CHINA is known for its beautiful natural resources and magnificent scenery. With the arrival of the pleasant summer season, why not take a tour across the country and explore some magnificent river scenes with families and friends.

    First Bend of Yangtze River,Yunnan Province

    A scenic hiking area, the First Bend of the Yangtze River in Shigu Town is only about 50 kilometers away from Lijiang, a famous ancient city in Yunnan Province. It is called the “first bend” because the river makes a 90-degree turn from south to east within a distance of one kilometer.

    In ancient times, the place was important militarily because it was the best location for big armies to cross the river, and it was a place where Tibetans came down to trade with the people living in the area.

    Nowadays, it is one of the top attractions near Lijiang and is an important hub linking Tiger Leaping Gorge, Laojunshan and Meili Snow Mountain.

    The great Yangtze flows down from the world’s roof — the Tibetan Plateau — and enters Yunnan from Batang City, Tibet. The river mixes with two other great rivers here, Lancang River and Nujiang River, forming the landscape of Three Parallel Rivers. The river suddenly stops at Hailou Mountain Cliff and takes a sharp turn to the northeast in Shangri-La County, Yunnan Province. This is what creates world-renowned Tiger Leaping Gorge.

    The area is great for hiking and outdoor activities. The terrain is sort of rocky and rough and is like a desert. Therefore, many people choose to walk on the hills, from where you can have a great bird’s-eye view over the rivers and Naxi Town.

    Transport: Fly to Lijiang from Shenzhen airport and take a coach to the area. Hiking is also a popular option.

    First Bend of Yarlung

    Tsangpo River, Tibet

    Rising near the sacred Kailash Mountain in far-west Tibet, the Yarlung Tsangpo runs 2,900 kilometers all the way across Tibet and performs a neat trick in eastern Tibet — it makes an abrupt hairpin turn, flowing west into India and then south again to its mouth in Bangladesh. This abrupt turn has been christened the Great Bend of the Tsangpo.

    On its journey to the eastern side of Tibet, the river soars into a 4,900-meter cleft between two towering snowcaps, Namche Barwa and Gyala Pelri. At a distance of around 240 kilometers, the Tsangpo plummets some 2,700 meters through the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, the world’s deepest gorge. With a depth reaching over 5,300 meters near the Tibet-India border, this gorge is more than twice the depth of Colorado’s Grand Canyon.

    The area has nine vertical natural zones, ranging from the mountain snow zone to the seasonal tropical rain forest zone. Four giant waterfall groups are found in the area.

    These exceptional ecological systems are home to a wide range of life. You can see a variety of rare species of moss, the Yunnan iron cedar, the Bangladesh tiger, the bear monkey and the fern erne tree. The area is known as a “plant museums” and “animal kingdom.”

    Transport: Fly to Lhasa from Shenzhen airport, and take a coach to the canyon.