Houhe Eco-Tourism Area 后河开放生态旅游区

About Houhe Eco-Tourism Area

The reserve covers 103.40 square kilometres, with a further extension zone of 409 square kilometres. It was set up in March 1985 under the former Yichang prefectural administration, raised to provincial status in June 1988 and promoted by the State Council to a national nature reserve in April 2000, making it the second national reserve in Hubei after Shennongjia and the only one in Yichang established for a forest ecosystem. It was also named the preferred location for the national project to return South China tigers to the wild, a designation rather than a sign that tigers are present.

Tianmen Gorge is the core area developed for visitors and is laid out in seven zones, among them a gorge and rock-formation section, a research service area, an animal rewilding area and the Baodaoling viewing area. The gorge reaches 600 metres deep on its left side and turns in a U-shaped profile that the city attributes to glacial-period geology. Almost the whole geological column, from the Proterozoic to the Cenozoic Tertiary, is exposed in the walls, with folding and faulting clearly visible, and in several places the cleft narrows to a 'thread of sky' between 20 metres and 10 metres wide.

What to look for

• The Tianmen Gorge itself, 600 metres deep on its left wall, with its U-shaped bend.
• The 'thread of sky' clefts within the gorge, narrowing from about 20 metres to 10 metres.
• The exposed rock sequence in the gorge walls, running from the Proterozoic to the Tertiary with visible folds and faults.
• The Baodaoling section, one of the seven zones into which the scenic area is divided.

Location & getting there

Getting to Houhe Eco-Tourism Area

Check the open visitor route and follow the site’s rules on distance, food and photography. Conservation areas may limit access beyond designated paths.

• Search for 后河开放生态旅游区 with 宜昌市 and 五峰土家族自治县.