’s named “Monkey Worry Gorge” because the monkeys find it difficult to climb the sheer cliffs; Flying Dragon Gorge – from Binjiang Village to Datun, about 3 km long with 3 scenic spots. Named for the right-bank underground river that surfaces from Bailong Cave; Red Cliff Gorge – from Datun to La’ao River, 5 km long with 9 scenic spots. This basin-like canyon has narrowing cliffs on both sides, with the right side’s steep wall dyed fiery red by hematite, cracked and crisscrossed like characters or paintings, seemingly scorched by fire, hence the name “Red Cliff Gorge”; Elephant Trunk Gorge – from La’ao River to Banjiazhai, about 4 km long with 5 scenic spots. Passing Ladder Rock and Ox Head Mountain, you’ll see a ridge extending directly into the lakeside, shaped like an elephant playing in the water – hence “Elephant Trunk Gorge”; Sword-Cleaved Gorge – from Banjiazhai to Sword-Cleaved Rock, about 7 km long with 7 scenic spots. After exiting Elephant Trunk Gorge, the river turns sharply right, suddenly widening. The rock layers on both sides are folded and fractured, as if cleaved by an axe or sword, hence the name “Sword-Cleaved Gorge”; Seahorse Gorge – from Sword-Cleaved Rock down to Fengziyan at the county border, 9 km long with 5 scenic spots. The boat turns right toward Seahorse Hole, hence the name “Seahorse 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 like embracing sisters, named “Sister Peaks.” Legend says their sweethearts were both conscripted to guard the frontier, and the sisters waited on the riverbank, eventually turning into stone.

　　Boating down the Liuguang River through the Seven Gorges allows you to take in such landform sights as Verdant Screen Spring Love, Five Elders and Eight Immortals, Sword-Cleaved Rock, Reverse Thrust Fault, Miao Maiden’s Colorful Skirt, Elephant Trunk Stone, Crouching Lion Roaring at the Sky, Eagle in Flight, Guanyin Sitting on a Lotus, Rock Sitting by the Stream, Twin Moon Rock, and Yangming’s Marvelous Brush. There are also water attractions like Jade Pillar Double Waterfall, Colorful Cliff Hanging Curtain, Beaded Curtain Layered Green, Silver Thread Drizzle, and White Water Flying Dragon. You can also admire the charm of riverside ethnic villages such as Binjiang Miao Village and Datun Buyi Village, known as the “Bagua (Eight Trigrams) Map Village,” nestled against the surrounding mountains on both banks of the Liuguang River. Additionally, you can drive upstream to see Asia’s Highest Bridge—a 596-meter-long, 12-meter-wide, 305-meter-high span crossing the canyon—and the Suofengying Hydropower Station, a major project for transmitting electricity from west to east, which is truly breathtaking. The entire Liuguang River Canyon combines cliffs, valleys, caves, waterfalls, geological relics, and hydroelectric science education, with scenery changing beautifully across the four seasons. Its majestic presence, misty waters, cascading crimson falls, and rugged rocks create a landscape where the valleys stand broad and proud like stalwart men, while the waters flow gently like tender maidens. As the poem by He Xiaoping goes: “Fishermen’s joyful songs drift to the ear / Farmstead smoke curls up into the clouds / Egrets skim lightly over the blue water / Sunset gilds the canyon in golden hues / Like dreaming in a fairyland / Drunk in this peach blossom spring, I’d never leave” (“Liuguang River” by He Xiaoping).

　　The Liuguang River Grand Canyon was developed with an investment of over 40 million yuan by the Guizhou Provincial Communications Construction Investment Group in August 1998 and opened to the public in October 2000. The area features the largest tourism wharf in China, the Green Bamboo Tower Hotel, and Guizhou’s most luxurious fleet of three cruise ships, equipped with various tourist service facilities including passenger ships, ferries, and yachts. A variety of entertainment activities such as ethnic performances, water skiing, and beach volleyball are also available. The Liuguang River (also called She Xiang Lake) was once described as “a stream winding through nine bends hidden in the clouded gorge,” but today it is “a garden of splendor no gate can contain.” The town of Liuguang is also famed as the “Hometown of Lanterns.” (Compiled by He Xiaoping, Xiuwen County Tourism Bureau)

　　Transportation

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

　　Scenic Spot Location

　　Liuguang Town