Classic Zhangjiajie Landscapes (9)
Baizhang Gorge Tour Route: Located in the south of Suoxiyu National Nature Reserve, this route comprises three gorges: Baizhang, Dongjia and Wangjia. Baizhang Gorge, in the middle of Chaqiyu, is named for its hundred-zhang height. An ancient strategic pass, it is 800 meters long, 30 meters wide and 300 meters high, with 'Baizhang Gorge' inscribed on its cliff.
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.
Baizhang Gorge Tour Route
The Baizhang Gorge Tour Route is located in the southern part of Suoxiyu National Nature Reserve, comprising three gorges: Baizhang Gorge, Dongjia Valley, and Wangjia Valley. Among them, Baizhang Gorge is located in the middle of Chaqi Valley. The gorge is a hundred zhang high, named for its imposing scale. It was an ancient pass, strategically located, with a total length of 800 meters, a width of 30 meters, and a height of 300 meters. On the sheer cliff are the three characters "Baizhang Gorge." The Ming Dynasty "Longqing Yuezhou Prefecture Annals" records: "Baizhang Gorge is a wonder of the world, 160 li west of (Cili) County." The Ming Dynasty "Jiajing Lizhou Annals" also records: "Baizhang Gorge, 180 li west of (Cili) County, with rushing springs and ancient gnarled trees, and a path along the gorge leading to Yongding." The Qing Dynasty "Daoguang Yongding County Annals" also records: "On the sheer cliff of Baizhang Gorge there is a 'Silver Arrow Stone,' suspended high on the cliff, white as silver, with characters on it." Legend says Xiang Wang Tianzi led Tujia soldiers and officers in a hundred battles here against government troops, hence it is also called Baizhang Gorge (Hundred-Battle Gorge). The main attractions along the Baizhang Gorge tour route include: Horse-Tethering Post, Flag-Planting Peak, Xiang Wang's Deep Palace, and Xiang Wang's Seal, all ancient relics left from the battles between the Tujia rebel army and government forces.
[Horse-Tethering Post] Located on the stream bank on the right side of Baizhang Gorge, it is a stone peak landscape with a large top and slender waist, about 50 meters high. Legend says it was where Xiang Wang Tianzi tethered his horse, hence the name Horse-Tethering Post.
[Flag-Planting Peak] Walking 200 meters from Jundi Ping toward Baizhang Gorge, a peak stands alone on the right, about a hundred meters high. Viewed horizontally it looks like a flag, viewed from the side like a sword—people call it Flag-Planting Peak. Legend says it was where Xiang Wang Tianzi's rebel army planted their flag. Two green pines stand vigorously at the summit, their green crowns covering the cliff.
[Fire-Receiving Bridge] Traditionally said to have been built in the Qing Dynasty. The bridge is a single arch, with a span of 8.6 meters, a height of 9.3 meters, a length of 15 meters, and a width of 5 meters. The bridge body is entirely built of red sandstone and granite, exquisite and beautiful.
[Baizhang Gorge Cliff] Located on the right side in the center of Chaqi Valley. The stone cliff rises horizontally from the stream bank, 300 meters high and 800 meters long. Looking up, the cliff wall seems about to fall, with no vegetation hanging across its face. Its sharpness is unstoppable.
[Ming Dynasty Stone Inscriptions] Two kilometers into Baizhang Gorge, there is a giant cliff like a cut wall, soaring 300 meters into the air, with numerous inscriptions. On the stone wall 10 meters from the cliff base are carved the three characters "Baizhang Gorge," each about 1 meter, signed "Written by Ming Dynasty Jinshi Yu Yue and Tianmenshan Native Li Lin." To its left is carved the ancient poem "Baizhang Gorge" by Hu Guifang, Ming Dynasty Jiajing-era Right Participator in Government, concurrently in charge of Shangjingnan Circuit and Jiuyong Military Defense: "The gorge a hundred zhang high, cave clouds deep; to know Peach Blossom Spring, seek it here; troops march slowly, wind and snow pressing; who would exhaust their joy like those of Shanyin." Another Ming Dynasty stone inscription records the names of those who supervised the cutting of the stone wall and donated silver taels, and other text.
[Zhenjiang Temple] Located at the confluence of Chaqi Valley and Banli Mountain stream gully. On the opposite bank, a stone platform juts out from the hillside, and the temple stands atop the cliff, built during the Qing Dynasty Jiaqing era. The single hall faces south, only 8 square meters. It enshrines the Five Grains Bodhisattva. The temple characters and Bodhisattva statues are mostly intact.
[Banli Mountain] Opposite the right side of Baizhang Gorge Cliff is an arc-shaped slope, covering 70 hectares. The slope is low, with high mountains on all sides. On the slope, 7 hectares of paddy fields are stacked horizontally along the mountain, draped in green and spread with yellow, and over ten Tujia households live beside the bamboo, forming a beautiful pastoral scene like a painting.
West Sea is located in the northwestern part of Suoxiyu. It is a basin-gorge peak forest, with over a thousand stone peaks thrusting into the deep mountain gorge, and lush dense forests, hence the names "Sea of Peaks" and "Sea of Forests." After rain clears, clouds are like waves, surging or rolling, rushing or cascading, covering the sky and earth—a magnificent sight known as the "Sea of Clouds." The "Three Seas" are the characteristics of West Sea. The main attractions along the West Sea tour route include: Sleeping Beauty, Monkey Garden, Echo Wall, South Heaven Gate, and Heaven Terrace.
[Sleeping Beauty] Located in the northeastern part of Yejia Gang, composed of Jinzhu Mountain and Tangjia Mountain. Whenever the bright moon hangs in the sky, standing on the slope behind Yejia Gang and gazing northeast, a row of peaks of Jinzhu Mountain stretches from west to east, and the curve of the peaks resembles a nude woman lying face-up toward the sky: delicate face, eyes slightly closed, flowing hair spread on the ground, breasts towering, legs one extended and one bent, lying on the slope taking a rest.
[Camel Peak] Behind Lüyong Villa stands a peak that closely resembles a running camel. It has a head, a neck, a raised head mid-stride, and two humped camel peaks. The head is over 70 meters long, and the body is over 200 meters long.
[Echo Wall] At the top of Maple Tree Bay are two flat stone walls, 30 meters apart and 90 meters high. The stone walls are smooth and slightly curved. Standing before the wall, if you sing a folk song or recite a few lines, the sound is transmitted along the inner curve of the stone wall to the other wall.
[South Heaven Gate] Three hundred meters from Echo Wall, a massive slab-like rock 100 meters high, 200 meters wide, and 8 meters thick lies across the road from Suoxiyu to Tianzi Mountain. Below the huge rock, a gate opens in a conical shape, 25 meters high and 10 meters wide, forming a natural passage. Visitors arriving here feel as if they are floating like immortals, hence the name South Heaven Gate.
[Three Women Peaks] Looking across from South Heaven Gate, you can see three slender stone peaks shaped like beautiful women, called the 'Three Women Peaks.' Among them, the third peak is the most peculiar: it has an eye-like hole in its middle through which the sky beyond the mountain is visible, like a bright mirror hanging on the stone wall.
[Tiantai] Tiantai is the highest point of Xihai, at an elevation of 1,020 meters, covering an area of about 600 square meters. At first glance, Tiantai resembles a celestial pavilion. It is high and perilous, surrounded by sheer cliffs, with five peaks arranged in disorder; only the east and west peaks are connected by sky ladders. To ascend Tiantai, one must climb 72 steps of the sky ladder. Tiantai has two viewing platforms: the East Platform is a suspended huge rock, and the West Platform offers the best view overlooking Xihai.
[Pagoda Peak] Descending along the sky ladder to the mountainside, you come upon Pagoda Peak. The peak is over 300 meters high, touching the clouds. Brown rocks layer upon layer, with ancient pines hanging slantwise from the pagoda body and top. Looking up at the pagoda top makes one's heart tremble. A poem praises it: 'The divine Pagoda Peak reaches for the sun and moon; even wind and thunder turn back here.'