Classic Zhangjiajie Landscapes (10)
Ten-Mile Gallery Tour Route: Located in the northwest of Suoxiyu National Nature Reserve, Ten-Mile Gallery is a narrow gorge about 5.8 km long. On both sides, peaks and oddly shaped rocks form natural sculptural paintings. Sculptor Qian Shaowu called it 'a corridor displaying masterpieces of natural sculpture.'
This article is compiled from the original travel notes on the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com); it is a record of trips from earlier years. Time-sensitive information such as ticket prices, schedules, and accommodation prices is subject to the latest announcements from scenic areas and transportation authorities; the itinerary ideas and attraction introductions still have reference value.
Ten-Mile Gallery Tour Route
The Ten-Mile Gallery is located in the northwestern part of Suoxiyu National Nature Reserve. It is a narrow and long gorge, about 5.8 kilometers long. On both sides of the gorge, peaks stand in solemn array, with fantastic peaks and exotic rocks of varying shapes, composing one natural sculpture painting after another. Sculptor Qian Shaowu called it "a corridor displaying a group of natural sculpture masterpieces." The main attractions along the Ten-Mile Gallery tour route include: Zhuan Ge Tower, Xiang Wang's Coffin, Fierce Tiger Roaring at the Sky, Monkey King on Sentry, God of Longevity Greeting Guests, Golden Mouse Watching the Sky, Herb-Gathering Old Man, Maidens Worshipping Guanyin, Xiang Wang Reading, and Fairy Bridge. Now, Zhangjiajie Zhensheng Tourism Industrial Co., Ltd. has built a Ten-Mile Gallery sightseeing tram here.
[Zhuan Ge Tower] "Dayong has a Tianmen Mountain, only three chi three from the sky; Cili has a Zhuan Ge Tower, one end thrust into the clouds." This folk rhyme speaks of the height of Tianmen Mountain and Zhuan Ge Tower. On the slope opposite the mouth of the Ten-Mile Gallery gorge stands a peak wall, with a peak tower in front and a peak wall behind, steep and towering, shaped like a Tujia Zhuan Ge Tower. The peak wall rises straight from the ground, and from the wall's waist to the front peak's chest there is a plank road 0.3 meters wide and 16 meters long, leading to a platform of 4 square meters. From the platform one can climb to the 30-square-meter summit for sightseeing. The top of Zhuan Ge Tower is flat, with four corners upturned. The interior is spacious, able to hold a hundred people. Legend says Xiang Wang Tianzi once held a military meeting here.
[Poetess Rock] Among the stone peaks on the mountaintop opposite the mouth of the Ten-Mile Gallery gorge, a rock has clear and delicate facial features, half bright and half dark, resembling a young maiden with flowing hair covering her cheeks, facing the splendid scenery of the gallery, poetic inspiration surging, brows relaxed and softly chanting.
[Fierce Tiger Roaring at the Sky] Looking west from the Ten-Mile Gallery, a stone peak resembles a fierce tiger with its head raised, roaring at the sky. The peak opposite it resembles a vivid golden mouse, eyes glaring at the sky, ears erect—this is "Golden Mouse Watching the Sky."
[Monkey King on Sentry] On the hillside to the left of the Ten-Mile Gallery entrance, a rock resembles the Monkey King, squatting on a stone observing the surroundings, with a clever expression.
[Herb-Gathering Old Man Peak] Herb-Gathering Old Man Peak, also called Old Man Rock, is about 30 meters high, resembling a Tujia elder. This herb-gathering old man is thin, with a silk turban wrapped around his head, carrying a basket of herbs on his back, walking hunched over, as if returning from gathering herbs in the mountains. Legend says that among Xiang Wang's rebel army there was a highly skilled physician who was good at identifying herbs. When Xiang Wang was defeated and jumped off a cliff to his death, the physician was overcome with grief and transformed into the Herb-Gathering Old Man Rock. A poem goes: "The herb-gathering old man should understand words; with what skill did he comfort the common people back then?"
[General and Minister Peak] In front of the Ancient City Group Fort viewpoint, a peak's front wall has protrusions and hollows along the straight upper section that closely resemble human eyes, nose, and mouth. The back wall is the same, resembling a general and a minister.
[Maidens Worshipping Guanyin] After passing Herb-Gathering Old Man Peak, looking back at the peaks on the left is a peculiar scene: a dozen or so stone peaks of various shapes resemble a group of fairies in plain dress crowding together, some with hands folded in salute, some bowing with heads lowered in respect. One peak at the summit has facial features extremely similar to Guanyin—a blessed and prosperous face, amiable expression, dignified bearing, as if seated on a lotus platform, receiving the worship of the maidens.
[Xiang Wang Reading] To the right of Poetess Rock, a giant peak resembles a person sitting upright, holding a book in both hands, earnestly reciting silently. Legend says the Tujia Xiang Wang once read military texts here.
[Fair Maiden Peak] On the hillside to the left of the Ten-Mile Gallery entrance, a peak resembles a Tujia maiden, with a gauze scarf over her head and wearing an eight-panel skirt, like a fair maiden of a prominent family waiting for her sweetheart. Tujia love songs sing of exactly this sentiment: "Thinking of him by day, thinking of him by night, like a silkworm wanting to eat mulberry leaves; for the silkworm, the days of wanting mulberry are short; for the sweet maiden, the days of missing her love are long."
[Two-Faced God] Two-Faced God Peak is a wonder of the Ten-Mile Gallery. It is a solitary peak about a hundred meters high, with a green crown wrapped around its top. Thin at the top and thick at the bottom, the summit is slightly rounded. Viewed from the south and from the north, each side has a human form, with eyes, nose bridge, lips, and other facial features clearly defined, all naturally formed.
[Fairy Bridge] Fairy Cave, also called Immortal Couple Cave, is a cultural relic site, and to this day the three large characters "Immortal Couple Cave" remain on the door lintel. Not far from Fairy Cave is Fairy Bridge, also called Natural Bridge. The bridge surface is arched, 26 meters long, 1.6 meters wide, and over 100 meters high, like a rainbow spanning between two emerald peaks. Legend says the Tujia Xiang Wang was pursued by government troops to a sheer cliff when suddenly a fairy threw out a silk ribbon that transformed into a stone bridge, allowing Xiang Wang to escape to Shentang Bay.
[Conch Peak] Looking upstream from the Ten-Mile Gallery, a stone peak a hundred meters high stands alone on the left, its upper end shaped like a conch. Large at the bottom and small at the top, it spirals upward. Whenever fierce winds strike the cliff and shake the layered forest, the combined sound of wind and pine waves comes from Conch Peak, forming a resounding and stirring conch horn call. Legend says that 380 million years ago, Suoxiyu was a great sea. Later the sea receded, but a conch maiden was so enchanted by her lover's singing that she did not retreat with the seawater. After the seawater dried up, she became this Conch Peak landscape.
[Lion Turning Back] Near Shentang Bay in the upper reaches of Ganxi, a peak rises straight from the ground, its summit resembling a giant lion turning its head to gaze south, a majestic and awe-inspiring sight.
[Three Sisters Peak] Facing Lion Turning Back across the stream, three stone peaks are slender and elegant, like three graceful maidens.