Sanmenxia 4-Day Western Henan Canyon Tour: Hangu Pass, Swan Lake, Yellow River Three Gorges and Laojieling
A frontier pass, a bird lake, a reservoir boat ride and high-altitude meadows — four different landscapes, all within reach of Sanmenxia.
Highlights
Day 1: Sanmenxia to Hangu Pass
Hangu Pass is in Lingbao, ninety minutes from the city. Arrive at nine and climb the tower.
It was the Qin state's eastern gate. Hangu, Tongguan and Wuguan together guarded the approaches, with Hangu facing east. The buildings are Song-style reconstructions, but the position is unchanged: from the tower you can see the Yellow River a few kilometres away, with Tongguan beside it and the two passes forming an angle.
The tower retains the flag poles and railings used by the garrison. The elixir furnace replica nearby, with its heavy characters, is not the furnace described in Daoist texts.
Lunch in Lingbao, known for meat flatbreads and lamb soup. Return to Sanmenxia in the afternoon.
Stay downtown; the riverside promenade is good for an evening walk.
Day 2: Swan Lake Wetland Park
Swan Lake Wetland Park lies twenty minutes west of the city and is the largest wintering site for whooper swans in Asia. From November to February tens of thousands arrive from Siberia.
Arrive at nine. The park is large and the lakeside walkway takes two to three hours. The best viewing is from the bird-watching platforms on the western shore, where low winter water exposes shallows the swans rest on.
Sanmenxia calls itself Swan City, with swan sculptures throughout the streets and a festival each winter.
Lunch in town. With time, Ganshan Scenic Area is an hour away with spring peach blossoms, but in winter the birds are the reason to come.
Stay downtown and walk the lakeside again in the evening.
Day 3: Yellow River Three Gorges
The Three Gorges lie in Jiyuan, ninety minutes away. Arrive at ten and start by boat.
These are not natural gorges but three linked reservoir reaches — Xiaolangdi, Jili and Bali Valley — created by damming. High cliffs rise from very still water, and the two-hour cruise passes several former dam sites.
Disembark at Bali Valley, the natural section, where limestone walls rise from water that rises considerably in flood season.
Lunch outside the park, then drive to Laojieling in Luanchuan, over two hours.
Laojieling is high, and its meadows are the point. Go up at five in the afternoon to catch sunset over the grassland. Stay in a mountain guesthouse.
Day 4: Laojieling and return
Walk Laojieling again in the morning. The mountain has proper plank paths and stone steps; a circuit takes two to three hours. It sits high enough that even in June a jacket is useful.
The meadows are wide, with horse riding in summer and yellow grass in autumn. Rhododendrons bloom in September.
Descend at ten, two and a half hours back to Sanmenxia, arriving around one for lunch before departing.
Both Sanmenxia East and Zhengzhou East are options.
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