Huangguoshu Waterfall

Overview

About

The Huangguoshu scenic area lies on the Baishui River, upper reaches of the Dabang, in Zhenning Buyi and Miao Autonomous County, Guizhou, 45 km from Anshun and 150 km from Guiyang. It has waterfall groups, rivers, caves, peaks, underground streams, cliffs and gorges, the Huangguoshu waterfall above all.

The Huangguoshu Great Waterfall is the largest in China: about 78 m high and 101 m wide, with the Water Curtain Cave halfway up and Rhinoceros Pool below. It is most spectacular in the summer rains, when spray flies more than a hundred metres and drifts over the street of Huangguoshu, the “silver rain on the golden street”.

Around it lies a group of 18 waterfalls, the “nine levels and eighteen falls”, among them the Silver Chain, Dishuitan, Doupotang, Luositan and Xingxia falls.

The Silver Chain Falls, made up of many small cascades over 40 m in all, are the most beautiful in the area. Doupotang, 1 km upstream, is 21 m high and 105 m wide, the widest of the group; in flood it whistles like a steam siren, the “roaring falls”. The Dishuitan falls on the upper Baling River, 1 km west of Huangguoshu, drop 410 m in seven steps; the last, Gaotan, 63 m wide and 130 m high, is the tallest of the group.

The Water Curtain Cave behind the main fall runs 134 m at 40 to 47 m above the base, with 6 windows, 5 halls, 3 springs and 6 passages; visitors see the fall through the curtain of water.

Tianxingqiao lies downstream of the main falls and has three parts: the Tianxing bonsai area, Tianxing Cave and the stone forest in the water, a karst landscape of rock, trees and water; Tianxing Cave is a limestone cave.

It is in the first batch of national parks of China (national scenic areas) named by the State Council in 1982.

Travel tips

Getting there: take a high-speed train to Anshun West, or a long-distance bus from Guiyang, then a local bus or taxi to Huangguoshu.

Inside the area: the Great Falls, Tianxing Bridge and Doupotang are a few kilometres apart and linked by shuttle buses.

Great Falls: the path goes down to Rhinoceros Pool and then through the Water Curtain Cave behind the falls, where the spray will wet your clothes. The way back has many steps; there is also an escalator.

Tianxing Bridge: a mix of stone forest, stepping stones across water and caves; the path is long and takes two to three hours.

Doupotang: a wide, low waterfall with a short path; it can be left for last.

Time: all three areas fit into one day; if short of time, focus on the Great Falls and Tianxing Bridge.

Season: June to October is the high-water season, when the falls are fullest; in winter and spring the flow is much smaller.

Where to stay: in Huangguoshu town or in Anshun.

Stamps

In 2001 China Post issued “Huangguoshu Waterfalls”, three stamps and a souvenir sheet: the Silver Chain, Doupotang and Dishuitan falls, and the Huangguoshu waterfall on the sheet.

The fourth stamp of the 1981 definitive set R21 “Scenery of the Motherland” shows Huangguoshu.

Map

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