Geography 

The Three Gorges area in Yangtze River is one of the world’s largest canyons with magnificent landscape of waters and mountains. It is also known as one of China’s top 10 scenic spots, various sightseeing spots, magnificent rivers, towering mountains and natural attractions famed at home and abroad are available across the Three Gorges area, where starting from Baidi Town, Fengjie County in Chongqing to Yichang, Hubei Province. 

Three Gorges area is the essence of the Yangtze River scenery and the gem of mountains and rivers in China. The grandness of Qutang Gorge, the enchantment of Wu Gorge and the steepness of Xiling Gorge, and more flaring small attractions such as Daling River, Shennong Stream, Xiang Stream and so on in Three Gorges area will draw your eyes and soul tightly. In terms of geography, the Three Gorges area starts from Yichang city, Hubei Province, however in convention especially in tourism and cruises, Wuhan is considered as the starting point of the Three Gorges area. 

Cultural History 

The cliffs, hills, water and forest in the Three Gorges Area in Yangtze River had given a great inspiration to Li Po, China’s world-renowned poet from the Tang Dynasty. He left us a splendid poem on landscape of the Three Gorges area with a picturesque image to our generation. The Three Gorges area becomes the romantic and fairy place for living and travel. In the depiction of Qu Yuan, the Three Gorges area is a heavenly place filled with diversity of herbs and rare plants, which just can be seen exclusively in Heaven. The splendid culture of the Three Kingdoms, exquisite monuments and magnificent landscapes constitute this world-famous gold line for touring, it is also known as the first choice in sightseeing tour at home and abroad. 

In your travel to the Three Gorges area from Yichang to Chongqing, you could experience the nether world, earthly world and heavenly world in a very short period. The well-famed Fengdu Ghost Town, the stone inscription of Ghost King and the attractive scenery let you learn much of China’s culture from the underworld. The earliest water-inspection station of ancient China in Fuling. The Will of Liu Bei (famous Emperor in Three Kingdoms Period of China) in Baidi Town, Zhangfei Temple (one renowned general in Shu State in the Three Kingdoms Period, and he was sworn brother of Shu’s Emperor Liu Bei) in Yunyang. The Eight-Diagram Tactics made by Zhuge Liang (the smartest Taoist and Confucian in ancient China). 

Three Gorges area is also the home to China’s most famous and patriotic poet, Qu Yuan and Wang Zhaojun, one of four most beautiful women in China’s history. The “hanging coffins” on the cliffs is an enigma, the Goddess Peak is romantic and mysterious. More and more amazing discoveries and attractions hiding in the itinerary of Three Gorges area will surprise and excite you too much. 

Folk Customs 

The majority of people here are Han and Tujia nationalities. They both keep the strong local customs. The dragon-boat racing formally held in Three Gorges area annually is for memorizing patriot Qu Yuan. The special bamboo produces backpack-baskets. The wedding ceremony of Tujia ethnic group is particularly interesting that will make your Three Gorges unforgettable. Chinese sturgeon, a kind of rare fish in the world, can also be seen here. It is not surprise to see there are many trees or bamboos surrounding a house, because it may mean that there is a beautiful unmarried girl in this family. The Three Gorges folk songs are easy listening. 

Climate 

The average annual temperature in the Three Gorges area is 18.4 degrees Celsius. In January, the average temperature is 7.1 degrees Celsius and the mean temperature in July, 29.3 degrees Celsius, very hot and humid. The annual average rainfall is about 1,400mm in Three Gorges area and mostly fallen in July and August. These climatic features are not much different from the Sichuan Basin, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. However, because the deepness in valleys, the time of sunshine is short. In winter, the sunshine available is merely 2 or 3 hours at midday and only 5 or 6 hours in summer. 

Transportation 

Onboard a cruise vessel may be the best choice for a Three Gorges tour. By water from Wuhan to Chongqing via Three Gorges area, i.e., the upstream, is quite time-consuming, but visitors will have sufficient time to see the landscape on both sides of Yangtze River, and the cost is low and acceptable. If you are planning to visit Three Gorges in a reverse direction, from Chongqing to Wuhan, it will quite fast and the landscapes on both sides of Yangtze are all available, too. However, if you like to tour by bus, train or plane, the attractions in the Three Gorges area are difficult to be seen.

In remote antiquity, twin brothers – the Green Dragon and the Yellow Dragon – were living inside Green Creek Cave just located by the side of Xumi Mountain (须弥山). They detested evils and often fought with Wang and Liang (魍 and 魉), the two fierce devils resided along the East China Sea. 

One year, a great drought occurred on earth and everything complained to the Heaven. The Buddha knew the twin dragon brothers knew clearly all about the righteousness on earth; therefore, He dispatched the two to save the world. 

It did not take long time, the twins learnt that Wang and Liang were demons who were doing evils to people. They descended and distributed their sons and grandsons to set fire on the planet and implanted a kind of “hellish fire” in human’s heart. People who had this illness would do bad things and cause troubles to each other. They provoked chaos to the cool and happy world. However, because the charm of the active fire made many people had followed and worshipped it.

For world peace and righteousness, the Green and Yellow Dragons decided to eliminate the evils. The twins disguised themselves as monks. They went to the people’s residences and tried to cure the evils inside them. 

Because of the pestilence inflicted by Wang and Liang, most of the people on the planet suffered a disease called Yan (魇), which, the symptom was that a person would relieve or feel better for a while after he or she did some dirty tricks or evil behavior to others. The monk “doctors” gave people vermilions, pearls and seaweeds to take as remedy, also the taught them to say and repeat a curse to expel the devilish sickness. After using this set of therapy, many patients resumed their goodness and eliminated their ailments. The rehabilitated people told others about the effectiveness of the therapy and so many patients would follow. Three months later, tens of thousands people resumed their normal life by taking the therapy. People talked to each other that it was the merit of the two supernatural beings! 

Wang and Liang learnt that someone who knew their evil spells they sent their best generals, crocodile and toad, to the earth and investigate the facts behind. The tricky and wicked toad persuaded the simple-minded but cruel crocodile to disguise itself to become two patients, asking for treatment, mixing among the crowd and living in the place where the two monks resided. The toad, which had practiced magic spells for more than a thousand years and great spiritual power, could see the holy lights emitted from the two monks. It knew that they were quite powerful. However, it told the crocodile that they were just the lesser gods, they were unimportant, the crocodile should rest and the toad could catch the two lesser gods for its masters. The crocodile was very angry that it thought the toad would attain the whole merit! At this stage, it became the native God. He opened his chopper-like mouth with teeth and marched straightforward to the monks. 

The two monks had already known the two evil spirits would come. They were calm. When one of the monks saw the crocodile was coming straight-ahead, he took a small dragon ball, aimed at the monster and tripped it on the floor. The crocodile realized the situation was unfavorable it managed to escape. However, the other monk used his hand to grasp its head, which was then broken. The crocodile had died. The toad hurried back to the East China Sea, telling Wang and Liang that the enemies were the Green and Yellow Dragons. 

Wang and Liang were extremely angry. They sent evil troops of about 50,000 to challenge the Green and Yellow Dragons. The twin brothers told the people who had been cured staying at their homes and not to go out. They lined up in the heaven and prepared to fight with the devils. Both dragons cast their spells trying to beat the evil forces. It lasted for seven days and seven nights. The two devils realized that lost had been very heavy, but did not accept their defeat. They negotiated and a wicked idea appeared – they would cast evil spells to collect dedicated followers as their soldiers, they arranged and divided them into two gigantic, long snakes – one in the south and another in the north, stretching from east to west, looking like two long strips of fire, wanting to burn out the Chinese soil. They were moving to central China. The places they passed had become charred land. They wanted to destroy the Dragons and kill the cured people. 

The Green and Yellow Dragons had been struggling very hard for days. They were very tired. However, when they saw Wang and Liang attempted to kill all the people they had cured, they decided to save them. The twins ignored all the dangers, they changed themselves to two grand and cold rivers of their corresponding colors. They moved to the fire snakes, forced them to retreat and when they were contacting them, the whole-hearted followers were swirled into the river and died. The twin brothers expelled the devil snakes about 500 kilometers from their original positions before the fighting, which lasted three days and three nights. They pressed the devils under them and eventually the snakes were seriously hurt and buried underground. And the waters to which the dragons made had become the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers. 

Today, the Chinese nation is still multiplying by the feeding of the two great rivers.

The Legend of Goddess Peak is so popular in Wushan Mountain of Yangtze River. Once upon the time, Goddess Yao Ji (瑶姬) was the twenty-third daughter of Holy Mother of Western Heaven. She had been living in Yaochi Palace. She learnt theurgy from San Yuan Fairy and became a teacher to young fairy boys and girls. She was then called Madam Yun Hua. However, Yao Ji was actually did not like the lonely life at the fairy palace because she was very active in her nature. One day, she left her palace with her maidservants to tour around the East China Sea. When she saw the gusty winds and pounding waves, which had given people devastating natural disasters, she left the sea and went westwards. She was so happy to see the life of the people on earth, which was unknown to her. By her surprise, she saw twelve fierce dragons in the heaven above Wushan. They were playing winds and waves, which harmed people so much. Yao Ji was so angry that she decided to get rid of these devils. She pressed on the cloud and used one of her fingers to point, then the sky thundered and the earth was shaking. Until calm, the twelve fierce dragons were dead and their bodies had become twelve big mountains, which blocked the Wu Gorge of Yangtze River. The river water was flowing west to Sichuan area, where became an ocean of fresh water. 

Xia Yu (夏禹, or 大禹, Da Yu) was a legendary hero of flood elimination in ancient China. He came to flood-battered Sichuan from Yellow River in northern China. However, it was very difficult to drive the floodwater out in such an area with high mountains and fierce flowing river by the traditional method of moving mountains. When Xia Yu was feeling very frustrated, Goddess Yao Ji was moved by his endeavoring spirit, she asked six servants to practice theurgy, helping Xia Yu to dredge the waterway of Yangtze River’s Three Gorges. This made the water could flow east to the East China Sea smoothly. 

Xia Yu knew that Goddess Yao Ji helped him, so he climbed up to the top of Wushan Mountain to acknowledge her. When he came to the top, he just saw a beautiful stone column stood. However, not long later, the column changed to a wisp of blue smoke, which went slowly up into the heaven and became grey clouds. The sky rained. Dragons, phoenixes and cranes were flying amongst the hills and valleys at the scene. Xia Yu was wondering why such an amazing scene seen. Suddenly, the beautiful Goddess Yao Ji appeared in front of him and said, “You have great merits in eliminating the flood, but you also have to know the changing principles of things in heaven and on the earth.” She gave him a book about flood elimination. 

Although the great flood was over, Goddess Yao Ji was still standing on the top of Wushan Mountain. She would still guide to ships and boats, keep fierce animals away, give rains to farmlands and provide medicine to heal illnesses. Year after year, she has already forgotten the Western Heaven, even herself. She became the Goddess Peak, which is loved by all. Her servants also became peaks, like barriers or guards, defending her forever.

It has a true and interesting story behind Baidi town, near Qutang Gorge of the Three Gorges. In 25 AD, China was in the age of political chaos. Peasant army overthrew the Western Han Dynasty, but a new regime had not been established yet. A local military general, Gongsun Shu (公孙述) sundered some part of southwest China, waiting for political situation change. 

It was said that one night Gongsun had a dream, a man told him “You can be an emperor reigning for twelve years”. When he woke up, he felt very mysterious. While he was walking in his courtyard in the morning on the following day, he saw white smoke wafted from the well. It looked like a flying dragon that flied up in the sky. Gongsun Shu thought that it was a good omen for him to be an emperor. Therefore, Gongsun held a ceremony, enthroned himself the emperor and called Baidi, literally “White Emperor”. He christened city established at the mouth of Qutang Gorge “Baidi City” and deployed troops. 

One of the good friends of Gongsun Shu, Ma Yuan, was a man of great ability. He heard about the good news of Gongsun, he hurried from far away to visit and wanted to aid him. By Ma’s surprise, Gongsun deliberately displayed arrogant attitude to his long time friend. He ordered subordinates to make civilian costume for him to attend a ceremony, which was grandiose with royal guards and imperial officials would cheer. Ma would be honored marquis by the emperor and commanded the army of the country. The guests who accompanied Ma Yuan were so happy and wanted to stay with him, but he said, “Now the world is very chaotic and who will be unifying the state has not been decided yet. Gongsun Shu does not know how to welcome talents humbly but just pay a lot of attention to tedious ceremonial details. He is a giant puppet indeed. How can he preserve true heroes besides him?” He made up his mind to leave. 

Meanwhile, Liu Xiu had established the Eastern Han Dynasty in Luoyang of central China to unify the state. He wrote a letter to Gongsun Shu, told him to analyze the political situation and surrender. However, Gongsun Shu thought that he was the emperor that he could not surrender. He refused the advice from Liu. In 37 AD, Liu Xiu sent troops to attack Gongsun, who died during the fighting. 

Gongsun Shu had been emperor for twelve years and eventually killed. However, before he enthroned, he had already ruled China’s southwest region for about 16 years. During his rule, it was quite stable and not affected by the fierce wars fought in middle China. When Gongsun Shu was an emperor, he developed agriculture and water conservancy, which were benefit to his subjects. Therefore, in memory of Gongsun, local people built Baidi Temple in Baidi City.

Yangtze River is the longest river in China, also known as the Mother River of Chinese Nation. It originates at the southwest side of Geladandong Peak of Tanggula Mountain, Tibetan Plateau, China. Flowing down eastwards through the long and winding passage of Tibet, Qinghai, Yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing, Hubei (passes through Wuhan), Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu (Nanjing), and finally Shanghai into the East China Sea; 6,300 kilometers, with its valley area takes up of over 1,800,000 square kilometers, one fifth of China’s total land area.  

However, where the origin of the Yangtze River is, is quite controversial. There are two views held by some modern geographical experts. Yangtze River and Yellow River are originated from the same high mountain, that is, Bayan Har Shan (巴颜喀拉山) in Qinghai Province of western China; and Yangtze River from the southern foot of the mountain and Yellow River from the northern foot. Another saying is that Tibet’s Hohxil Mountain (可可西里山) is the origin of Yangtze River; and it is being divided into two branches of river – Muluwusu River (木鲁乌苏河) at the south and Chumaer River (楚玛尔河) at the north. Organized geographical investigation activities were engaged in summers of 1976 and 1978 by a team of scientists going to highlands, where regarded as the origins of rivers. The scientists found that the Yangtze River started from the area located between Kunlun and Tanggula Mountains, where they saw many rivers. The bigger rivers here are Chumaer, Tuotuo (沱沱河) and Dangqu (当曲河), of which Dangqu River is the biggest in the area with high flowing scale. However, by adopting the principle of “the origin of rivers is very far away”, they determined the origin of Yangtze River is in Tuotuo River, with Dangqu River and Chumaer River as southern and northern branch origin rivers respectively. 

The area is a highland that very cold and the air is quite thin. Over 40 peaks of more than 6,000 meters above sea level are seen. Annual precipitation is 200 to 400 millimeters of which mostly snowfall. The warmest month July, the daily average temperature is below 0 degree Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit), only above freezing point when the high sun radiation shines at noon. The melting snow and ice in glaciers on the plateau make many tiny streams, which are the first flows of Yangtze River. 

Yangtze River has passed through many of the different kinds of geology, tectonic settings, and of course different elevations and climate zones. It absorbed many small rivers and tiny streams on its passage. It can be divided into three categories according to different water and topological conditions – upper, middle and lower reaches. 

The upper reaches of Yangtze River are length 4,529 kilometers that takes up 72 percent of the river’s total length. The starting point is at the heart of the Tibetan Plateau, where the 4,000-meter-odd high altitude the river is shallow and wide. The width is 300 to 1,700 meters. Long, twisting and flowing very slowly with many small branch streams by the side of it. The section from Batang River to Yibin city in Sichuan Province is locally called Jinsha Jiang (River of Golden Sand) is another stage of changing topography. It is changing tremendously that the mountains are very high but the valleys are so deep. The river is flowing rapidly through the valleys. In Shigu (Stone Drum) in Yunnan Province, southwest China, Yangtze River is suddenly turns to northeast direction. The famous Hutiao (Jumping Tiger) Gorge is 35 kilometers away. The gorge is 16 kilometers long but the narrowest section is just 30 meters wide. After the Hutiao Gorge, the river will go into Yunnan-Guizhou Highlands and then to Sichuan Province. Traditionally Yangtze River (in Chinese: Changjiang, the Long River, literally) is the name used for the section at east of Yibin city. However, in Sichuan, Yibin to Yichang section is called Chuanjiang River (Sichuan River), 1,030 kilometers long. In the province, the riverbed is plain and the water is peaceful, because this is the Sichuan Basin. Going downward, the river will be wide and the water is flowing fast again. The upper reaches of Yangtze River ends in the Three Gorges Area. 

The 927-kilometer-long middle reaches start from Yichang, the Three Gorges. It is a plain area, too, the river is wide and the water is moving quite slowly. A certain part of it, which flows through Jingzhou (荆州) city near Wuhan, is called Jingjiang River (荆江). The water resources are so rich in the area that there are a lot of lakes along the valleys on two banks. The waters in lake and Yangtze River exchange one another. The giant water systems in Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake are linking to the great river, therefore the volume of discharge doubled.

Jingjiang River Dam, Yangtze River

The lower reaches are in eastern China, length of 844 kilometers. Yangtze River (扬子江, pronounced as Yang Zi Jiang), traditionally has been the name for the section in the cities of Yangzhou and Zhenjiang (where Yangtze is intersecting with Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal) in Jiangsu Province. It got the name because Yangzi Jin and Yangzi County, so westerners have been calling it the whole river “Yangtze” (the old spelling of Yangzi). The flowing volume in Jiangsu eastern area can reach 266,000 cubic meters per second, almost nine times the average rate in the rest of the river. However, in the Yangtze River Estuary, seawater will sometimes flow backward to the river mouth due to tidal waves of the East China Sea. This motion brings large amount of mud and sand to the riverbed. As time goes by, it forms many shoals or islands, of which the largest one is Chongming Island (崇明岛) in Shanghai.

 

 

Water is deep in the lower reaches and some part of the middle reaches, where large cruise vessels can sail through. Most part of Yangtze River is ice free, with the exception in high grounds on plateau, where without warm summer. Yangtze River provides adequate water source to irrigate the Chinese soil in the valley, feeding millions of Chinese people and giving abundant water energy.