Nanhe Little Three Gorges 南河小三峡

About Nanhe Little Three Gorges

The Nan River rises in the Shennongjia mountains and runs clear through deep valleys before reaching Gucheng. Tradition connects it with the wife of the Han chancellor Xiao He and gives it the alternative name Fenshui, and the view of clear Fenshui water heads the traditional eight views of Gucheng. The river winds through more than 30 kilometres of gorge. After the Nanhe dam was built the valley filled to form a reservoir between high rock walls, so a boat working upstream passes cliffs and layered ridges that local description compares to the Yangtze Three Gorges. The name Little Three Gorges goes back to the 57th year of the Qianlong reign and refers to three specific gorges: Mafei, Shennu and Wulong.

The gorges are one part of a larger composite area. The Nanhe scenic area as a whole is made up of five sections – Xiaosanxia, Wulongshan, Xianglushi, a hot spring recreation area and Baishuiyu – and it adjoins Daxieshan National Forest Park. More than a hundred individual features are recorded across it, and the county government page rates Nanhe Xiaosanxia a national 3A scenic area.

What to look for

• The three named gorges of Mafei, Shennu and Wulong, the features the 18th-century name refers to
• The reservoir lake behind the Nanhe dam, where the gorge walls rise straight from the water
• Huanglong Cave and Niangniang Cave, two of the caves recorded in the scenic area
• Xianglushi, the censer-shaped rock formation that gives one of the five sections its name
• The farmhouse museum among the area's recorded visitor features

Location & getting there

Getting to Nanhe Little Three Gorges

Confirm the visitor entrance and which boat or walking routes operate on your date. Rainfall, water levels and weather can change access.

• Search for 南河小三峡 with 襄阳市 and 谷城县.