The Grand Canyon lies in the Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. It's 46km away from the city proper of Lichuan and 60km away from the city proper of Enshi. The canyon has a total length of 108 km and covers an area of more than 300 square kilometers. In the Grand Canyon, there are precipitous mountain peaks, long bold cliffs and lengthy waterfalls which have the momentum of a loud shout into the air; the Qingjiang (Clear River) down the bottom of the canyon is crystal clear which makes you fancy that you've thoroughly remold yourself。
In the Grand Canyon, the body of the mountain is variegated and the Qingjiang River valley is incised. There are such wonders that are different from the Five Great Mountains as the following:
The first is the white clouds rising from the Singing River. In the Mufu Grand Canyon clouds rise from the Qingjiang River like a jumbo soaring dragon, zigzagging, stretching for miles, plump and smooth skinned. What a feast for eyes!
The second is the precipice surrounded by peak clusters. Karst landform is generally the case of where there is precipice, there is no peak clusters, and vice versa. But in the Mufu Grand Canyon, not only there are both of them but also they are larger in size and higher in grade.
The third is the Geo-fracture Receives the Waterfall. In the Grand Canyon, the Yun Long (Cloud Dragon) River Geo-fracture has a total length of 7.5 km and an utmost depth of 75 m. It is so far the world's longest U-shaped geo-fracture.
The fourth is the geo-fracture is accompanied by cenotes. The underground river between Long Qiao He (Dragon Bridge River) in Feng Jie and the Grand Canyon is totally 50 km in length, which is the world's longest. There are 108 cenotes on the underground river, like the famous Karez in Xinjiang. It's very rare and spectacular.
What's more, to make the tour more delighted and easier for tourists, tens of millions of Yuan in RMB have been invested by the administration of the scenic spot for building the escalators in the Grand Canyon Scenic Spot, while those in the Geofracture Scenic Spot are also under intense development. (阮国春 译)
恩施大峡谷风景区
大峡谷位于恩施土家族苗族自治州,距利川城区46公里,距恩施城区60公里。峡谷全长108千米总面积300多平方千米。峡谷中山峰险峻、百里绝壁、千丈瀑布、有仰天长啸之浩气势;谷底的清江水质清幽,令人有脱胎换骨之感受。
大峡谷山体变化多端,清江河谷深切,具有别于五岳的以下奇观:
一是清江升白云。沐抚大峡谷里从清江上升起的云海象一条腾飞的巨龙,蜿蜒曲折,绵延百里,形态丰润,美不胜收。
二是绝壁环峰丛。喀斯特地貌一般情形是有绝壁者无峰丛,有峰丛者无绝壁,沐抚大峡谷不仅兼而有之,而且面积大、品位高。
三是地缝接飞瀑。大峡谷内云龙河地缝全长7.5千米,最深达75米,是目前世界最长“U”字形地缝。
四是地缝配竖井。奉节龙桥河至大峡谷的地下暗河全长50千米,为世界之最。暗河之上的竖井有108个,形似著名的新疆坎儿井,非常壮观和罕见。
另外,为了让游客的游览更加惬意、轻松,景区投资数千万元,在大峡谷景区修建了户外扶手电梯,而地缝景区部分也在紧锣密鼓的开发中。