Situated on a tributary of the Yangtze River , Lesser Three Gorges are three sections of wushan valleys in mid-stream of Da Ning River. They are “Dragon-Gate Gorge”, “Misty Gorge” and “Emerald Gorge”, 60 Km in length. The Gorges are famous for crystal clear rapids and sky scraping cliffs. Taking a small boat drifting on the stream in the Lesser Three Gorges you could find out that you are just in the most beautiful picture. It was selected as one of the forty top tourist attractions in China in 1991, jointly by the tourists and the China Tourism Commissioner’s votes and evaluation. Welcome to China for Canton Trade fair. HRC is pleasure to provide booking Guangzhou hotels, China Tour Guide and Indochina tour packages for you.
These three gorges, with an area of 160 hectares of forest, lie on the lower reaches of Daning, extending from the entrance of the Dragon-Gate Gorge in the South to Tujiaba in the North for 50 km. Here sheer cliffs and steep mountains rise on either side, creating one of natural fine arts gallery as natural scenic wonders unfold on both banks of the river. Clear water flows between precarious precipices and peaks covered with green trees and bushes. Here you can board a small junk to enjoy the spectacular views and experience a water-borne sensation you never did before. Its “subtle mountains, clear waters, pretty rocks, dangerous rapids, sharp turns, fantastic caves, and stalactites in various shapes” characterize the natural landscape in the Lesser Three Gorges. Monkeys, mandarin ducks, water birds and fish can be seen in this area.
The gorges involve three green valley regions connected to the Daning River, including the Dicui Gorge, which translates to Emerald, the Misty Gorge, and the Dragon Gate Gorge. Nestled on the lower portion of the Yangtze River, these three gorges consist of dense forest that is surrounded by steep mountains and cliffs.
The Lesser Three Gorges refers to the three separate valleys of the Daning River, namely “Dragon-Gate Gorge”, “Misty Gorge” and “Emerald Gorge”. These three gorges, with an area of 160 hectares of forest, lie on the lower reaches of Daning, extending from the entrance of the Dragon-Gate Gorge in the South to Tujiaba in the North for 50 km. Here sheer cliffs and steep mountains rise on either side, creating one of natural fine arts gallery as natural scenic wonders unfold on both banks of the river. Its “subtle mountains, clear waters, pretty rocks, dangerous rapids, sharp turns, fantastic caves, and stalactites in various shapes” characterize the natural landscape in the Lesser Three Gorges. Monkeys, mandarin ducks, water birds and fish can be seen in this area. In addition to the continuous natural scenery there are a number of historical places of interest along the way, such as suspending coffin, boat coffin, remains of ancient plank walkway.

The area has been made one of the key nature reserves in China and is becoming known as a tourist attraction continuing to offer its charms along the golden Yangtze Gorges Travel Line. Dragon-Gate Gorge, 3 km long, is the shortest of the three, stretching from the Dragon-Gate Bridge to the Rapids of Silver Nest. It is spectacular due to the mountains on both sides that are so high that they seem to touch the sky. In the gorge, there are the remains of the longest ancient plank walkway in China and a number of scenic sights, such as the Dragon-Gate Spring, Gate Guarded by Lion, Nine Dragons Pillar, etc. Shooting the Rapids of Silver Nest, the boats fly like arrows. The Daning then meanders through terraced hillside before entering the Misty Gorge. The boat has to pass the Panda Cave, Nameless Gorge and Pipazhou.
The beauty of the Lesser Three Gorges area derives from a number of superior qualities that the swath of land located between Daba Mountain and the Yangtze River to the south – a stretch of some 100 kilometers, as the crow flies – enjoys over the Three Gorges area, though, if sheer scale is the criteria for “superior quality”, then the Three Gorges comes out on top. Here, between Daba Mountain and the Yangtze River, sheer cliffs and steep mountains rise on either side of the Daming River, creating one of nature’s finest landscape galleries, as near-tropical wonders envelope both banks of this majestically scenic river.