Many kinds of geological features are found at Taining Global Geopark in Sanming City of Fujian, including large-scale youthful Danxia landforms, granites, canyons, and lakes. Surrounded by water, Danxia landforms here are unique, known as the “Overwater Danxia”. Numerous strange caves are grouped or layered on cliffs - a feature seldom seen elsewhere. The main scenic spots there include:
Shangqing River
Shangqing River meanders through the deep, narrow and criss-crossing long gorges, making it a good place to drift. Putuo Rock Cave, a large cave containing stalactites, is on a cliff in the middle reaches of the river. To the east of the cave is a reservoir with Danxia cliffs soaring skywards on both sides.
Nine-Dragon Pond
Nine-Dragon Pond was named for its nine inflowing dragon-like winding springs. It is 59 feet (18 meters) deep and about 328 feet (100 meters) wide at its widest point to less than 3 feet (1 meter) wide at the narrowest point. A canyon, over 3 miles (5 kilometers) long, lies beside the pond, and densely covered with Danxia stone forests. Boating on Nine-Dragon Pond, you will feel like you are in a fairyland.
Zhuangyuan Rock
Dense forests and many tropical plants grow here. Rocks hang on the cliff containing many natural caves. The mountains are steep and the roads are rugged and narrow. On the mountain there is a big rock cave in which a Zhuangyuan (the highest master of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279)) once studied. It is said that he chiseled more than one thousand stone steps to devote himself to learning there. Now the wall of the cave is carved with “Zhuangyuan Rock” and his portrait to memorize him.
Taining Ancient Town
The ancient town in Taining Global Geopark was first built in 958 and has some ancient buildings including official residences, folk houses and ancestral halls. There are surviving ancient city walls and gates, a well-preserved Minister Mansion and a Performance Hall. The Minister Mansion was a minister’s residence in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It has five houses and covers 7,175 square yards (6,000 square meters). You can watch local drama named Merlin Drama at the Performance Hall next to the mansion.
Dajin Lake
Danxia Cliffs rise straight up on the lakeside of the rippling Dajin Lake. The cliffs together with the lake form the scene “Overwater Danxia”. At the northeast of the Dajin Lake scenic area, there are large numbers of rock caves containing many temples in different styles. Shili Flat Lake is at the center of the Dajin Lake. Trees grow around and peaks stand next to it, peculiar and beautiful. Overwater One-line-sky is located at the north of the Shili Flat Lake. It is an overwater canyon with the narrowest point being 6.5 feet (2 meters), through which only a small boat can pass.
Zhaixia Canyon
It consists of three valleys, end to end, resembling a golden dragon lying among the mountains, so it is also named “Golden Dragon Canyon”. Tongtian Valley, one of the three valleys, is a dark linear valley which seems to “split” the mountain apart and the mountain looks like a huge stele soaring toward the sky. Inside another valley named Yitian Valley, you can see two geological strata formed 30 million years apart. Tianqiong Rock is the most attractive. Hundreds of caves with different shapes and sizes are carved by nature in a concave rock whose diameter is about 66 feet (20 meters). Looking from the bottom of the valley, they resemble stars.
Mao’er Hill National Forest Park
Mao'er Hill National Forest Park in Taining Global Geopark combines Danxia landforms with dense forests and is covered with all kinds of rare plants. The park is surrounded by a lake and waterfalls and streams can be found everywhere. It is a good place to go camping and trekking. Also, the 490 feet (150 meters) high Three Swords Peak stands there, majestic and magnificent.
Jinnao Mountain
On Jinnao Mountain you can see granite eggs, stalagnate forests and stalagmites that are made of weathered granites. The main peak is Baishiding where caves and stone eggs can be found in every corner. A large meadow lies to the west of it, where flocks and herds browse in spring, summer and autumn.
Eight Immortals Cliff
The Danxia cliffs there are the oldest in southeast China and are the tallest in the geopark. They are almost 12 million years old. Eight peaks over 2,625 feet (800 meters) tower into the sky, making the cliff look like a fairy mountain, so it is called Eight Immortals Cliff.
How to Get to Taining Global Geopark
Taining Global Geopark is situated at Taining County of Sanming City in Fujian.
You can take the train from Xiamen, Fuzhou, Sanming or other cities to the county. Then take the bus no. 5 to Taining Bus Station. Next, you can take the shuttle bus to Dajin Lake, Shangqing River or Zhaixia Canyon which will cost about CNY 10. The bus to Zhaixia Canyon departs from 07:30 to 16:50 and to Shangqing River departs from 07:10 to 15:00, both with an interval of about one hour.
Click to check the real-time China Train Schedule
You can take the bus at Sanming Bus Station to the county, which departs every 30-60 minutes between 07:20 to 18:20. It costs about CNY 60 and the duration is about two hours. Then you can take the bus as mentioned above to the sightseeing sites.
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