Qutang Gorge
Encyclopedia
The Qutang Gorge is the shortest and most spectacular of China's Three Gorges.
Immediately downstream of the ancient village Baidicheng (白帝城) the Yangtze River
passes between the Chijia Mountain (赤甲山) on the north and the Baiyan Mountain (白盐山) on the south. The point where the river passes between these mountains is called the Kuimen Gate (夔门) and it is the entrance to the Qutang Gorge - the first of the three Yangtze gorges. The Qutang Gorge is only 8 kilometres (5 mi) long, but it is also the narrowest of the Three Gorges. The widest point measures only 150 metres (500 ft) wide. The mountains on either side reach as high as 1,200 metres (4,000 ft). This combination of narrow canyon
s among high mountains with several switchbacks in only 8 kilometres creates spectacular vistas, and the Qutang Gorge is often considered the most beautiful of all the Three Gorges.
The coordinate of Qutang Gorge is 31.033826 north, 109.540160 east. Administratively, the location is in Fengjie County of the Chongqing
Municipality.
Baidicheng was an ancient city on the northern shore of the Yangtze River. Baidicheng was also where Liu Bei
, first emperor of the Kingdom of Shu during the Three Kingdoms era, died. There is a Liu Bei Memorial Temple and a Zhuge Liang
Memorial Temple in Baidicheng.
Baidicheng is a major tourist attraction of Yangtse cruise.
at the entrance to the Qutang Gorge (Kuimen Gate). The Chalk Wall can be easily recognized by the numerous characters
carved into the rock, many of which were done by famous Chinese calligraphers
. Nearly 1,000 characters in all are carved into the rock wall, with the oldest dating to the Song Dynasty
(960-1279). The wall has characters carved in many different styles of calligraphy and in various sizes. The largest characters are approximately 1.7 metres (6 ft) wide.
Legend has it that the holes were built by a Song Dynasty soldier named Meng Liang (孟良). Meng Liang served for a general named Yang Jiye
who was buried at the top of the cliff. Meng Liang wanted to find the remains of General Yang and give him a proper burial back in his home town. During the night Meng Liang constructed the stairway. A monk at the top of the mountain saw him coming and crowed like a rooster. Meng Liang, thinking the morning had arrived, quickly abandoned his plan to avoid being caught.
Holes such as these are used as a walk-way several places in the Three Gorges region. Poles were inserted into the holes and then either a walkway could be constructed or a person could walk from pole to pole. Historians do not know why these particular holes were constructed, nor do they know why they only reach part of the way up the cliff face. Remains of city walls have been located at the top of the cliff, and some historians have theorized that the pathway might have been intended to enable a person to access the city from the river.
Another famous set of similar holes can be found near Wushan
in the Little Three Gorges (小三峡) of the Daning River (大宁河). The local tourism agency in Wushan has placed poles in some of these holes so that tourists can see how they were used in ancient times.
s. Dripping water from natural springs within the caves have created many stalactite
s. One particular stalactite is approximately 10 metres (33 ft) high, and it is shaped like a Phoenix
displaying its tail feathers. Moss and bamboo growing next to the formation look like feathers on a bird. Water still drips from the head of the stalactite bird, and hence the Chinese have dubbed it the Drinking Phoenix Spring (凤凰泉). The formation is extremely difficult to see from the river, but there is a pathway that allows direct access to the caves.
(206 BC – 220 AD) and continued to be maintained and improved up until the middle of the 20th century. The original purpose was to provide a foot path for human haulers to pull boats upstream. Thus they were always alongside cliffs next to the river. Since the earliest days, boats going downstream used oars just to get steerage way. Going upstream, human powered oars were no match to the rapid current. Thus gangs of humans, harnessed to a tow rope, hauled the boats upstream. These haulers needed a path along the steep cliffs to walk on. Thus The Ancient Pathways were built. Even today haulers can be seen as in 天山网.
Over the years, these paths were expanded and improved. In addition to paths for haulers, paths were built for hauling goods up mountains. These higher paths would survive the flooding after the Three Gorges Dam
is complete.
For a gallery of recent pictures of The Ancient Pathway go to 三峡摄影图片
For a scholarly treatise of The Ancient Pathway, download a paper from Taiwan_Highway_Dept. Although this paper is in Chinese, the graphics are self explanatory.
on the Qutang Gorge has been especially large. Many of the most famous and historically significant sites in the Qutang Gorge are located closer to the water level. In fact, even prior to the dam construction the water level would come close to many sites during the rainy season. The water has now effectively covered many of the most impressive and notable sites in the Gorge including the Ancient Pathway, Meng Liang's Staircase, the Chalk Wall, and the cave within the Bellows Gorge.
Early western travellers and missionaries at times also mistakenly referred to this gorge as the Bellows Gorge, however this name was meant by the Chinese to refer only to a specific part within the Qutang Gorge (see above).
Immediately downstream of the ancient village Baidicheng (白帝城) the Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
passes between the Chijia Mountain (赤甲山) on the north and the Baiyan Mountain (白盐山) on the south. The point where the river passes between these mountains is called the Kuimen Gate (夔门) and it is the entrance to the Qutang Gorge - the first of the three Yangtze gorges. The Qutang Gorge is only 8 kilometres (5 mi) long, but it is also the narrowest of the Three Gorges. The widest point measures only 150 metres (500 ft) wide. The mountains on either side reach as high as 1,200 metres (4,000 ft). This combination of narrow canyon
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
s among high mountains with several switchbacks in only 8 kilometres creates spectacular vistas, and the Qutang Gorge is often considered the most beautiful of all the Three Gorges.
The coordinate of Qutang Gorge is 31.033826 north, 109.540160 east. Administratively, the location is in Fengjie County of the Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
Municipality.
Baidicheng
Liu Bei
Liu Bei , also known as Liu Xuande, was a warlord, military general and later the founding emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history...
, first emperor of the Kingdom of Shu during the Three Kingdoms era, died. There is a Liu Bei Memorial Temple and a Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang was a chancellor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era....
Memorial Temple in Baidicheng.
Baidicheng is a major tourist attraction of Yangtse cruise.
Chalk Wall
The Chalk Wall (粉笔墙) is a white cliff face on the southern bank of the Yangtze RiverYangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
at the entrance to the Qutang Gorge (Kuimen Gate). The Chalk Wall can be easily recognized by the numerous characters
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
carved into the rock, many of which were done by famous Chinese calligraphers
Calligraphy
Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
. Nearly 1,000 characters in all are carved into the rock wall, with the oldest dating to the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
(960-1279). The wall has characters carved in many different styles of calligraphy and in various sizes. The largest characters are approximately 1.7 metres (6 ft) wide.
The Meng Liang Stairway
On the south side the river (Baiyan Mountain) there are a series of rectangular shaped holes carved into the cliff face. The holes are almost exactly 1 metre apart and 1 metre deep. The holes zig-zag up part of the cliff face in a Z-shape. These holes are known as the Meng Liang Stairway (孟良梯).Legend has it that the holes were built by a Song Dynasty soldier named Meng Liang (孟良). Meng Liang served for a general named Yang Jiye
Yang Jiye
Yang Ye , or Yang Jiye was a general and strategist in the Later Han Dynasty and Northern Song Dynasty military. He is a key character in the Generals of the Yang Clan...
who was buried at the top of the cliff. Meng Liang wanted to find the remains of General Yang and give him a proper burial back in his home town. During the night Meng Liang constructed the stairway. A monk at the top of the mountain saw him coming and crowed like a rooster. Meng Liang, thinking the morning had arrived, quickly abandoned his plan to avoid being caught.
Holes such as these are used as a walk-way several places in the Three Gorges region. Poles were inserted into the holes and then either a walkway could be constructed or a person could walk from pole to pole. Historians do not know why these particular holes were constructed, nor do they know why they only reach part of the way up the cliff face. Remains of city walls have been located at the top of the cliff, and some historians have theorized that the pathway might have been intended to enable a person to access the city from the river.
Another famous set of similar holes can be found near Wushan
Wushan
Wushan may refer to the following locations in the People's Republic of China:*Wushan County, Chongqing *Wu Mountains, or Wushan , a mountainous region in Wushan County, Chongqing*Wushan County, Gansu , of Tianshui, Gansu...
in the Little Three Gorges (小三峡) of the Daning River (大宁河). The local tourism agency in Wushan has placed poles in some of these holes so that tourists can see how they were used in ancient times.
Hanging Monk Rock
On the cliff face near Meng Liang's Staircase there is a rock shaped like an upside down person. This is the Hanging Monk Rock (倒吊和尚). According to legend, when Meng Liang discovered that the monk had feigned a rooster call (see above), and frightened him off the mountain, he was so angry that he found the monk and hung him upside down from the cliff face.Drinking Phoenix Spring
Along the cliff face near the Chalk Wall and Meng Liang's Stairway there are a number of caveCave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
s. Dripping water from natural springs within the caves have created many stalactite
Stalactite
A stalactite , "to drip", and meaning "that which drips") is a type of speleothem that hangs from the ceiling of limestone caves. It is a type of dripstone...
s. One particular stalactite is approximately 10 metres (33 ft) high, and it is shaped like a Phoenix
Phoenix (mythology)
The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....
displaying its tail feathers. Moss and bamboo growing next to the formation look like feathers on a bird. Water still drips from the head of the stalactite bird, and hence the Chinese have dubbed it the Drinking Phoenix Spring (凤凰泉). The formation is extremely difficult to see from the river, but there is a pathway that allows direct access to the caves.
The Ancient Pathway (古栈道)
These narrow footpaths were built starting in Western Han DynastyHan Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
(206 BC – 220 AD) and continued to be maintained and improved up until the middle of the 20th century. The original purpose was to provide a foot path for human haulers to pull boats upstream. Thus they were always alongside cliffs next to the river. Since the earliest days, boats going downstream used oars just to get steerage way. Going upstream, human powered oars were no match to the rapid current. Thus gangs of humans, harnessed to a tow rope, hauled the boats upstream. These haulers needed a path along the steep cliffs to walk on. Thus The Ancient Pathways were built. Even today haulers can be seen as in 天山网.
Over the years, these paths were expanded and improved. In addition to paths for haulers, paths were built for hauling goods up mountains. These higher paths would survive the flooding after the Three Gorges Dam
Three Gorges Dam
The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, located in the Yiling District of Yichang, in Hubei province, China...
is complete.
For a gallery of recent pictures of The Ancient Pathway go to 三峡摄影图片
For a scholarly treatise of The Ancient Pathway, download a paper from Taiwan_Highway_Dept. Although this paper is in Chinese, the graphics are self explanatory.
Impact of the Three Gorges Dam
Although the Qutang Gorge is the furthest upstream of all the affected gorges, the impact of the Three Gorges DamThree Gorges Dam
The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, located in the Yiling District of Yichang, in Hubei province, China...
on the Qutang Gorge has been especially large. Many of the most famous and historically significant sites in the Qutang Gorge are located closer to the water level. In fact, even prior to the dam construction the water level would come close to many sites during the rainy season. The water has now effectively covered many of the most impressive and notable sites in the Gorge including the Ancient Pathway, Meng Liang's Staircase, the Chalk Wall, and the cave within the Bellows Gorge.
Miscellaneous
The Qutang Gorge has also been known as the Kuixia Gorge (夔峡).Early western travellers and missionaries at times also mistakenly referred to this gorge as the Bellows Gorge, however this name was meant by the Chinese to refer only to a specific part within the Qutang Gorge (see above).