Canglong Gorge Scenic Area

Opening Hours: Open all year round Ticket Price: 15 RMB Contact Number: 0634-6212565 Best Visiting Season: Summer Complaint Hotline: 0634-6221271

The city boasts convenient public transport with buses running directly to the scenic spot. Visitors can also take a taxi to get there.

Nestled south of Laiwu City at the foot of Lianhua Mountain, Canglong Gorge lies on a tributary of the upper Dawen River. The gorge plunges dozens of meters deep, flanked by steep opposing cliffs covered with intertwined ancient pines and cypresses that form a thick canopy blocking sunlight. Natural karst caves dot the gorge walls — some as spacious as living rooms, some unfathomably deep, and many interconnected with one another, lined with grotesque rock formations of great ornamental value. Inside the gorge lie cascading waterfalls, trickling springs and exotic stones. The water is emerald and crystal clear. Sunlight filters through tree gaps and shimmers across the water surface, scattering countless colorful rays. After heavy summer rains, torrential floodwaters surge down the gorge, sending water mist soaring dozens of meters high. The thunderous roar echoes for miles, resembling a giant black dragon taking flight. This spectacular sight, known as "Thunder Roaring in Black Dragon Gorge", ranks among the Eight Ancient Scenic Wonders of Laiwu. An ancient poem praises it: "No heavy clouds hang overhead, yet thunder rumbles low; Little do men know within the dragon gorge, wild waters surge and flow."

The scenic area preserves multiple stone carvings dating back to the Ming Dynasty and earlier, including inscriptions such as "Deep Peach Garden", "Waiting for the Moon", "Drunken Elder" and "Cloud-Winding Rock". The Tanhua Tower, built by Qi Shijiao, a successful imperial examination candidate of the Ming Dynasty, stands on the gorge bank. His renowned leisure ci poems composed here have been widely passed down to this day. Celebrities from successive dynasties traveled here, drawn by the magnificent scenery, and left numerous timeless verses with their brushes.

In recent years, large-scale development projects have been carried out to upgrade the scenic area. A grand antique-style gate with elaborate carved beams and painted rafters has been erected, alongside a stone archway carved with nine coiled dragon pillars, stone pavilions and wooden kiosks. Two high and low arch bridges shaped like rainbows span the water; balustrades are carved with vivid patterns of two dragons playing with a pearl. Layered stone steps wind upward like a heavenly ladder. Surrounding walls feature classic ancient aesthetics, while planned projects including an ancient pagoda are still under construction