Legend says the name comes from a hunted tiger escaping by jumping across the river at the narrowest point (still 25 metres (82 ft) wide), using the rock in the middle.[1][2][better source needed]
At a maximum depth of approximately 3,790 meters (12,434 feet) from river to mountain peak, Tiger Leaping Gorge is one of the deepest and most spectacular river canyons in the world.[3] The inhabitants of the gorge are primarily the indigenous Nakhi people, who live in a handful of small hamlets. Their primary subsistence comes from grain production and nowadays hiking tourism.
Terraces partway up the sides of the Tiger Leaping Gorge
Around 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) in length, the gorge is located where the river passes between the 5,596 metres (18,360 ft) Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and the 5,396 metres (17,703 ft) Haba Snow Mountain in a series of rapids under steep 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) cliffs.
The gorge is not considered navigable. In the early 1980s, four rafters attempted to go down the gorge and were never seen again. In 1986, the first known successful attempt to sail through the gorge was made by the first expedition to float down the entire length of the Yangtze, starting at the river's high source at the Gelandandong glacier lake.[4]
A closeup view of the gorge
The area was officially opened to foreign tourists in 1993,[5] but had already attracted adventurous backpackers in the 1980s. Officials plan to improve the existing trails and roads, bringing tour buses and more development. These plans arouse highly varied reactions among the local population, from strong opposition to strong support.[5]
Natural crystals are mined from areas in and surrounding the Tiger Leaping Gorge.
Tiger Leaping Gorge weather is generally mild, with abundant rainfall and plenty of sunshine. It has an average annual temperature between 13 °C (55 F) and 20 °C (68 F), without too much change from spring to winter. In summer, the temperature just falls between 10–26 °C (50–79 F) low because of the continuous rain. Coming to winter, the high mountains block the cold air from northern China, so it is still as warm as spring for most of the days.
Hiking the length of the gorge is possible. The hiking path ("the high road") is well-maintained and marked, although sometimes narrow, and at times impassable due to heavy rains, and is used by the Naxi as part of everyday life. This trail is longer than the lower road, approximately 22 kilometres (14 mi), but is more varied. It features a variety of micro-ecosystems, waterfalls, and a fair number of guesthouses for trekkers. These guesthouses are not well heated, which combined with the unpredictable nature of high mountain weather makes this trek inadvisable during the rainy season.
The lower road, stretching about 195 km (121 mi) from Qiaotou through the Gorge, is a stretch of pavement (until recently a simple mule track) crossed by several waterfalls, and frequently beset by rockslides. Some portions of the road have been known to disappear into the river below. The road follows the Yangtze, so there are more views of the river, and a stronger sense of being in a gorge than on the upper trail. Where the high road descends to meet the lower road, one can climb down to the river near the Tiger Leaping Stone, the point at which the tiger is said to have leaped.[6] In July 2010, the Chinese government closed the gorge to visitors because a new lower road was being built. Consequently, there were no government officials to charge the 50 yuan fee to enter the trail. Locals requested a 10 yuan fee to enter the trail. Many trekkers still hiked the high road in spite of its closure. Some buses continued to travel the low road, although landslides frequently caused travel delays.[7]
Details of the scrapped project follow:[9][10] Construction had begun on the other 12 dams of the same project which lie just outside the boundaries of the heritage area, even though it had not been approved by the State Council.[11] Media reports suggested that the Lijiang city government waived standard procedures in order to facilitate the project.[12]
The project would displace up to 100,000 people to the north, mainly the Naxi minority, to a Tibetan area with harsh climate and unfamiliar crops as barley and potatoes as staples, virtually stop the flow of the upper Yangtze River, and irreparably alter the landscape of the Tiger Leaping Gorge.[9] The project was abandoned in December 2007.[8] This project was also related to the Three Gorges Dam and the South-North Water Transfer Project, which would cause massive environmental damage and the destruction of thousands of cultural sites.[12]
tiger, leaping, gorge, chinese, 虎跳峡, pinyin, tiào, xiá, scenic, canyon, jinsha, river, primary, tributary, upper, yangtze, river, located, kilometres, north, lijiang, city, yunnan, southwestern, china, part, three, parallel, rivers, yunnan, protected, areas, w. Tiger Leaping Gorge Chinese 虎跳峡 pinyin Hǔ tiao xia is a scenic canyon on the Jinsha River a primary tributary of the upper Yangtze River It is located 60 kilometres 37 mi north of Lijiang City Yunnan in southwestern China It is part of the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas World Heritage Site Tiger Leaping GorgeTiger Leaping GorgeSimplified Chinese虎跳峡Traditional Chinese虎跳峽TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinHǔ tiao xiaIPA xu tʰja ʊ ɕja Yue CantoneseYale RomanizationFu tiu haahpJyutpingFu2 tiu3 haap6IPA fuː tʰiːu haːp Southern MinTai loHoo thiau kiapLegend says the name comes from a hunted tiger escaping by jumping across the river at the narrowest point still 25 metres 82 ft wide using the rock in the middle 1 2 better source needed At a maximum depth of approximately 3 790 meters 12 434 feet from river to mountain peak Tiger Leaping Gorge is one of the deepest and most spectacular river canyons in the world 3 The inhabitants of the gorge are primarily the indigenous Nakhi people who live in a handful of small hamlets Their primary subsistence comes from grain production and nowadays hiking tourism Contents 1 Geography 2 Climate 3 Roads and trails 4 Environmental concerns 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksGeography edit nbsp Terraces partway up the sides of the Tiger Leaping GorgeAround 15 kilometres 9 3 mi in length the gorge is located where the river passes between the 5 596 metres 18 360 ft Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and the 5 396 metres 17 703 ft Haba Snow Mountain in a series of rapids under steep 2 000 metres 6 600 ft cliffs Administratively the river in this area forms the border between Yulong Naxi Autonomous County of Lijiang City right bank and Shangri La County of Deqen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture left bank The gorge is not considered navigable In the early 1980s four rafters attempted to go down the gorge and were never seen again In 1986 the first known successful attempt to sail through the gorge was made by the first expedition to float down the entire length of the Yangtze starting at the river s high source at the Gelandandong glacier lake 4 nbsp A closeup view of the gorgeThe area was officially opened to foreign tourists in 1993 5 but had already attracted adventurous backpackers in the 1980s Officials plan to improve the existing trails and roads bringing tour buses and more development These plans arouse highly varied reactions among the local population from strong opposition to strong support 5 Natural crystals are mined from areas in and surrounding the Tiger Leaping Gorge Climate edit nbsp A bridge opposite the gorgeClimate data for Tiger Leaping GorgeMonth Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YearAverage high C F 16 2 61 2 17 4 63 3 20 6 69 1 23 3 73 9 26 1 79 0 26 2 79 2 26 2 79 2 26 0 78 8 24 8 76 6 22 6 72 7 19 6 67 3 16 8 62 2 22 1 71 9 Daily mean C F 9 2 48 6 10 9 51 6 13 8 56 8 16 9 62 4 20 0 68 0 21 4 70 5 21 8 71 2 21 4 70 5 20 2 68 4 17 1 62 8 13 0 55 4 9 9 49 8 16 3 61 3 Average low C F 2 2 36 0 4 4 39 9 7 1 44 8 10 5 50 9 14 0 57 2 16 7 62 1 17 5 63 5 16 8 62 2 15 6 60 1 11 7 53 1 6 4 43 5 3 0 37 4 10 5 50 9 Average precipitation mm inches 8 0 3 22 0 9 39 1 5 48 1 9 68 2 7 175 6 9 201 7 9 175 6 9 133 5 2 83 3 3 18 0 7 8 0 3 978 38 5 Source Climate Data org Tiger Leaping Gorge weather is generally mild with abundant rainfall and plenty of sunshine It has an average annual temperature between 13 C 55 F and 20 C 68 F without too much change from spring to winter In summer the temperature just falls between 10 26 C 50 79 F low because of the continuous rain Coming to winter the high mountains block the cold air from northern China so it is still as warm as spring for most of the days Roads and trails edit nbsp View of the gorge from the high path showing Jade Dragon Snow Mountain on the left and Haba Xueshan on the rightHiking the length of the gorge is possible The hiking path the high road is well maintained and marked although sometimes narrow and at times impassable due to heavy rains and is used by the Naxi as part of everyday life This trail is longer than the lower road approximately 22 kilometres 14 mi but is more varied It features a variety of micro ecosystems waterfalls and a fair number of guesthouses for trekkers These guesthouses are not well heated which combined with the unpredictable nature of high mountain weather makes this trek inadvisable during the rainy season The lower road stretching about 195 km 121 mi from Qiaotou through the Gorge is a stretch of pavement until recently a simple mule track crossed by several waterfalls and frequently beset by rockslides Some portions of the road have been known to disappear into the river below The road follows the Yangtze so there are more views of the river and a stronger sense of being in a gorge than on the upper trail Where the high road descends to meet the lower road one can climb down to the river near the Tiger Leaping Stone the point at which the tiger is said to have leaped 6 In July 2010 the Chinese government closed the gorge to visitors because a new lower road was being built Consequently there were no government officials to charge the 50 yuan fee to enter the trail Locals requested a 10 yuan fee to enter the trail Many trekkers still hiked the high road in spite of its closure Some buses continued to travel the low road although landslides frequently caused travel delays 7 Environmental concerns edit nbsp View of the gorge from aboveAlthough Tiger Leaping Gorge is an essential part of the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan a World Heritage Site since 2003 the Chinese government floated proposals for a hydroelectric dam on the Jinsha River in 2004 The Yunnan provincial government scrapped the project in 2007 8 Details of the scrapped project follow 9 10 Construction had begun on the other 12 dams of the same project which lie just outside the boundaries of the heritage area even though it had not been approved by the State Council 11 Media reports suggested that the Lijiang city government waived standard procedures in order to facilitate the project 12 The project would displace up to 100 000 people to the north mainly the Naxi minority to a Tibetan area with harsh climate and unfamiliar crops as barley and potatoes as staples virtually stop the flow of the upper Yangtze River and irreparably alter the landscape of the Tiger Leaping Gorge 9 The project was abandoned in December 2007 8 This project was also related to the Three Gorges Dam and the South North Water Transfer Project which would cause massive environmental damage and the destruction of thousands of cultural sites 12 See also editBlack Dragon Pool Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected AreasReferences edit Huang Nellie Everything you need to know about China s Tiger Leaping Gorge G Adventures Blog Retrieved 2019 05 13 Tiger Leaping Gorge Tiger Leaping Gorge Tour Yunnan China Tiger Leaping Gorge Travel Tiger Leaping Gorge attractions and Maps www chinatourguide com Retrieved 2019 05 13 Tiger Leaping Gorge Lijiang tourist information www yunnantrip com Archived from the original on 2016 03 04 Winchester Simon 1996 The River at the Center of the World England Henry Holt ISBN 0 8050 3888 4 a b Frank Langfitt China tourism mixed blessing Baltimore Sun July 2 2000 Tiger Leaping Gorge Day 3 Tiger Leaping Stone the Middle Rapids and the Sky Ladder Tiger Leaping Gorge Day 1 From Qiaotou through the 28 Bends a b China abandons plans for huge dam on Yangtze a b Greed for energy threatens to dam legendary gorge Times Online China Another dammed gorge Asia Times Tiger Leaping Gorge in Danger People s Daily in Chinese a b Tiger Leaping Gorge Emergency Nanfang Daily in Chinese External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tiger Leaping Gorge nbsp Tiger Leaping Gorge travel guide from Wikivoyage Three Parallel Rivers Protected Area Historic photo 1937 at the end of the gorge looking down from Daju to the north by Charles Patrick Fitzgerald Waking the Green Tiger documentary 27 14 9 37 N 100 7 56 93 E 27 2359361 N 100 1324806 E 27 2359361 100 1324806 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tiger Leaping Gorge amp oldid 1181418468, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
