Three Gorges on The Yangtze River

Apart from being the longest river in China and Asia, the Yangtze River is renowned for its having possessed a good number of historical sites and enchanting scenic spots.

Located on the north bank of the Yangtze River, Fengdu is an ancient city with long history. It is also known as the so-called "Abode of Ghosts." According to superstious legend, "the dead come to Fengdu and the devils go to hell." Since the Tang Dynasty, forty-eight temples have been built in this place, such as the "Hall of the Jade Emperor," the "Palace of Hell, " "Boundary Between the Living and the Dead, " the "ridge of Helplessness," and the "Balcony of Nostalgia." All of the temples there look quite magnificent while statues are extremely lifelike.

Built along the mountain slop, Zhongxian boasts many historical sites. The county is so called because there appeared two loyal officials: the one is Bamanzi, a general of Ba dukedom buring the Warring States Period, and the other is Yan yan, a brave general of Western Shu during the Three-Kingdoms Period(220-280). Apart from the tombs of these two loyal officials, there are still many other impressive buildings, such as the Taibao Temple dedicated to Qin Liangyu, a woman general noted for her heroic resistance against the Qing army, and the Hall of Four Worthies built in memory of the four Tang-dynasty worthies: Bai Juyi, Liu An, Li Jifu and Lu Zhe.

Situated on the north bank of the Yangtze River near Zhongxian County, Shibaozhai is a huge crag over ten metres high. Since its rectangular shape looks like a huge seal, it is called" Jade Seal Hill." Atop the hill is a temple called "Lanrou Hall. " A twelve-storey pagoda-shaped wooden pavilion contains a staircase leading up the way from ground to the hilltop, which is otherwise difficult to reach.

With the Duyue Mountain in the east, the Cuiping Mountain in the south, the Taibai Rock in the west and the Tiancheng in the southwest, Wanzhou is an important riverside town traditionally called the "Gate to the East Sichuan." The name means" a county with 10,000 products," and refers to the natural wealth of the area.Li Bai(701-762),a great Tang-dynasty poet, once lived in a temple located on a hill in the western side, hence the name of this rock.

Located on the south bank of the Yangtze River in Yunyang County, 64,000 metres away from Wanzhou, the Zhang Fei Temple, built in memory of Zhang Fei, the famous general during the Three Kingdoms Period, is one of the well-known scenic spots in Sichuan Province. As an architectural complex, it has now become one of the famous cultural and historical relics on the Yangtze River. There are famous poems, calligraphy, stone and wood carvings and paintings in the temple. So the place is noted for its having housed some gems of the artistic works.

Baidicheng( White Emperor City) lies on the north bank of the Yangtze River and to the east of Fengjie County, guarding the entrance to Qutang Gorge. The Three Gorges start in the west of Baidicheng, pass through three counties, end at Yichang in Hubei Province. The total length of the gorges extends 193 kilometres. Except the the Daning River Valley and the Fragrant Sream Valley, the gorges are ninety-three kilometres long.

Qutang Gorge is the gateway between East Sichuan and Hubei Province. With overhanging precipices rising vertically on both sides, the gorge is like a narrow corridor. Hence the name Kui Gate or Qutang Pass. The river water is forced in between turbulent waves roaring on like wild horses stampeding. On the north bank of the gorge is the Red Halmet Mountain which looks crimson. Opposite it stands the White Salt Mountain. Beside Baidicheng, there are many scenic spots and places of historical interest in the gorge, such as the peculiar" Iron Lock Pass", the legendary Mengliang Staircase, an ancient plank road built on cliff faces and the mysterious Golded Cave.

Wuxia Gorge stretches across Sichuan and Hubei Provinces from the Daning River estuary in Sichuan to the Guandukou in Hubei. Flanked by craggy peaks and grotesque rock, it forms a meandering scenic gallery. Sometimes there seems no way ahead, suddenly an unimpeded path is in front. There are twelve peaks standing on both banks. Six line the north bank, the other six are on the south bank, and the most fascinating is perhaps the Goddess Peak. Legend says that after Yu the Great, a legendary river-taming hero, split the Wushan Mountains to release a huge body of flood water, a Goddess named Yao Ji flew to the scene. She helped the local people by killing marauding tigers in the mountains and sending heavenly birds to guide boatmen through the rapids and past dangerous reefs. The people built a temple to her, to show their respect and gratitude, and in return she became a mountain peak to keep eternal watch over them.

At the foot of the Gathering of Worthies Peak in Wuxia Gorge lies Kongming Tablet. It is several yards high, on which the inscription reads:" The Wuxia Gorge has peaks rising higher and higher." Zhuge Liang(181-234),the famed statesman of the Shu State during the Three Kingdom Period who called himself Kongming. Hence the name of this ancient stone tablet.

The Daning River, a 300-kilometer tributary, joins the Yangtze River at the mouth of the Wuxia Gorge. It is full of shoals and whirling pools. With precipitous peaks standing on two sides and turbulent currents smashing against rocksides, the sceneries there are quits fascinating, and in many ways surpass those on the gorges of the Yangtze River, hence the name "Small Yangtze Gorges. " The famous scenic gorges are Longmen, Bawu and Dicui.

Xiling Gorge begins at the mouth of Fragrant Stream in the west and ends at Nanjin Pass in the east. It is known for its numerous hidden rocks, dangerous shoals and turbulent rapids. Xiling Gorge consists of four small gorges and several dangerous shoals, Kongling Shoal and Yaochahe Shoal.

Located in the north bank of the Yangtze River, Zhigui County is the native place of Qu Yuan(340-272BC),a high official and patriotic poet of Chu during the Warring States Period. Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Miluo River in Hunan Provice. Situated about1,000 metres away from the Zhigui countyseat, there is a small bay in a river after his name, where the local people take it a rule to row a dragon-shaped boat in memory of this great patriotic poet.

Fragrant Stream is also a tributary on the north bank of the Yangtze River. Xiangfei Village, the hometown of Wang Zhaojun, an imperial concubine of the Han empire, who did her bit for the promotion of the national unity, is located at the upstream of this tributary. The water in this stream is fresh and clear all year round. A legend says that, before Wang Zhaojun leaving for Tibet, she had washed her face with the water from this stream and, what's more, one of the pearls on her necklace happened to fall into the stream. As a consequence, the water in this stream had thus become fragrant. Hence the name of this stream.

The picturesque sceneries along the river will never fail to appeal to the tourists, for the mysterious creative power of nature.

As the first stage of the gigantic Three Gorge Project, the main current of the Yangtze River was blocked successfully on November 9,1997. The beautiful sceneries on the either side of this river will not change until 2003. After the accomplishment of this gigantic Project, some historical sites including the Zhang Fei Temple will be inunded, while the renowned Fengdu Mountain, Shibaozhai at Zhongxian County and Baidicheng at Fengji County will become some lonely islets in the river centre. Howeer, with the majestic spectacle of the Greater Three Gorges and the Lesser Three Gorges remaining unchanged all the more, the picturesque sceneries on the either side of the Yangtze River will pose on a brand-new feature to attract an increasing number of the tourists from home and abroad.