Jiaozuo 4-Day Northern Henan Nature Tour: Yuntai Mountain, Qingtian River and Shennong Mountain
Red Stone Gorge and the waterfall valley at Yuntai, a boat trip into Qingtian, and the quiet Shennong Mountain. Three mountains in three days, moderate fitness required.
Highlights
Day 1: Jiaozuo to Yuntai Mountain
Yuntai Mountain is in Xiuwu, ninety minutes from Jiaozuo. Enter at eight and take the shuttle to Red Stone Gorge.
It is the most photographed spot in the park. The rock is purple-red, a stream runs along the floor, and the walls narrow until only a strip of sky remains. Pine trees grow from ledges in the red columns — the composition you see in most photographs.
After the gorge, ride the cable car to the main waterfall: a walkway, then Yuntai Falls at 314 metres. Below it a wide pool throws a rainbow in clear weather.
Spend the afternoon at the waterfall valley, where the stream runs between falls all the way to a deep green pool.
Stay inside the park: it lets you enter tomorrow morning ahead of the day-trip crowds.
Day 2: Yuntai to Qingtian River
Leave at half past six for Qinglong Gorge, west of Yuntai and separate from the main park. It combines boardwalks with high walkways over the same red rock, but with half the crowds.
Arrive at eight; two hours covers the gorge, including the glass walkway and the elevated bridges.
Lunch outside the park, then drive to Qingtian River, another ninety minutes north.
The highlight here is by boat. Board at three and travel into the gorge, with red Danxia walls above and green water below. The twenty-minute run passes several waterfall sections where spray reaches the passengers.
Stay in a guesthouse inside the park. The rooms are simpler than those at Yuntai, but the position lets you walk straight in tomorrow.
Day 3: Shennong Mountain
Shennong Mountain is in Qinyang, forty minutes from Qingtian. Arrive at nine and take the cable car up.
It is less famous than the others but the only site here named for the Divine Farmer, said to have tasted a hundred herbs on this mountain. The summit holds the Yan Emperor Mausoleum and statue, a site where Taoist and local belief overlap.
The real draw is the three fortresses: one on the peak, two along the ridge, linked by walkway in precarious positions. They were built as refuges from warfare and are now part of the park. With the cable car so close to the top, a circuit takes about three hours including descent.
Lunch in the park, then return to Jiaozuo. The city is small; Longyuan Lake Park is a short walk. Or head back early.
Stay downtown. Jiaozuo is known for steamed noodle rolls and small-cart beef.
Day 4: Return journey
Drop-off after breakfast. Jiaozuo and Jiaozuo West are both in the city; Zhengzhou East ninety minutes away. After three mountains the legs will feel it — if there is time, walk Longyuan Lake Park or head to Chenjiagou to watch Tai Chi.
Pack the night before. The three mountains are stylistically different enough that none risks becoming tedious.
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