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Minor Three-Gorges
Minor Three-Gorges, a famous scenic spot in the Wuxia
Gorge, is deserved to get you off when your cruise ship gets to the
county seat of Wushan wedged between Qutang Gorge and Wu Gorge, This
side trip upstream on the 300-kilometer-long Daning River will surely
enrich your trip. The 50 kilometer long stretch from Dragon Gate Gorge
in the south to Tujiaba in the north is even narrower that the
narrowest part of the Three Gorges.
 The 50 kilometer long stretch from Dragon Gate Gorge in
the south to Tujiaba in the north is even narrower that the narrowest
part of the Three Gorges.
On the cliff face to the right is the 1981 flood mark,
over 40 meter (130 feet) above river level. The mouth of the gorge is
like a massive gateway through which the river rushes like a green
dragon. The gateway appears to shut once one has passed through. On
the east side is a clear spring pours into the river, it was Dragon
Gate Spring (Longmen Quan). It legends that it was here a dragon went
through into the sea. Above it is Lingzhi Peak, topped by the
Nine-Dragon Pillar. On this peak, it is said, grow strange plants and
the fungus of longevity (lingzhi), guarded by nine dragons. On the
western bank, two rows of 15-centimetre (2-inch) square holes,
continuing the entire length of the small gorges and numbering over
6,000 are the remains of an astonishing ancient plank walkway, which
was first constructed in the Han period and recorded in the Annals of
Wushan County in 246 BC.
After leaving the gorge the boat passes the Nest of
Silver Rapid (Yinwo Tan). In the past, rich merchants trading in the
hinterland often came to grief here; perhaps there are caches of
silver under the bubbling surface still!
The Daning then meanders through terraced hillsides
before entering the 10kilometre (6-mile) Misty Gorge (Bawu Xia), with
its dramatic scenery of rocks, peaks and caves, including Fairy Maiden
Cave, Fairy Throwing a Silk Ball, and Guanyin Seated on a Lotus
Platform. A long, layered formation, like a scaly dragon with its head
stretching into a cave, can be seen on the eastern cliff. A maize
stone on the mountainside opposite the cave seems like a fierce tiger
and suspended upon the western precipice is a relic of the ancient
inhabitants of eastern Sichuan 2,000 years ago, an iron coffin. This
gorge is accordingly also known as Iron Coffin Gorge. On the western
cliff, stalactites shaped like a pair of horses.
The village of Twin Dragons or Shuanglong (population
300), above Bawu Gorge, is the halfway point. Lunch is provided at the
reception center, which also has ten rooms for overnight
accommodation.
Emerald Green Gorge (Dicui Xia), 20 kilometers (12.5
miles) long, is inhabited by wild ducks and covered with luxuriant
bamboo groves from which rises a deafening cacophony of bird-song.
There are also many types of monkey still to be seen if you are lucky.
Once their shrill cries resounded throughout the Yangtze gorges, but
today they can be heard only in Dicui Gorge. River stones of an
extraordinary variety and colour can be gathered.
A mighty cliff erecting along the gorge is called "Chibi
Moutain". The lotus-like stalactites hanging on the cliff give you
deep impression. A Gateway standing in the middle of the river stop
boat decisively, while you will find a narrow slot which enable the
boat pass through reluctantly.
At the end of this gorge the tourist boat turns around
and rushes downstream, arriving at Wushan in half the time it took to
get here, aided by the skillful use of the long yuloli, which is
weighted by a stone to steady the boat.
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