Longshui Gorge Fissure 龙水峡地缝

About Longshui Gorge Fissure

Old trees and vines twist through the fissure, springs and waterfalls hang against the rock walls, and the gorge runs steep, secluded and jagged-sided, with clear streams flowing swiftly along its floor. It lies within the Tianshengsanqiao component of the Wulong Karst World Natural Heritage protection zone, alongside the separate Furong Cave and Houping erosion-tiankeng component areas; the wider Wulong Karst site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on 27 June 2007, jointly with Yunnan Shilin and Guizhou Libo karst as 'South China Karst', making Wulong China's sixth and Chongqing's first World Natural Heritage site. The World Heritage Committee's citation for the wider site describes it as containing huge collapse dolines known as tiankeng and natural bridges of exceptional height, linked by deep roofless caves; as representing an inland karst plateau that has undergone significant uplift; and as containing historical evidence of one of the world's largest river systems, the Yangtze and its tributaries. The whole heritage site totals 380 square kilometres, with a 60 square kilometre core area; the heritage site and the scenic and historic area together span 7 townships, 15 villages and communities, 76 groups and 11,882 people.

Between 2012 and 2015 more than 80 million yuan was invested to resettle 44 households from the heritage site's core touring area to a site outside the core in the Xiannvshan resort area, and a commercial zone was built at the Longshuixia Difeng exit, part of a wider programme that also built zones at the Tianshengsanqiao entrance/exit and the Furong Cave ticketing centre and created portering jobs at Tianshengsanqiao, providing employment for 202 originally resident households.

What to look for

• The fissure gorge itself, 4 kilometres long, with old trees and vines overhanging the rock walls and springs and waterfalls hanging against them.
• The narrow, steep-sided stretches of the gorge, jagged-rocked and running to swift, clear streams at the floor.
• The gorge's place within the Tianshengsanqiao component of the Wulong Karst World Natural Heritage Site, alongside the separate Furong Cave and Houping tiankeng components.
• The commercial zone at the Longshuixia Difeng exit, part of the heritage site's visitor-management programme built between 2012 and 2015.

Location & getting there

Getting to Longshui Gorge Fissure

Use an authorised visitor route. Cave sections, geological sites and access roads can close independently, so confirm the area that your ticket covers.

• Search for 龙水峡地缝 with 重庆市 and 武隆区.