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Located in the northeastern of Yulong Naxi nationality autonomous county, the long wide Tiger Leaping Gorge stretching for 16 kilometers away, is said to be one of the deepest river canyon in the world. There's the main peak of Yulong Snow Mountain with an elevation of 5,596 meters on the south bank of the river and Zhongdian Snow Mountain with an elevation of 5,396 meters on the north bank of the river.
The river here is only a width of from 30 to 60 meters. It has a steep slope and creates a site of spectacular grandeur. The current is quite turbulent. Cascading down the cliffs from some 170 meters high, they create a boom of thunder that reverberates for miles in the empty ravine. Tiger Leaping Gorge is the most famous precipitous deep valley in the world and is known throughout the world for its magnificent and beautiful scenery that has been since ancient times held out great attractions to the Chinese people.
The name Tiger Leaping Gorge originates from an ancient legend. The story is going about that a tiger tried to escape from a hunter. Thus it jumped across the river which at one point is only 25 meters wide. There's the huge stone named as Tiger Leaping Rock with 13 meters in height in the very middle of the river. The rock looks just like being in solitary loftiness, august and formidable. The endless expanse of flowing river make headway against the huge rock, like flattened thunder far up the valley, majestic and dignified.
There are two ways of tourist alternative plans that are access to the famous Tiger Leaping Gorge. The first is to choose the lower road. Tourists can sit drinking in the beauty of the gorge on tour buses by this route at the bottom of the canyon with the charming scenery. It's also quite acceptable to hire a minivan which drove toward the ticket office directly and from there tourists can walk along the banks of the river where one can feel sudden intense sensation of being in a gorge. The kind of lower road tour is currently enjoying popularity among Chinese tourists.
The second applied to the different method to take the upper path up the mountain which has been attributed to be one of the best walking tours through some of the most naturally diverse, dynamic and beautiful landscapes.
From their vantage-point on the mountain, you could enjoy the magnificent sights along the river. On the way the road passes many and varied gorgeous scenery to enjoy undisturbed peace and quiet in isolated villages and forests. Furthermore, if you're the type that would like to keep your feet on the ground, a hike through the deep valley should do you nicely.
People are saying that the local Naxi people also choose this trail. Moreover, there're several types of ecological areas at the junctions of the place, among which are blessed with enormous quantities of different kinds of plants and animal species. Thus the scenic spot is vitally important for wildlife preservation to keep ecological balance.