The Yangtze Gorges is a great valley with a most splendid landscape in the Yangtze (Changjiang) River and it is one of the ten most famous scenic sites of China. It extends from Baidicheng (White Emperor City) in Fengjie County, Chongqing Municipality to Nanjin Pass in Yichang, Hubei Province, consisting of Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge and Xiling Gorge, with a full length of 193 km.

Each of the gorges has specific features of its own. Qutang Gorge is celebrated for its majestic steep crags on both banks of the river; Wuxia Gorge is famed for its elegant beauty of forest-covered peaks; and Xiling Gorge is best known for its numerous shoals and turbulent torrents.Thus it is a golden tourist waterway.

The Three Gorges, the most spectacular section of the Yangtze River, are filled with breathtaking scenery. They are famous for the steep cliffs on both sides. Going through the gorges on boat is like travelling a landscape paintting gallery.The steep mountains, the dangerous rugged shoals and the turbulent waters are characteristic of the gorges. The perpendicular cliff and grotesque peaks with clouds wrapping them in a blanket of mist create one of natures' most majestic sights.

The area of the gorges was also the cradle of culture of the ancient Chu State. It has a long history with a galaxy of talents. Here were born two famous characters in Chinese history: Qu Yuan, a great patriotic poet and Wang Zhaojun, who did her bit for the promotion of the national unity. A host of great historic poets, such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi greatly admired the beautiful and charming landscape and wrote down quite a number of emotional poems.

Wuxia Gorge
Wu Gorge is forty-five kilometers long, extending from the mouth of the Daning River in Wushan County, Chongqing City in the west to Guandukou in Badong County, Hubei Province in the east. Also known as the Great Gorge, famous for its deep valley and quiet beauty. Wu Gorge is a long and neat gorge divided into two sections - the Golden Helmet and Silver Armor Gorge and the Iron Coffin Gorge.

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 from while the water ends along mountain ridges. The beautiful sceneries on both banks are too changeable to take them all in.

On a cruise down the Wuxia Gorge, the twelve peaks line the banks.These triangle-looking peaks described by legend as twelve fairy spirits, such as a fairy maid dancing, a dragon soaring into the sky, a peacock displaying its feathers or a piece of colorful brocade. All the peaks are given names by their different shapes. Varying from seasons and weathers, their pretty sceneries are the everlasting appeal to tourists.The best –known is the poetic Goddess Peak, the graceful shape of which resembles a girl looking down at the boats in the river. Many mythological tales and countless number of poems have been written about this particular peak.

"When the Qutang rolls on to an end, The Wu Gorge rises with its lofty peaks." When the Yangtze flows out of Qutang Gorge and past the broad valley of the Daning River, it enters the scenic Wu Gorge.

Noted for its deep and serene scenes, the Wu Gorge is full of zigzags, weird peaks, rising mists and beautiful sights. As the river cut through the Wushan Mountains, its roaring currents change their directions constantly. Travelling through the gorge in a boat, one sometimes may find the way blocked by mountains. But a sharp turn of the boat brings one to 0an area of entirely different scenery. It is the most beautiful part of the Yangtze, green trees and bushes, together with fogs and clouds, cover the high peaks.

Wushan at the entrance to Wu Gorge and Badong and Zigui in the broad valley of the Fragrant Stream (Xiangxi) are famous towns in the gorge. There are many famous historical sites too. The town of Zigui is attracting a large number of tourists because it is the native place of the great ancient poet and patriotic politician Qu Yuan and the famous beauty Wang Zhaojun from East Han Dynasty 2,000 years ago.

The Daning River at the western entrance to Wu Gorge is flanked by continuous strange peaks, some of them rising into the clouds and presenting an unusual scene. The section of the river becomes known as the Lesser Three Gorges. Their unordinary beauty is so charming and it has been praised by more and more visitors.

Xiling Gorge

Xiling Gorge begins at the Xiangxi stream in the west and ends at Nanjinguan Pass in the east extending about 66 km long,and is the longest of the Three Gorges and is entirely within Hubei Province. This gorge is full of shoals and rapid currents. Xiling Gorge consists of 4 small gorges and several dangerous shoals: the Gorge of the Sword and Book on the Art of War; the Gorge of the Cow's Liver and Horse's Lung; the Kongling Gorge and the Gorge of the Shadow Play; the Blue Shoal; the Discharge Shoal; the Kongling Shoal and the Yaocha River. The most dangerous shoals are Xietan, Qingtan and Kong Ling, collectively known as the Three Shoals of Xiling. Among all the dangerous shoals, Qingtan Shoal and Kongling Shoal are the most famous.

Qingtan Shoal, stretched between "Tactics Books and Sword Gorge" and "Bull's Liver and Horse's Lung Gorge", including First Shoal, Second Shoal and Third Shoal, runs 1.5 km from west to east, teeming with reefs and convulsed with sweeping, boisterous rapids. Sailors called it "Iron Threshold" to the river. Boats and skiffs used to shoot downstream like flying arrows and flounder upstream as if scaling a ladder, zigzagging their way either up or down.

Kongling Shoal lies in the Miaohe section. The local people have always said: "Qintan and Xietan are not real shoals compared with hell gate of Kongling Shoal." Twenty four reefs, named Great Pearl, First Pearl, Second Pearl, Third Pearl, etc., are crammed in the shoal, bulging into each other's way. The Great Shoal, for example, sprawls in the middle of the river, dividing it into two channels: the south channel full of jagged reefs and fickle eddies; the north narrow, twisted and forbidding with submerged rocks. Besides, there was a hideous reef called "Coming-at-Me", which used to fill people with fear. This is a shoal where passing boats had to thread their way through the reefs, dodging from side to side all the times.

Sailing down about five kilometers past Qingtan Shoal is Bull's Liver and Horse Lung Gorge. Many other scenic spots composed in Xiling Gorge, are "Tactics Books and Sword Gorge", and "Shadow Play Gorge", "Huangling Temple", "Three Travelers' Cave", "Horse Bell Rock", Mt. Qingshi (Black Lion) in Shipai Town, Three Swords Peak at Nantuo, etc. There are also many waterfalls. During the rainy season, the Jiuwanxi Waterfall roars with its gushing water.

At the foot of the Heavenly Pillar Peak, there is a stalactite Huangsang Cave, over with spans a natural stone bridge known as the Fairy Bridge, covered with creeping plant growth. On one end of this bridge stands a statue of a fairy. It is truly wonderful to look down at the boats shuttling to and from this point.

Qutang Gorge
Starting at the White Emperor City in the west and ending at Daxi Stream in the east, the Qutang Gorge, or Kui Gorge, known for its magnificence, is only 8 kilometers long.

The shortest in the world-famous Three Yangtze Gorges, it is the most spectacular. In this section, the Yangtze carves its way through the gorge between the sheer precipices of overhanging mountains at both sides. The mountain peaks are nestled in the clouds, making one of the Qutang Gorge's magnificent views. The narrowest pint of the river bed is only several dozen meters while the widest pint is more than 1,800 meters. Kui Gate at the entrance to the gorge, two perpendicular cliffs rear over the river surface on either side, looking like a pair of giant door leaves or a narrow corridor.

Having entered Kui Gate Pass, one would be faced by Mount Chijia (Bare-backed Soldier) on the north bank and Mount Baiyan (White Salt) on the southern bank. The former calls to mind a soldier without top armor, hence the name Chijia. The latter is so named because of its silvery color no matter whether the weather is fine or overcast.

The broadest span is only 150 meters, while the narrowest is less than 100 meters while the principal peaks on the banks are as high as 1,000-1,500 meters. At the entrance stand two perpendicular cliffs facing each other. They look like two giant gates, hence the name Kui Gate or Qutang Pass. The river water is forced in between turbulent waves roaring on like wild horses stampeding. It is known as the most fearsome waterway. The turbulent waters flowing in the deep gorge along a continuous line of peaks make a most magnificent picture. The rolling and roaring river bursts through the rock gate that towers over the water.

On the north bank of the gorge is Chijia Mountain that looks cromson. Opposite it stands the Baiyan (white salt) Mountain that bears the colour of grayish white. The two mountains present a sharp color-contrast, marvelous to look upon. Besides Baidicheng, there are many scenic spots and places of historical interest in the gorge, such as the peculiar rock of the "Monk Hanging by His Feet", the legendary Meng Liang Staircase, Fengxiang Gorge, an ancient plank road built along the face of a cliff and Phoenix Fountain, etc.

In addition to their scenic beauty, the Three Gorges are rich in water resources. They are the most ideal section of the Yangtze for building large water conservancy projects for the comprehensive exploitation of the river. The deep gorges and steep mountains on the banks of the river present superabundant potentials for power generation. The Yangtze gorges key water conservancy project that is being planned will effectively control the torrential flow on the upper reaches and free the middle and lower reaches from the threat of flood. Huge power generators will send electricity to many parts of the country. The dangerous navigation channel will then be submerged in a placid lake. The Three Gorges will present an entirely different picture. The Gezhouba Dam water conservancy project, an important part of the Yangtze gorges project, has completed its first stage of construction. The dam that now stands at Nanjin Pass, a short distance upstream from Yichang, is already generating power and facilitating navigation. It has also added beauty to the scenery of the Three Gorges.

The beauty of the Three Gorges lies in their majesty, perilousness, singularity and seclusion. This applies to every peak, shoal, cave and canyon in the Three Gorges. The mountains, eater, springs, woods and caves each compliment the others to achieve perfect harmony. Few visitors to the Three Gorges fail to be impressed by the impact of the beauty of nature and overwhelmed by it. After visiting the Three Gorges, an eighty-year-old woman painter from the United States said, "I've been to over a hundred countries. The beautiful Yangtze and wonderful Three Gorges in China are the acme of my travels."