CHINA 5A TRAVEL
Two official routes organize everything: A is the three-hour gorge cruise, B the five-to-six-hour full tour that adds the shuttle to the Tracker Culture Corridor and the peapod-boat hauling. Yangtze-cruise passengers do it as a shore excursion without ever leaving the water; independent travelers board at the Badong tourist wharf. These notes blend official guidance with recent travelers' experience.
Suggested Itinerary
- Half day — Route A, the Gorge Classic
Board the first morning sailing at the Badong tourist wharf → Longchang Gorge within minutes (hanging coffins, Elephant Trunk Peak) → Parrot Gorge's flowers and swiftlets → the 'Love of Bashan' show at Luoping → back at the wharf by midday; with last boarding at 14:30 and a round trip of some four hours, the earlier you sail the better. - Full day — Route B, Tracker Heritage
The morning full tour: all three gorges by sightseeing boat → Shennong Gorge's waterfall → disembark at Yaojiatan Wharf → shuttle 8 km past Yanduhe to the Tracker Culture Corridor → peapod-boat ride with the trackers hauling and chanting → return by boat and bus (~5–6 h), then Badong's lit riverfront under the Yangtze Bridge at night. - Two days — Gorges + Shennongjia
Day 1: Route B in full plus Badong's night views and Zhenjiang Pavilion. Day 2: drive the 'Double-Shen' line up to Shennongjia — the stream's birthplace, with Dajiuhu's red leaves in autumn — or head downstream to the Wuxia Gorge Mouth sunrise and the Three Gorges Dam toward Yichang.
What to See
Hanging Coffins
Over 2,000-year-old Ba burials on cliff ledges above Longchang Gorge — folk belief held the higher the coffin, the better the descendants' official prospects.
Ancient Plank Road Relics
The cliff-hugging trestle that once carried porters along the gorge wall, spotted from the deck as the boat slides past.
Three-Colored Spring & Gorge Flowers
Parrot Gorge's odd spring and its four-season blooms — spring roses, summer hibiscus, autumn chrysanthemum, winter wintersweet.
Yanziqian Karst Cave
A cave mouth some 80 m high sheltering thousands of golden swiftlets — watch them wheel above the water at dusk.
The Twin Bridges
Where the road crosses near Shibanping, an old iron-chain footbridge hangs beside its modern replacement — paired crossings the locals bind in legend to the 'husband-and-wife trees' on the bank.
'Love of Bashan' Folk Show
Tujia song and dance at the Luoping Visitor Reception Center — the rolling Bashan dance boatmen have long danced on these banks, with the welcome wine and folk stages of the valley's integrated operation.
Photo Gallery
Tips from Real Travelers
Food & Drink
Chadianzi Beef
Badong's famous beef town on the Yesanguan road — braised and stewed riverside comfort food, with dozens of specialist restaurants.
Badong True Fragrant Tea
Enshi gorge-country green tea (巴东真香茗) — the local pour after a day on the water.
Konjac Dishes
The mountain staple (魔芋) turned into springy stir-fries and hotpot slides unique to Enshi's Tujia kitchens.
Autumn Oranges & Mountain Table
Badong is quality citrus country — autumn oranges, spiced dried tofu and wild mountain vegetables round out the table.
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