Chongdugou Valley 重渡沟

About Chongdugou Valley

The visitable area follows two branches, the Jinji River and the Dicui River, which give it two distinct walking lines rather than one. Bamboo grows densely along the water and through the woods, and the valley supports varied wild plants and animals. Local tradition explains the name Chongdugou, literally the gully of the double crossing, through a story that Liu Xiu, later the Eastern Han emperor Guangwu, forded the Yi River twice here while escaping pursuit.

Since the valley was opened up, family-run guesthouses have been the characteristic form of tourism here, to the point that it has been called China's first farmhouse-guesthouse village; the local summary of the place names its three qualities as water, bamboo and farmhouses. At the head of the Dicui River branch a farming-life village gathers working displays of older rural crafts.

What to look for

• Xiefenya, the largest waterfall in the valley, more than 100 metres high and falling in three stages.
• Feihong waterfall, a drop of more than 40 metres in two stages above a pool called Gemiantan about three metres deep.
• The Shuilian Xiangong waterfall in the Shihuiyaogou side valley on the upper Dicui River, 70 metres long and 8 metres wide across the rock face.
• The farming village at the head of the Dicui River branch, with a water-driven mill, pottery and oil-press workshops, a distillery, a wood-turning shop, and weaving and bamboo-weaving yards.
• The bamboo itself, which grows thickly along the streams and paths and is one of the three features the area is known for locally.

Location & getting there

Getting to Chongdugou Valley

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

• Search for 重渡沟 with 洛阳市 and 栾川县.