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Since ancient times, it has been difficult to travel in the Three Gorges region, relying entirely on waterways. However, due to the significant impact of climate on waterways and the high level of danger, people have been continuously excavating plank roads in sections since ancient times. The plank road is a miracle in the history of human transportation, mostly built on steep cliffs and turbulent currents, carved with stones and inserted with wood, and suspended in the sky, serving as an important carrier for crossing mountains and valleys. The Three Gorges ancient stack props have the characteristics of steep terrain, arduous engineering, locally sourced materials, and flexible and diverse construction forms in ancient Chinese stack roads, and are important relics of the Three Gorges civilization.
When the Three Gorges cruise ship travels in the Three Gorges Canyon, one can see the boardwalks on the cliffs everywhere, which are called "ancient boardwalks". Due to its location in the Three Gorges Gorge, it is also known as the "Three Gorges Ancient Plank Road". The total length of the Three Gorges ancient plank road is about 50-60 kilometers.
The Qutangxia section starts from the east bank of Caotang River mouth in Fengjie County and ends at Zhuangyuandui Mountain on the other side of Daxi in Wushan County, with a length of about 10 kilometers; The Wuxia section starts from the opposite bank of Wushan County and ends at Qinglian River at the border of Sichuan and Hubei provinces, with a length of 30 kilometers; The rest of the period is sporadically distributed in Xiling Gorge. The boardwalk includes roads, stone bridges, iron chains, stone railings, etc., and is tens of meters above the river surface.
Scenery of Qutang Gorge in the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River
The ancient plank road of the Three Gorges, once listed as one of the three great mysteries of the Three Gorges along with the sound of apes and hanging coffins, has fascinated countless tourists. Nowadays, most of it has sunk into the water. Among the ancient plank roads in the Three Gorges, the Qutangxia section is undoubtedly the most awe inspiring. After being filled with water to 175 meters, only over 80 meters of this 10 kilometer ancient plank road are exposed to the water surface. The disappearance of the ancient plank road in Qutangxia, like many thrilling and colorful cultural wonders in history, is silently hidden and obscured by the fingers of time, returning to complete silence.
Since ancient times, it has been difficult to travel in the Three Gorges area. People have been continuously excavating in sections, but not all of them run through. In the late Qing Dynasty, the governor of Kuizhou, Wang Jian, and others proposed the construction of the Three Gorges boardwalk. In September 1888, they first started the construction of the boardwalk from Baidicheng in Fengjie to Qinglian Creek in Wushan. Based on the previous excavation, it took three years to complete a 65 kilometer boardwalk on the steep cliffs on the north bank of the Xiajiang River. Especially in this section of Qutang Gorge, there are 4 kilometers of trough shaped roadbeds excavated on cliffs and cliffs. During construction, "craftsmen had no support, so they drilled holes on the walls and climbed up the layers." After the completion of the boardwalk, it could accommodate the eight person sedan chair of the governor of Kuizhou.
There are ten thousand foot mountains above and a thousand zhang of water below. Between the two vast rocks, there is a wide and narrow reed. "(From Bai Juyi's" Reflections on Entering the Gorge "). Qutang Gorge has always been known for its narrow and dangerous scenery. In addition to waterways, the ancient boardwalk hanging on the cliffs and cliffs that can connect with the outside world is this one.
The ancient plank road in Qutangxia has a broad and narrow definition. Broadly speaking, it includes the Kuiwu ancient plank road, the Shuikong ancient plank road, the Mengliang ladder ancient plank road, and the Shangtian ladder ancient plank road; Narrowly defined, it mainly refers to the section of the ancient plank road from the east bank of the Caotang River mouth in Fengjie County to the Zhuangyuandui Mountain on the other side of Daxi in Wushan County, which is about 10 kilometers long, that is, the western section of the Kuiwu ancient plank road. This section is the essence of the Three Gorges Ancient Plank Path. It hangs on the wall of Chijia Mountain, parallel to the Yangtze River, and is an important land transportation from Fengjie to Wushan.
Strolling along the boardwalk, facing the towering cliffs and the vast river below, it feels like soaring through the air. In order to commemorate this eternal feat, later generations carved praises of "Opening the Wall" and "Heavenly Ladder Jindi" on the cliff. After the Three Gorges Dam was filled with water, some of the lower elevation walkways have been submerged. After years of wind erosion and rain erosion, the rocks have continuously weathered and peeled off. The ancient channel of Qutangxia, which was once able to run horses and carriages, gradually narrowed, with the widest point being over 1 meter and some places only a few tens of centimeters wide.
The ancient plank road that carried the bloodline and historical scars of the Three Gorges culture has almost disappeared into the smoke. Only a short 80 meter trail remains for visitors to pay their respects and for hikers to climb.
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