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Exploring a wild abyss
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Wang Ying
THE cliffs overhang the river with alternating rapids, the waterfalls cascade down, the air is fresh and smells faintly of flowers, the birds and insects twitter and chirp from unknown places, and water seeps through cliff cracks and gurgles down. These images still rush in whenever I think of my trip to the Nanjiang Grand Canyon in the north of Guizhou Province, as secluded an escape as you'll ever find.
Stepping off the bus in the late morning at the Longmen Bridge, the entrance to the canyon park, I was instantly struck by the mighty gouge in the skin of the earth. It was created, according to our tour guide, one million years ago by the collapse of a huge underground limestone stalactite-filled cave in a violent earthquake.
Stretching 40 kilometres long and with a maximum depth of 320 metres, the canyon has 18.5 metres open to the public.
From the Longmen Bridge, people have two choices to delve into the depths of the abyss: rafting or hiking.
The hike roughly consists of two halves with Labakou (a funnel-shaped entrance) as the dividing line. For the first half from the Longmen Bridge to Labakou, which is very easy, hikers can walk leisurely in the warm yet not scorching sun on a flat road built along the Nanjiang River, feasting their eyes on the green valley, breathing deep the fresh air and scents of grass and wild flowers, and watching rafters in bright orange life jackets braving the white water.
Arriving at Labakou, the hikers have to take a boat to cross an 800-metre-long expanse of water to enter the Tizi Cliff (Ladder Cliff) scenic area to start the second half of the trip. Here is where the trip becomes thrilling. The path vanishes, and hikers have to use a 1,000-kilometre-long ancient plank way. Made with planks and reinforcing bars chiselled into the cliffs, the plank way creaks and groans when traffic becomes thick. And hikers constantly have to lower themselves through craggy cliffs.
The scariest part comes when the path crosses a suspension bridge. If more than two people walk on the bridge, it shakes violently. Timid travellers like me feel their legs shudder and hearts pound. Once off the bridge, they find themselves in a cold sweat.
For the rafters, they can enjoy a 14-kilometre
ride. From the Longmen Bridge to Labakou, the water is rather smooth and still. But after Labakou, the water turns into rapids which makes the ride very choppy indeed; expect to get wet.
After both the hikers and rafters gathered at Luoguchong (Gong and Drum Sandbar), we had lunch and rested for half an hour before heading back the same way.
For campers not in a hurry, they can stay here for a night and delve deeper into the valley the next day, for there are even more surprises right ahead.
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