Longgang Scenic Area is located in the southeast corner of Yunyang County, Chongqing. It is adjacent to Wanzhou District in the southwest, Lichuan City of Hubei Province in the south, and Fengjie County in the east. The scenic area starts from Longku Gorge in the southeast of Nixi Township in the west, reaches 500 meters to the right bank of Shisun River in the east, borders the junction of Chongqing and Lichuan City, Hubei Province in the south, and ends at the exit of Huangling Gorge in the north. It is about 37 kilometers long from north to south and 19 kilometers wide from east to west. The total area of the scenic area is about 296 square kilometers, with the core scenic area covering 17 square kilometers. It is a national 5A-level tourist attraction and a large comprehensive national geopark featuring Longgang karst sinkhole, grassland biological landscapes and Tujia cultural landscapes. The scenic area has distinctive karst landforms, with numerous funnel-shaped depressions, stone buds, peak clusters and karst caves, as well as unique underground river landscapes. The green coverage rate reaches 70% and the forest coverage rate is 91.7%, making it a typical area rich in biodiversity with a variety of rare and protected animals and plants.
History and Culture
Before the Western Zhou Dynasty, there were aborigines living in Laozhaizi, which was the hereditary territory of the Cong people and a place for worshipping goddesses. Later, a dragon pillar (sacrificial pillar) was built. Due to its long history, people are used to calling it Laozhaizi. Bronze percussion instruments, ge (dagger-axes), yue (battle axes), arrowheads, chime bells, earthenware and other artifacts have been unearthed here, as well as the adjacent site of the Cong people's Tiger-fighting Tower. Regarding the origin of the name "Longgang", there is a legend that the area around Qingshui Longgang was once the residence of the dragon family. The giant dragons lived in the dragon cave. Because it was inconvenient to live there, the old dragon king ordered the construction of a bathing pool (Longgundang) behind Banbian Street and dug a large water tank in Longgang for drinking water, so the local people called it "Longgang" (Dragon Vat). Moreover, the Tujia people have a legend that the old dragon king instructed that the dragon vat should not be filled with water to leave water in the clear ponds for the people. Therefore, the dragon vat is always half full of water, and the three ponds in the clear pond area are always clear to the bottom.
Main Attractions
Tianxia Longgang (World's Dragon Vat)
Longgang is an elliptical sinkhole with a major axis of 304 to 326 meters, a minor axis of 178 to 183 meters, and a depth of 335 meters. This depth ranks third in China and fifth in the world. The inner wall of the vat is as steep as a cut, with pine and cypress trees growing in the crevices, and ancient vines hanging down. The bottom of the vat is green all year round, and hundreds of birds sing. It is named "Longgang" because it looks like a natural large stone vat and there is a legend about the love between a woodcutter and a dragon girl, and it is known as the "No.1 Vat in the World". The wall of the vat is nearly 90 degrees, extremely steep, surrounded by cliffs. There is a narrow path leading to it, with the widest part being more than 2 meters and the narrowest part less than 0.4 meters.
Glass Plank Road
The glass plank road is built on a cliff nearly 1,000 meters high, with a total length of 3.2 kilometers and extending 2.2 meters outward. Among them, more than 300 meters is a suspended glass plank road. Walking on it, you can experience a thrilling feeling and overlook the surrounding canyon scenery.
Laozhaizi (Old Stockade)
Aborigines lived here before the Western Zhou Dynasty, and it was the hereditary territory of the Cong people. It was once a place for worshipping goddesses, and later a dragon pillar (sacrificial pillar) was built. On Laozhaizi, there are scenic spots such as "Nvxiu Pond", "Dragon Pillar" and "White Dragon Cave". You can also enjoy natural landscapes like "Golden Roc Spreading Its Wings", "Long Gorge Divine Mist", "Buddha's Light and Golden Body", "Qiyao Sunrise", "Sunset Like Molten Gold", "Golden Monkeys Frolicking in the Forest", "Gorge Water Flowing Backwards" and "White Cliff Hanging Cave".
Xihoutai (Monkey-playing Platform)
It is a favorite place for wild monkeys to play. The wild macaques here are familiar with and live in harmony with humans, and sometimes they will come forward to ask for food from tourists. Standing on the Xihoutai, you can overlook the canyon scenery. After rain, you can also watch the landscapes of "Long Gorge Divine Mist" and "Golden Monkeys Frolicking in the Forest".
Dragon Cave
It consists of a front hall and a back hall. The front hall is circular, with a width of more than 40 meters, a height of nearly 50 meters, a length of 120 meters and an area of 4,800 square meters. It is full of stalactites, with natural landscapes such as "White Jade Dragon Bed", "Dragon Umbrella", "Dragon Pot", "Dragon Chair", "Dragon Stool", "Lotus Platform" and "Heavenly Rooster Announcing Dawn". The back hall is pentagonal, 30 meters high, more than 300 meters long and 6,000 square meters in area. The stalactites look like lions, elephants, dragons, phoenixes, etc.
Yingyue Cave (Moon-reflecting Cave)
It is located in the cliff more than 100 meters north-northeast of Longgang, being the first layer of karst cave of Longgang. The cave is 43 meters long, with a strike of 25° north-east. The south entrance is 3.9 meters high and 3.4 meters in diameter; the north entrance is 2.4 meters high, and the northern end is the exit of the underground river. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival every year, shortly after the moon rises, the moonlight fills the entire cave, and a beam of silver light shoots through the cave from north to south, forming the "Moonlight Through Cave" landscape.
Qixi Tower
It is located at the highest peak of Longgang Scenic Area, with an altitude of 1,185 meters. The tower has seven floors, with a total height of 33.44 meters, implying eternal love that never separates. It covers a construction area of 1,000 square meters. Due to the narrow and steep terrain, it was difficult to build, but its high position offers a good visual effect, allowing 360° viewing. It is also a special scenic spot for worshipping the Salt Water Goddess and integrating love culture.
Qingshui Lake
It is located in Yunyang Longgang Scenic Area, with an average altitude of 800 meters. It gets its name because it is located in Qingshui and the lake water is clear all year round. The dam is 160 meters high, with a thickness-height ratio of only 0.106, making it the thinnest double-curvature arch dam in Asia. The water storage level is 392 meters, with an average depth of about 100 meters and a maximum depth of more than 150 meters. The lake surface is 6.85 square kilometers, and the lake capacity is 354 million cubic meters. The lake water connects the 15-kilometer-old Ya, Yulong and Shisun Three Gorges of Shisun River into one.
Shisun River
It starts from Gaixiaba in the north and ends at Shuanghekou in the south, with a total length of 12.5 kilometers, being a canyon landscape with karst landforms. The river water is clear, and it is rich in turtles and soft-shelled turtles. There are also plants such as rare pines, green cypresses, secluded bamboos and firs, precious medicinal materials such as vitex, gastrodia elata, fritillaria and coptis, as well as animals like yellow sheep, musk deer, yellow muntjac, golden monkeys and wild boars, and birds such as golden pheasants, orioles, cuckoos, kingfishers and parrots.
Yunduan Corridor Bridge (Cloud Corridor Bridge)
Yunduan Corridor Bridge is built on a cliff 1,010 meters above sea level, with a vertical cliff height of 718 meters and an overhanging length of 26.68 meters, which is more than 5 meters longer than the overhanging length of the glass corridor bridge in the Grand Canyon of Colorado, USA, and can be called the world's first. It covers an area of 6,386.88 square meters, with an investment of about 40 million yuan and a construction period of one year.
Yunduan Qiuqian (Cloud Swing)
Yunduan Qiuqian is built on the east side of the exit of Yunduan Langqiao (Cloud Corridor Bridge). The equipment is 12 meters high, with a swing angle of nearly 80 degrees, swinging 8-10 meters out of the cliff. The cliff is over 700 meters high, which is higher than the swing in the Colorado Canyon. The moment tourists swing in the air, they can overlook the precipitous cliff, feeling extremely thrilling.
Yunduan Caiqiao (Cloud Colorful Bridge)
The Yunduan Caiqiao project consists of Ferrata, cable bridge, Zodiac Bridge, Changkong Plank Road, Burmese Bridge, cliff hut, Yunduan Caiqiao and Yunduan Suoqiao (Cloud Cable Bridge), with a total length of about 800 meters. The whole project is built on a cliff with a vertical height of over 700 meters from the Shisun River. It gets its name because the wooden planks on the bridge deck are painted with different colors and landscapes. The anchoring method of the whole project adopts chemical anchor bolt anchoring technology, with steel anchors implanted more than 1 meter deep into the rock. Each steel cable can bear a weight of more than 2 tons. The whole project uses an uninterrupted lifeline, equipped with imported Italian uninterrupted steel locks.
Yunduan Caihong Qiuqian (Cloud Rainbow Swing)
Yunduan Caihong Qiuqian is located at Houziyakou in Longgang Scenic Area, installed on the edge of a cliff over 600 meters high from the Shisun River. The main body of Yunduan Caihong Qiuqian is 108 meters high, with a maximum speed of about 120-130 km/h, a lifting height of 96 meters, and a maximum distance of about 80 meters from the cliff when swinging. It is the highest, fastest and largest swinging range among similar international products.
Tour Route
Tourists can first arrive at Tianxia Longgang to feel the precipitousness and magic of the sinkhole; then go to the Glass Plank Road to experience the thrilling sense of suspension; then go to Laozhaizi to explore the ancient history and culture and enjoy the natural scenery; then go to Xihoutai to interact with wild macaques and overlook the canyon; after that, visit the Dragon Cave to appreciate the stalactite wonders; go to Yingyue Cave to learn about the unique Mid-Autumn "Moonlight Through Cave" landscape; climb Qixi Tower to enjoy a 360° view and feel the love culture; then go to Qingshui Lake to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the lake and mountains; finally, visit Shisun River to appreciate the unique style of the canyon. The whole tour takes about 1-2 days, and the staying time can be adjusted according to personal physical strength and interests.
Travel Suggestions
- Pay attention to the weather of the scenic area in advance and choose a sunny day to visit, which is convenient for viewing the scenery. In case of rain, some roads may be slippery, affecting the travel experience.
- Wear comfortable sports shoes because the tour route in the scenic area is long and you need to walk a lot of mountain roads.
- You can bring some snacks and drinking water, as there may be few sales points in some areas of the scenic area.
- If you want to experience exciting projects such as Yunduan Qiuqian, you can learn about the queuing situation in advance and arrange your time reasonably.
- At scenic spots with historical culture such as Laozhaizi, you can ask a guide to explain to better understand the historical and cultural connotation of the scenic area.
Matters Needing Attention
- Abide by the regulations of the scenic area, do not climb or touch the scenic facilities at will, protect the environment of the scenic area, and do not litter.
- When visiting thrilling scenic spots such as the Glass Plank Road and Yunduan Langqiao, follow the instructions of the staff and do not run or jump on them.
- When interacting with wild macaques, do not feed them inappropriate food to avoid being scratched.
- The mobile phone signal in some areas of the scenic area is poor, so inform your family or friends of your itinerary and expected return time in advance.
- Fasten your seat belt when taking the transportation in the scenic area or participating in amusement projects to ensure your own safety.
Transportation
- Self-driving: Starting from the main urban area of Chongqing, via Hurong Expressway, Zhangnan Expressway, etc., it takes about 2.5-3 hours to reach the scenic area. Starting from Yunyang County, via S305 and other roads, it takes about 1.5 hours to reach the scenic area.
- Public transportation: You can first go to Yunyang County, take a bus to Qingshui Township at Yunyang Bus Station, and then transfer to the transportation to the scenic area. You can also take a bullet train to Yunyang at stations such as Chongqing North Station, and then transfer to a bus to the scenic area after arriving in Yunyang.
Opening Hours
The scenic area is open all year round, and the opening hours are usually 08:30-17:30.
However, in case of special weather (such as heavy rain, snowstorm and other bad weather) or maintenance needs, the opening hours may be adjusted or the scenic area may be temporarily closed. It is recommended that tourists check the latest news on the official WeChat public account of the scenic area before traveling.
Tickets
Full price: 100 yuan, half price: 50 yuan
Other amusement projects in the scenic area need to be charged additionally, such as Yunduan Qiuqian, Yunduan Caihong Qiuqian, etc.
You can search for the public account "重庆云阳龙缸景区" on WeChat to get the latest ticket prices and opening hours.