The Tiger Leaping Gorge

It has another name as "Jinshapiliu”. It stands in the south-east of Zhongdian County and the north of Lijiang County, just on the section of the Jinsha River between the Haba Snow Mountains and the Jade Dragon Snow Mountains, 105 km away from Zhongdian County, and 100km away from Lijiang County.

　　The Tiger Leaping Gorge is famous in the world for its majesty and grotesquery. The Tiger Leaping Gorge is a ravine of 20 meters long which is formed by the corroding of the Jinsha River here. It has resulted from the fracture of the stratum while the Himalayan Mountains were being thrust upwards. The whole gorge is divided into the Upper Gorge, the Middle Gorge, and the Lower Gorge. The altitude at the valley bottom is 1,800 meters, while the Jade Dragon Snow Mountains and the Haba Snow Mountains are 5,596 meters and 5,396 meters above sea level, with the largest difference in altitude being more than 3,700m, and the depth of the valley is in the front rank in the world. On both sides of the valley there are mountains rising straight up, whose tops are covered with perpetual snow, and whose feet are precipitous. If you stand on the cliffs, you can see precipices above your head and a slight opening of the sky when you look up, and you can see a river is running just like a dragon, bubbling furiously and grasping your heart.

　　The Tiger Leaping Gorge is not only deep but also narrow. The narrowest point at the Upper Gorge is only a bit over 20 meters. Right in the middle of the rive there is a tiger-leaping stone; hence the name. At this part of the river, the rapids are split by the huge stone, and the roar of the angry waves echoes up and down the valley.

　　The drop from the Upper Gorge to the Lower Gorge is more than 210 meters. The river runs so fast that the speed reaches 6-8 meters a second. The Tiger-Leaping Gorge not only brings up the rare and wonderful sights for the world but also holds in store many resources. Some experts have pointed out that two super-hydropower stations with an installed capacity of 600 kw can be set up there.