Niulanjiang River Gorge in Ludian County, Zhaotong
Attraction Overview
Niulanjiang river gorge is high with deep valley; the river flow twists and turns with ravines and gullies criss-cross on both sides. Some scholars called it "the most magical canyon of the east".
Attraction Type: Gorge
Chinese Name: 鲁甸县牛栏江大峡谷(Pinyin: Niulanjiang Daxiagu)
Best Time to Visit: All-year-round
Recommended Visiting Time: Half Day
Open Hours: All Day
Admission Fee: Free
Location: Ludian County, Zhaotong City of Yunnan Province
With a total length of 101 kilometers, Niulanjiang River in northeastern Yunnan Province is a large tributary of the Jinsha River in the upper reaches of the Yangtze river, originating from Jjialize(嘉丽泽), Songming county(嵩明县), Kunming city of Yunnan province. It is a river that crosses the Yunnan-Guizhou provinces, which enters Ludian county from a place in Jiangdi village(江底村), called “Laoxiongdong(老熊垌)”. The river acts as a demar- cation line for Ludian and Huize Counties.
Niulanjiang river gorge is high with deep valley; the river flow twists and turns with ravines and gullies criss-cross on both sides. The river beach is broad with slow flows at the gentle place and the river is narrow with turbulent waters at the steep. The average height difference between the mountains on the river bank is nearly 2000 meters, with obvious three-dimensional climate. The gorge has a very peculiar topographical features. The coastal mountains are overlapped in three levels: steep slope at the bottom one, vertical cliff in the middle and the raked mountains at the top. So the gorge forms a spectacle scenery of v-shaped valley bottom, squared middle and upside down Chineses character “八” top. Some scholars called it “the most magical canyon of the east”. At the river gorge, 6 ascade hydroelectric stations stand there, making the gorge more grandeur and poetic.
