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31.10.2012

China: Wanderung in der Tiger Leaping Gorge

China: Hiking in the Tiger Leaping Gorge

About 60km north of Lijiang the mighty river Jangtze makes an arc and disappears between two majestic mountain ranges into a deep gorge, the "Tiger Leaping Gorge". Here, we are planning a hike with our Japanese friend Sho Hei.

Below us, the Yangtze rages through the gorge over several thresholds, the sound of the water can be heard even up here.

The Jangtze originates in Tibet and flows into the sea near Shanghai and is one of the most important water arteries in the country. At the beginning of the gorge, the high path begins, which leads through the whole gorge. The three of us start the ascent in the afternoon. In a small village we stay in an extremely charming guesthouse. The view is simply fantastic. The red light of the sunset reflects from the snowy 5000m peaks on the other side of the gorge and the clouds around the peaks reinforce the dramaturgy of the natural spectacle. The next day the path that we are taking rises overall by 800m, and the higher we get, the more beautiful the view of the mountains are. Below us, the Yangtze rages through the gorge over several thresholds, the sound of the water can be heard even up here. The morning is cold. We start early in the morning and exactly when we arrive at the highest point of the path, the sun breaks out behind the snow-covered peaks: it gets warm immediately.

The whole hike is 28km long. The two days that we have planned, give us enough time to admire the beautiful landscape. We spend the second night in a busy guesthouse with an even more breathtaking view. The beer on the "inspiration terrace" is well deserved and marks a special experience with the mountain peaks so close. The next day we continue on a narrow path along the precipice towards the other end of the gorge and the descent begins. Once at the bottom of the street we make a little extra tour to the Tiger Leaping Stone. According to legend, a tiger jumped over the river here, which gave the canyon its name. The 400 vertical meters to the river are quite a climb. Standing directly at the raging water, letting your gaze wander up the steep mountain wall and seeing the river disappear behind the high rocks is definitely worth the difficult descent - and the inevitably following ascent.

In the late afternoon a bus brings us northwards to the city of Shangrila (Chinese: Zhongdian). At 3,300 metres above sea level, the small town is the highest point so far on our trip and gives us a few winter days. The air smells of snow, the temperatures drop below zero at night. The landscape and the houses strongly indicate that Shangrila borders Tibet. However, more impressions of this we will tell you in a next blog post.

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