Registration for the Xicili Station is now open | Let’s meet again by the Lishui River, and pay tribute to heroes on Yangjiao Mountain...

This is the Lishui River

Along its middle reaches, the banks are lined with steep ridges and high hills

Valleys and basins alternate, hiding within them a county

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Cili County

Sank into the seabed 380 million years ago along with mud and sand

Tens of thousands of years later, they formed majestic mountain ranges

This is the Wuling Mountains

On the eastern edge of the range lies a shining pearl

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Cili County

With shimmering waters and towering peaks

?Lishui boasts splendid scenery, Cili is full of charm.

Cili is blessed with extraordinary mountains and beautiful waters, making it a treasured land of scenic beauty. It is known as the "Hometown of Hot Springs in China" and the "Most Beautiful Leisure Tourism and Vacation County in China."

Here, emerald mountains rise proudly, clear waters flow gracefully, and nature offers countless wonders such as high mountain gorges, karst caves and fissures, hot spring rafting, and danxia landforms.

The essence of the Lishui—Lingxi River

It originates from the northern foothills of Jiancaosi in Cili County, flows eastward, disappears into a cave at Zhaojiaya, resurfaces at Chaoyang Village in Lingyang Township, flows northward through Muyuan Village in Lingxi Township, enters the Lishui River at the western foot of Bijiashan via Zizhushui, stretching 52 kilometers with a drainage area of 211 square kilometers, offering breathtaking scenery along the way.

Cliffside danxia, southern landscapes.

Danxia landform refers to red rock layers deposited in inland basins, which, over millions of years of geological changes, were carved and eroded by water, forming clusters of red mountains. This phenomenon is rare worldwide, found only in places like China and the western United States.

Within Cili, there are rare crimson cliffs of danxia, highly distinctive, forming the most typical, complete, diverse, and picturesque concentration of danxia landforms, showcasing a stunning southern landscape.

Red Cili

Revolutionary sites and martyrs

Cili County is a revolutionary base area and was part of the Xiang-E-West and Xiang-E-Chuan revolutionary bases during the Anti-Japanese War.

Cili County is home to 1,204 revolutionary martyrs of Cili origin, with 507 scattered martyr graves commemorating 1,307 individuals. Among them is Jian Xianren (1909–2005), the former wife of Marshal He Long, a native of Chengguan Town in Cili County and a high-ranking official.

Unique customs and rich culture

Cili County is a multi-ethnic region, primarily inhabited by Tujia, Han, as well as Miao, Hui, and Bai peoples.The ethnic minorities are mainly Tujia, who have developed a vibrant Tujia festival culture.

△ Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage "Banban Dragon Lantern"

△ Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage "Carrying the Hairy Bodhisattva"

There are also ethnic festivals and customs such as the Third Month Third, Sixth Month Sixth, Little New Year, Big New Year, Rice Flower Festival, Huajiu Long Water, Burning Lamp Fire, Anshan, Gaozu, and the Wulei Mountain Temple Fair.

Sour, fragrant, and spicy

The cuisine of Cili emphasizes sour, fragrant, and spicy flavors. As the saying goes: “Three days without sour or spicy, and your heart feels clawed by a cat, your legs go weak and your vision blurs.”

Cili mainly produces rice, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, mustard greens, millet, and various beans. Women in Cili are often skilled at making sour, fragrant, and spicy dishes—such as turning fresh seasonal vegetables, wild greens, or meats from all kinds of poultry and livestock into dried, cured, or pit-smoked varieties including dried vegetables, cured vegetables, spicy vegetables, and pickled vegetables series, making life flavorful and enjoyable.

Have you fallen for Cili yet?

Can’t wait to set off

For an exhilarating hiking and trekking adventure?

Please see:

2019

Walking the Path of the Red Army · Hiking Across Western Hunan (Cili Station)

Setting off again

With a different view

D1: April 12, Nationwide — Cili County Town, check-in and hotel accommodation;

D2: April 13, Cili County Town — Jinlong Village;

D3: April 14, Jinlong Village —Shuanghe Village, disband and head back.

?Long-Distance Hiking Group:

Total distance of about 50 km, with an accumulated elevation gain of about 2,548 meters.

? Day 1 Route

Distance:27.5KM;Accumulated Elevation Gain:1234M.

Cili County Town (Start) — Yangjiao Mountain — Ridge Firebreak — Jinlong Village (End).

Features: Almost the entire route follows the ridge line, offering wide views and stretching mountain ranges. Along the way, you will passYangjiao Mountain Anti-Japanese War Site, observe the remnants of the scenes left after the bloody battles of that time, and pay tribute to the revolutionary martyrs who sacrificed their lives.

? Second Day Itinerary

Distance: