Daning River

Brief Introduction of Daning River

Daning River is the largest tributary of the Yangtze River in the Three Gorges area. The river, known as the Changhe River or the Wuxi River in old times, starting from Xining District in Wuxi County, runs its course of 250 kilometers from north to south into Wushan County and drains into Yangtze River at the Wu Gorge. The seat of Wushan County is situated at the mouth of the Daning River, 481 kilometers from the central part of Chongqing.

Seven Gorges of Daning River

With its many gorges, the Daning River is the most beautiful river in the world. There are seven famous gorges on the river: the Yueya Gorge, the Jingzhu Gorge, the Jiandao Gorge, the Miao Gorge in Wuxi County and the Dicui Gorge, the Bawu Gorge, and the Longmen Gorge in Wushan County. The latter three are usually referred to as the Lesser Three Gorges.

The Yueya Gorge is the northernmost one of the four gorges in Wuxi County. It is also called "a narrow strip of the sky". North of the gorge is Zhenping County of Shaanxi Province. The Yueya Gorge and the Jingzhu Gorge are on the East Stream, a stream from Shaanxi Province, which joins the West Stream and then empties into the Daning River.

The Jingzhu Gorge, about seven kilometers long, has 23 suspended ancient coffins on its cliffs, the largest concentration, of suspended coffins in the whole Three Gorges area. A new construction, "Han Gong Shen Gu", has been built for protection of these coffins and for people to see them.

The Jiandao Gorge (the Scissors Gorge), only one kilometer from the county seat, runs nine kilometers from Shuangxi Cave in the north to Jiucenglou in the south. In this gorge, two peaks rise from the ground side by side, like a pair of scissors slightly open, and this gives the gorge its name.

The Miao Gorge is situated south of the county seat, running 22 kilometers from the Malian Stream to the Miaoxi River.

Other Attractions of Daning River

Among other tourist attractions, the Pearl Curtain Waterfall is the most famous one. It is about 180 meters high and about 10 meters wide. When there is a torrential rain in the summer, the mighty waterfall will plunge onto the rock riverbed below like a giant dragon, and then springs up again to form in the air over the river with a span of 50 meters. This scene is known as "the white dragon jumping over the river", a scene that nowhere else can be found in China. The Miao Gorge is noted for its magnificent scenery, which is considered the best of all the gorges on the Daning River.