Enshi Grand Canyon

Enshi Grand Canyon, formerly called Mufu Grand Canyon, is honoured as “Oriental Colorado Canyon". Located in Enshi City in Hubei Province, 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 Tu people are well-known as well.

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. With an overall length of 2.2 miles (3.6 kilometers), an average depth of 82 yards (75 meters) as well as an average width of 16 yards (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.

Another scenic area in Enshi Grand Canyon is 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. 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 Tu people, not only welcomes and greets guests, but also sees guests off and looks forward to the next visit of guests. 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.

After enjoying the beautiful scenery, you can learn customs of Tu nationality  as well. Dragon Boat Melody, is a large-scaled live-action performance depicting Tu people’s personalities, customs and pursuits. It is performed at 20:10 every Tuesday to Sunday from June to October. The song and dance performance will help you to understand Tu people deeply.

Other local Tu nationality shows include Hand-waving Dance, a dance honoured as “Chinese Disco” and recording actions of farming, hunting, fighting and other aspects of Tu people’s daily life; and Weeding Gong-Drum Song, a folk song to inspire farmers in busy farming seasons. There is also an important festival known as Tujia Valentine’s Day, falling on 12th July of Chinese lunar calendar, when young girls gather to select partners.

Enshi Grand Canyon is 40 miles (64 kilometers) distant from Enshi City, and 20 miles (32 kilometers) away from Lichuan City. You can arrive there either from Enshi or Lichuan.
 
 From Enshi City:
Take a mini bus at Aviation Road Bus Station, and get off at Enshi Grand Canyon Station. The bus departs from 6:30 to 18:00 and the ticket costs CNY 20. The whole journey is about 1.5 hours.

 From Lichuan City:
Take a direct long-distance bus at Lichuan Train Station Tourist Center. The bus departs only once every day at about 8:00. The ticket costs CNY 25 and the whole journey is about 1 hour.
*The long-distance bus from Lichuan only run from March to November.
 

Admission Fee	March to November: CNY 170 December to next February: CNY 130 *Children of and below 1.3 feet (1.2 meters) or children of and under 6 years old are free of charge. Note: Admission ticket is only available for one day. If you want to have a two-day tour, you should in advance tell the staff to mark on your ticket.
Ticket Time	8:00 to 15:00
Transportation Fees inside the Scenic Area	Round-trip sightseeing uses inside the scenic area: CNY 30 Ascending cable car: CNY 110 Descending cable car: CNY 90 One-way Escalator: CNY 20
Recommended Visit Time	4 to 6 hours