Excursion along Chia-ling River

Chia-ling River, also known as Chia-ling Jiang or Jialing Jiang, is an upper branch of the Yangtze River. It goes through the middle region of the Sichuan Basin flowing from North to South and discharges into the Yangtze River at Chaotianmen Pier, Chongqing. With a length of 1119 kilometers, its drainage area is nearly 160,000 square kilometers, giving it a capacity that is only inferior to the Mingjiang River among Yangtze River branches. The valley is intersected deeply, forming a canyon and generating a very rapid river currant. Close to Chaotian Town, Guangyuan, the main branch crosscuts Jianmen Mountain with an altitude of 900-1100 meters, forming both the Qingfeng and Mingyue Gorges, which are known as the "The Little Qutang Gorges in Chia-ling River".

Mingyue Gorge, also called Chaotian Gorge, is located in the Chia-ling River, 30 kilometers from Guangyuan City. With spectacular and steep cliffs, the gorge is famous for its plank road built along a cliff face in the Pre-qin Dynasty, which is known for its melting-pot culture. There are two legends that relate to the naming of the gorges. The first one is that there was a huge and bright stone in the river that lit up the whole gorge at night as if there was a full moon above. Since the stone was named Mingyue Stone, the gorge gets the name "Mingyue Gorge". The other legend is that Zhu Geliang had two devoted and clever attendants during the Three Kingdom Period, Shutong(in Chinese) named Mingyue, and Qintong named Qingfeng. Zhu Geliang loved them very much and treated them as his own sons. After the northern expedition failed, these two attendants drowned themselves in the river to show their loyalty to their county and their host. After that, people gave the names "Qingfeng Gorge" and "Mingyue Gorge" respectively to the nearby gorges to commemorate them.

To reach Mingyue Gorge take a bus to Chaotian Town from the Guangyuan Beimen Bus Station, and then change to either a taxi or motorcycle. The admission price is RMB15. Make sure your visit is long enough to spend a leisurely time looking around and walking along the plank road. When you have finished sightseeing, you may enjoy a walk to the famous Xuexi Cave, which is very near to Mingyue Gorge about 4 kilometers away, north of Chaotian Town, Guangyuan. Xuexi Cave gets its name because of its snow-white interior and is famous for its underground formations, stalagmites and stalactites. The mystery of the cave is that there is a cave within the cave, that is to say, there is small cave inside the big cave. A limpid brook flows through the cave providing a natural, melodious music, which increases its charm and attracts numerous visitors. The admission fee to the Cave is RMB20.00 net. Recently the road leading to Xuexi Cave has been under construction. When illuminated this underground palace is a wonderful place to explore, full of beauty and mystery.

Transfer back to Guangyuan Beimen Bus Station and take a minibus to Choubi County to visit the Shenbi Yuan, a memorial place for heroes in Three Kingdoms. Here you will find, for example, a clay statue of the famous strategist Zhu Geliang, posed hard at work writing a book. There is also a statue of General Zhao Yun and several other generals, about 20 in total, in Jixian Hall. Also of interest are the nearly 70 houses with tile roofs, among them Jixian Hall, Zhongjun Hall and Tiangong Hall which are the three famous ones. Each Spring Festival, especially in August, at the time when Zhu Geliang passed away a memorial ceremony is held for this wise military counselor and visitors arrive in an endless stream. Transfer back to Guangyuan City after your visit.