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Explore the region
About Longqing Gorge
Narrow rock faces rise above the water, so the landscape is read from the dam and the gorge rather than from a broad open lake shore. A distinctive dragon-shaped escalator marks the dam approach, and boat excursions are associated with the water route through the canyon. Plan the visit around the landscape first and verify the current boat and lift arrangements before relying on them. Mountain-top extensions and the winter ice-lantern event are separate experiences with their own seasonal conditions.
The reservoir was built between 1973 and 1981 as the Gucheng Reservoir (古城水库), in what is now Jiuxian town, Yanqing District. Its dam stands 70 meters high with a crest 90 meters long, holding 8.52 million cubic meters of water over a surface area of 340,000 square meters, and controls a watershed of 119 square kilometers.
Within the gorge, a cable car carries visitors up to a mountain peak where the Jingang (Diamond) Temple, built in 1065, and an Immortal Taoist Temple stand as small structures. A yellow dragon-shaped escalator 258 meters long carries visitors to the top of the dam. The scenery has also drawn the nicknames ‘Little Three Gorges’ and ‘mini Li River,’ for its narrow peaks and dramatic rock faces.
The scenic area has hosted an annual Ice Lantern Festival for more than 30 years, displaying around 150 ice sculptures inside an ice pavilion; since 2016 the festival has carried an Olympic theme tied to the 2022 Winter Olympics events held in Yanqing District.
What to look for
- Canyon walls above the reservoir: compare the steep rock faces and the constricted water passage.
- Longqing Dam approach: look at the engineered entrance to the flooded gorge and its dragon-shaped escalator feature.
Location & getting there
Getting to Longqing Gorge
The scenic area is at Gucheng village in Yanqing. Use Longqing Gorge as the destination for the final road approach.
- Confirm whether the gorge boat service is operating before making it the basis of the trip; a dam-side arrival alone does not provide access through the full canyon.
Combine your visit
Suggested order within this visit:
-
Dam approach
Understand how the reservoir changed the canyon landscape.
-
Gorge water route
See the constricted rock-and-water scenery if the visitor boat service is operating.
The second stop depends on the scenic area’s current boat service. No cruise duration, lift operation, or winter-event availability is promised.
Find Longqing Gorge
龙庆峡 · 延庆区
The pin marks the area, not the entrance.
More places nearby
Approximate straight-line distances between map pins, not travel distances.
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View guide →Sources & visit information
The linked encyclopedia sources support background and place descriptions. Current opening hours, ticket prices, booking rules and transport schedules have not been independently verified for this guide. Confirm them with the venue or operator before travelling.
Visitor information adapted and edited from Wikipedia contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision 1353040367.
Background paragraphs translated and condensed from Wikipedia contributors, "龙庆峡水库", Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision 92021263.
Background paragraphs condensed from Wikipedia contributors, "Longqing Gorge", English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision 1353040367.