Huangguoshu Falls

Rising 74 feet high and 81 meters, Huangguoshu (tree yellow fruit) Cascades, Baishui river in Guizhou province, is recognized worldwide as the largest waterfall in China and also the largest waterfall in Asia. Falls are the centerpiece of a huge waterfall, cave and karst complex, covering some 450 square kilometers, borders and Guanling Zhenming counties.

A total of 18 waterfalls, underground rivers and caves have been discovered four 100, many of which are increasingly open to visitors. Empty Huangguoshu karst in a deep canyon, where a series of basins, including rhino pool, the pool of horseshoe and many others. Water flowing waterfalls to a capacity of 737 cubic meters per second from an area of ​​770 square kilometers. The loud roar of the falls can be heard several kilometers away.

During the rainy season (May-October), the heavy water cascades down thousands of feet from the cliff tops Canyon surrounded on three sides by mountains dashing against the rocks with a deafening noise and throw turbulent waves going up and machine like thousands of galloping horses. Misty water jets shoot a few hundred feet, sparkling in the sun as a myriad of rainbows. Mist cascades leading to Huangguoshu Village. During the dry season (November to April), the drop hangs over sheer cliffs, dangling silver chains like countless and immersed in the magic lake, as if they were silver colored dragons. When the sun rises rainbows appear, a touch of beauty is added to the majesty of the cataract.

The Huangguoshu Waterfalls are different from other large falls because of its unique karst land formation. Halfway up the waterfall is a 134-meter-deep karst cave, known as the Water Curtain Cave. A path has been cut into the cliff behind the fall, which gives the tourist a beautiful view through the cascading water. The 12-meter high water-screen vave is gifted with six cave "windows," five yards, three spings and an inner waterfall.

The tourist can stroll about the cave, watching the outside waterfall through the windows. The three-tier waterfall of Dripping-Water Pool with the greatest drop of water in elevation is located seven kilometers west the Huangguoshu Waterfalls. Here two lofty and imposing peaks stand facing each other. The River Valley of Baling looks as if it were hanging on the Guansuo Mountain in the west and dives straight down from the entrance of the sky-piercing Shuangfeng Gorge, cutting across the mountain ranges from west to east, resulting in a multi-tiers waterfall with a total drop of water in elevation of more than 4,210 meters. The upper tier with mountainous waves is named "Heaven-Reaching Waterfall." The middle tier, 410 meters tall, is named "Heaven-Reaching Waterfall." while the lower tier, 130 meters tall and often visible, has the name of "Waterfall of Dripping-Water Pool."

Other than the Huangguoshu Waterfalls, and the Water Curtain Cave, there are several falls and caves in the area. THere are altogether 18 gound falls, 14 undergound falls and 30 karst caves in the vicinity. The Dishuitan Waterfall is distinguished for its big drop, the longest amongst all the neighboring falls; while the Doupotang Waterfall is the widest of all the falls. About 23 kilometers south of Anshun is a series of underground caverns called Longgong, or Dragon Palace, which form a huge network through 20 hills. The caverns lie around the Bouyi settlement of Longtan or Dragon Pool. A "stone forest" has been made accessible to the public at the Tianxing Bridge, not far from the Huangguoshu Waterfalls. Individual limestone blocks and pillars are distinctly elongated and paralleled to each other suggesting point control. They probably developed as a covered karst, in the subsoil through strong selective corrosion of the limestone along the joints, and have been exposed relatively recently.

At the foot of the falls is the jade-green Rhinoceros Pool surrounded by mountains on three sides. Legend has it that a rhinoceros once crawled out of this pool. As the waterfall roars into the pool, foam rises 50 to 60 meters, water mingling with mist and shimmering in the sunlight. Rainbows occur frequently at sunset in summer, appearing as colorful bridges above the clouds. The Waterfall Cave arches into the cliff side and is fancifully curtained by a sheet of water.

Not far from the Huangguoshu Waterfalls in Rhinoceros Cave, named from the pool, which was found on a slope near the falls in 1975 when commune members were building an underground pumping station for irrigation. Inside the cave are clusters of stalactites. These are in shades of green and deep yellow. Further on the cave becomes so low and narrow that stone "icicles" seem to graze the head of the tourist, while the passageway will admit one person at a time due to overlapping rock screens. This is known as "Devil's Pass" because it was once guarded by demons. Visitors used to be plunged into total darkness at this point, but nowadays, after harnessing the falls, the people have electricity, which also illuminates the cave.