Enshi grand Canyon

Enshi Grand Canyon, honoured as “Oriental Colorado Canyon", is located in Enshi City in western Hubei Province.  It is a section of the Qingjiang River Grand Canyon. In the scenic area, there are ground seams, layers of peak clusters, and a large cliff almost perpendicular to the canyon.
Enshi is 530 kilometers west of Wuhan, which is the provincial capital of Hubei. According to CNN official portal, One Incense Pillar of Enshi Canyon is listed as one of 40 most beautiful scenic spots in China recently by CNN. The selection of CNN this time is to choose the most representative among different natural and cultural landscapes; some of them are listed in the directory of world cultural heritage. "As far as spectacular is concerned, this one is as marvelous as the Colorado Grand Canyon of the USA. However, it is matchless in terms of beauty." Western tourists speak highly of the canyon's clean water, marvelous waterfalls and peaks. It is bordered by Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in the south,Yangtze Three Gorges in the north, and in neighborhood of Yichang City in the east. Its precipices stretch as long as hundreds of miles.

---

What to see?
Located in Banqiao town of Enshi city, the Enshi Grand Canyon reaches 108 kilometers in length and consists of 11 attractions including a forest park, steep mountains, spectacular waterfalls and exciting attractions. Besides, it features karst landforms, including over 200 karst caves, which are spectacular.
The Enshi Grand Canyon Scenic Area can be divided into the Yunlong River seam and the mountain middle area under the mountain.  It is famous for its two opened scenic areas, Yunlong Ground Fissure and Seven Star Village (Qixing Village). In addition to splendid sceneries, colorful customs of the local Tujia people are well-known as well. 

Yunlong Ground Fissure
The first scenic area you arrive at is Yunlong Ground Fissure. Originally, Yunlong Ground Fissure was an underground river which had been flowing under the ground for 20 million to 30 million years. Later, because of erosion of flowing water underground and in the surface of earth, the top of Yunlong Underground River collapsed, which finally forms today’s Yunlong Ground Fissure.

Wet Season Waterfall	Yunlong Waterfall

With an overall length of 3.6 kilometers, an average depth of 75 meters as well as an average width of 15 meters, Yunlong Ground Fissure has bred steep cliffs on both banks, plunging waterfalls, and murmuring streams at the bottom. There are altogether seven and a half waterfalls in the fissure. The half waterfall only occurs in wet seasons, so it is also called Wet Season Waterfall. More surprisingly, it is proved that two sides of the fissure were formed in different periods. One side was formed in Triassic period 180 million to 230 million years ago, while the other was formed in the Permian Period 250 million to 280 million years ago, which makes Yunlong Ground Fissure a unique fissure across the world.


Qixing Village
Another scenic area in Enshi Grand Canyon is Qixing Village, also known as Seven Star Village. Along the travelling footpath, Mother-infant Statue, Stone Incense, Bowing Pine and Cliff Corridor (Cliff Plank Road) can be seen one by one.
Mother-infant Statue, composed of two stones, is an art work created by nature, looking as if a mother is pecking her baby on its cheek. After witnessing deep love of mother and son, you can go on to visit the legendary guard of Enshi Grand Canyon.
Stone Incense. According to legend, Stone Incense was given by god who asked local residents to light it in case of disasters and he would save people as long as he saw the smog, for which Stone Pillar Incense is regarded as a treasure to the canyon. In sunny days, clouds floating above it, just like the smoke of the heavenly incense; and in rainy days, covered by mist, the place looks like a fairyland.

Bowing Pine. Keep on walking, you are surprised to see a pine bowing to you, which is called Bowing Pine. Different from Greeting Pine in Yellow Mountain, Bowing Pine, on behalf of enthusiastic Tujia people, not only welcomes and greets guests, but also sees guests off and looks forward to the next visit of guests. Bowing Pine Tree is a representative of the five wonders in the canyon. There is a saying: "There is no peak group if there are cliffs, or there is no cliff if there is peak group". "Welcoming Pine Tree" in Yellow Mountain is world-famous, with opening arms and smile to welcome tourists from home and abroad. Bowing Pine Tree in this place is on behalf of the hospitality Tujia and Miao people, bowing deeply to welcome or escorting visitors from different places.
Long Corridor at the Cliff
Then let’s go to experience thrilling Cliff Corridor. It is said that people go through scaring Cliff Corridor together can go through the way of life hand by hand. Long Corridor at the Cliff is a plank road built along the face of a cliff. It was built in October 2007. It has a length of 488 meters and 118 steps. It is located at an altitude of 1,700 meters, at the cliff on the waist of the mountain. When you tour along the cliff, you can enjoy the fantastic scenery of the canyon on the way. The plank road is crooked for s couple of times.
One Incense Pillar
It is a karst pillar standing between the cliffs and peaks of the 108-kilometer-long Enshi Canyon. This incense stick-shaped peak is 150 meters tall, but only four meters wide, which maks it incredible that it stands at all, let alone that it's survived several major earthquakes. Local legend holds that the pillar is a piece of incense given by a deity to the ingenious Tujia people. The residents could light it in times of disaster and the deity would descend to help.