A 1,300-Meter Drop Grand Canyon in Luoyang, Henan, with 18 Interconnected Waterfalls, Truly Spectacular

Luoyang, Henan, is a famous ancient capital of thirteen dynasties in China. Everyone knows it has a long history and profound culture, but in fact, its natural scenery is also breathtakingly beautiful. It has as many as five national top-tier AAAAA scenic spots within its area. If you don't think this number is impressive, let's make a horizontal comparison: Chengdu, Sichuan, is a famous tourist city in China, and many people say they never want to leave once they visit. Do you know how many AAAAA scenic spots Chengdu has? One, that's right, only Dujiangyan-Qingcheng Mountain is a national AAAAA scenic area, while Luoyang has five. With this comparison, you can instantly understand how beautiful Luoyang is!

Among Luoyang's five AAAAA scenic spots, Yufan's favorite is Baiyun Mountain. Although it is named after a mountain, it is actually a large scenic area integrating mountains, rocks, water, caves, forests, grass, flowers, birds, and animals, with attributes of grandeur, danger, wonder, tranquility, beauty, and charm interwoven.

Baiyun Mountain is the main peak of the Funiu Mountain range, a famous mountain in the Central Plains. Its highest peak, Yuhuangding, reaches an altitude of 2,216 meters, earning it the reputation of 'the Central Plains Supreme Peak.' The mountain is rich in animal and plant resources, known as a 'Natural Museum,' 'Fairyland on Earth,' and 'Famous Mountain of Jingluo.' In 2005, it was also named 'China's Most Beautiful Place.'

Although Baiyun Mountain is famous for its peaks, its canyons, lakes, and waterfalls are equally impressive. Among them, Baiyun Lake and Yuhuang Lake are like two pieces of jade inlaid in the mountains. The Bailong Grand Canyon in the mountain has a drop of 1,300 meters from the top to the valley (data from the scenic area introduction), which is even higher than the famous Three Gorges of the Yangtze River.

Bailong Grand Canyon is located at the foot of Baiyun Mountain. Walking downstream from Luhua Valley, you will soon see a spectacular glass bridge (Yufan recently wrote an article specifically about this glass bridge). Below the glass bridge lies the deepest canyon in the Central Plains, Bailong Grand Canyon.

According to staff, during ancient tectonic activity, water erosion in the mountainous area intensified, selecting sites with dense rock fracture zones to form collapses, landslides, or mudflows. As water erosion gradually weakened, waterfalls became 'remains' of this tectonic activity. From top to bottom in the canyon, there are 18 waterfalls of varying sizes, which are typical examples of 'tracing erosion' along structural fracture zones.

Among the 18 waterfalls in the canyon, the most famous is Jiulong Waterfall. It is both a waterfall and a large area (including attractions such as Crocodile Playing in Water, Longevity Beach, Black Dragon Pool, Fortune Beach, Yellow Dragon Well, Startling Heart Beach, Pearl Pool, White Dragon Waterfall, Jiulong Waterfall, and more than 20 other spots). Along the way from Qianchi Cliff to Wufu Heavenly Road, you can enjoy many landscapes of Bailong Grand Canyon, including quiet streams, deep emerald pools, dangerous cliffs, and cascading waterfalls, all composing the magnificent wonders of Jiulong Waterfall. Each scenic spot has a beautiful legend, and each legend makes us feel the mystery.

It is said that this water vein, not large during the dry season, gently flows out from the 2,000-meter-high cliffs of Yuhuangding, gathers, and then rushes down. In Bailong Grand Canyon, it cascades layer by layer, splashing pearls and jade. The Zhinü Waterfall looks like a white gauze hanging from the sky, while the stone above the waterfall resembles a shuttle used for weaving, as if the Weaver Girl has washed away the worldly glamour and shed the elegance and luxury of the world. In this remote Baiyun Mountain, she displays an extraordinary freedom and simple natural beauty, waiting deeply and persistently for her Niulang.

Where there are waterfalls, there are deep pools. Beneath each waterfall, there are ten or more deep pools of varying sizes, such as Yellow Dragon Well, Panlong Pool, Pearl Pool, etc. These are 'glacial potholes' left by ancient glaciation. These deep pools collect the rushing waterfalls, thus forming the source of the Bai River, a tributary of the Yangtze River.

Walking down from Luhua Valley, many waterfalls and deep pools are named after dragons, such as the famous White Dragon Waterfall, Black Dragon Pool, Yellow Dragon Well, Panlong Pool, and Jiulong Waterfall. Actually, it is not because dragons really exist here, but because these hard granite rocks naturally have some quartz veins. For example, Jiulong Waterfall gets its name because there are nine dragon-shaped quartz veins on the rock wall.

I suggest you take this path from top to bottom, following the waterfalls down. The entire journey is about 4,000 steps. At the bottom of the canyon, take the cable car up the mountain. In this way, you can also overlook Bailong Grand Canyon and Jiulong Waterfall Group from the air, which is another fascinating scene. If it is autumn, the layered forests, colorful and beautiful, will make you intoxicated.

Among these 18 waterfalls, the largest drop is Jiulong Waterfall, said to be 123 meters high. Standing under the waterfall, you feel the mist on your face, and the roar is like thunder, extremely spectacular. My companion Shengjie said that if you are lucky, you can also see a rainbow. As early as the 1990s, the People's Daily reported that people at that time called it 'a rare and marvelous wonder in the world's natural scenery,' which made this beauty sensational at home and abroad, amazing the world.