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• Beijing Travel Guide
• Shanghai Travel Guide
• Xian Travel Guide
• Guilin Travel Guide

 

Nujiang Canyon

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The formation of the canyon

The northwestern Yunnan is situated at the juncture of the Eurasian plate and the Indo-Chinese plate. Three rivers and three mountains dissect the grand longitudinal valley of Hengduan Mountain and form the grand Nujiang Canyon. From north to south, they are Biluo Snow Mountain, Nujiang (Salween) River, Gaoligong Mountain, Lancang River, Dandanglika Mountain and Dulong River.

Nujiang River rises at the southern foot of T’angku-la Mountains in Tibet. The upper branch is called Naqu (literally black water river) in Tibetan language. The river enters Yunnan in Gongshan County and is flanked on the west by Gaoligong Mountain and on the east by Biluo Snow Mountain. The highest peak in the Gaoligong Mountain is 4,640 meters high and the Lujiang Plain is only 600 meters high. Therefore, Nujiang Canyon, with an average elevation range of more than 2,000 meters, is called the "first canyon in the East".

The Scenery

Nujiang Canyon boasts its special landforms, the biodiversity and the abundant folk customs. Nujiang Canyon is known as a "world species and gene bank", a "geology and landform museum", a "living history of social development" and an "ocean of folk songs". Along both sides of the canyon are steep mountains, magnificent flying waterfalls, the thick green primeval forest and the snow-capped mountaintops, and the colorful primitive folk customs, all inspiring adventurers to have interesting travels here.

Comparing with two other great canyons

Firstly, as long as the length of the canyon is concerned, Nujiang Canyon is the longest in the world. The Yunnan section of Nujiang Canyon is 621 km long and 3,000 meters deep, and the United States' Grand Canyon is 440 kms long and 1,830 meters deep. Nujiang Canyon is 212 km longer than the canyon at the turning point of Yalu Tsangpo River. Secondly, as long as the relative elevation range is concerned, Nujiang Canyon is the second in height in the world. The largest elevation range of Nujiang Canyon is 4,500 meter, the elevation range of the Grand Canyon is 1,740 meter, and that of Yalu Tsangpo is 6,000 meters.

Location:

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How to get there:

How to get there: There is no bus service between the scenic attractions. Tourists had better drive there. They should also take enough mountaineering outfit.

Tips:
1.It is hot and rainy in summer, so tourists had better go to Nujiang Canyon from October to April, especially in spring when flowers bloom. Tourists can take regular buses to get to Gongshan County, and then they should walk to Bingzhongluo, the largest flatland in the canyon. 2.Tips on transport: Tourists should be careful in case there are landslides from time to time. 3.What to take: tourists had better take the camping outfit, such as the tents, sleeping bags. They should also take their gaiters and some necessary medicine, such as antidiarrheal, medicines for injuries from falls and knocks and those to prevent and cure mosquitoes bites or snake bites. 　　 4.Special tips: the journey is hard and difficult. Tourists should be physically ready and should be well experienced in the excursion in the open country. 5.It is warm, even hot during the day but cold during the night in January in the Nujiang Canyon. Tourists should wear enough to keep warm during nights.