Benxi City lies in the southeast of Liaoning Province. It is an important heavy industrial base, an industrial city embraced by mountains and rivers, and a well-known iron and steel city in China. The region is rich in mineral resources and also boasts magical and magnificent natural scenery.

"Piercing the clouds to find the cave gate; When mist clears, the grotto stretches deep. Stalactites have grown for a thousand years, Dripping steadily down to today."

This is how China National Geography praised Benxi Water Cave in its "Beauty Contest of China". In scenic areas such as Tiesha Mountain, Guanmen Mountain and Wunu Mountain, maple leaves blaze bright red in autumn, painting Benxi with dazzling colours. Wunu Mountain City, a World Cultural Heritage, tells the history of the Goguryeo Kingdom. The Hot Spring Temple, once visited by Nurhaci, is now a famous resort for recuperation and sightseeing.

Benxi Water Cave Scenic Area is situated 35 kilometres northeast of downtown Benxi, Liaoning Province. It has been praised in verse: "Thousands of stalactite wonders grace the cave; Light boats glide across blue water amid poetic scenes. Such exquisite beauty belongs only to fairyland, This is the only celestial grotto on earth."

Formed millions of years ago, it is a huge limestone water-filled cavern. Deep and spacious inside, it ranks as the longest explored water cave in the world. An underground river stretching 3,000 metres has been opened to visitors, with clear water flowing all year round.

The whole scenic belt runs along the Taizi River, incorporating six former scenic spots: the Water Cave, Hot Spring Temple, Tanggou, Guanmen Mountain, Tiesha Mountain and Miaohou Mountain.

Guanmen Mountain Forest Park is 70 kilometres southeast of Benxi downtown. It features unique mountain shapes, dense forests and clear streams. Owing to its steep peaks and picturesque scenery comparable to Huangshan Mountain, it is known as "Little Huangshan" and honoured as one of the Top Scenic Spots in Eastern Yan.

The park consists of four zones: Little Huangshan, Jialazi, Longmen Gorge and Yuantai Platform, with about 108 distinctive scenic sites complementing one another. Guanyinge Reservoir Scenic Area lies in Benxi County, only six kilometres away from Benxi Water Cave.

The scenery here is breathtaking all year round. In spring, green grass carpets the land and mountain flowers bloom everywhere. In summer, rippling waves spread across vast blue waters. In autumn, all mountains turn crimson and wild fruits ripen all over the hills. In winter, snow welcomes visitors and ice cliffs stand tall. An ice dragon stretches across the Taizi River, unfolding a magnificent grand landscape painting.

Wunu Mountain stands 8 kilometres north of Huanren Town, Huanren Manchu Autonomous County. It was the founding capital of the ancient Goguryeo Kingdom.

The mountain got its name from a legend that five women once stationed troops here. Another tale tells that five celestial maidens descended to earth to eliminate evils for local people, and villagers built a temple in their memory. The temple ruins still remain today. The site is a National Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit, a Provincial Scenic Area, and one of the Top 50 Views in Liaoning Province.

Dishuidong is located 7.5 kilometres south of downtown Benxi, deep in the valley west of Laomu Ridge.

Surrounded by green mountains, a mountain stream cuts through steep rocky cliffs and plunges more than 30 metres down to form a waterfall. In rainy seasons, the current roars and echoes through the green valley. In dry seasons, the brook murmurs and splashes into a delicate water curtain. In winter, the whole area is wrapped in snow and ice. The dripping water freezes solid, forming an upside-down jade ice dragon hanging from the cliff to the valley bottom, which looks extremely elegant.

There are five stone caves of different sizes on the cliff, plus a natural one-metre-wide plank road running beneath the waterfall, just like the Water Curtain Cave from legends.

Looking upward from the valley floor, you can admire steep precipices, plunging waterfalls, rainbows, blue sky and white clouds — a stunning and thrilling view. Looking down, jagged boulders are scattered everywhere, presenting a rugged and distinctive charm.

Benxi Grand Canyon is situated in Nanfen District, 20 kilometres south of downtown Benxi, right at the 85-kilometre mark on the Shenyang-Dandong Expressway. It is divided into the East Gorge and the West Gorge.

The grand canyon is a brand-new natural calling card of Benxi, another remarkable landscape for this mountain-and-water industrial city.

The landform has lain dormant for 800 million to 1 billion years. After long-term geological movements, weathering, erosion and sediment transport, it formed the well-known Diaoyutai Formation in geological history. The crust has risen nearly 100 metres, creating a canyon stretching for dozens of square kilometres. Strange rock pillars stand everywhere, some shaped like human figures. Springs cascade down the cliffs, ancient pine trees cling upside down to rock faces, while birds sing and flowers bloom. Walking inside, visitors feel as if they have stepped into an unprecedented natural gallery of gorges.

Yanghu Valley Ecological Tourist Area sits at the border of Benxi County and Huanren County. After the Benxi-Huanren Highway was built, this area became an important transportation hub.

Belonging to the hilly foothills of the Changbai Mountains, Yanghu Valley still preserves primitive secondary forests. Boasting thick vegetation, a pleasant climate and crystal-clear mountains and rivers, it is an ideal destination for eco-tourism where people can return to simplicity and embrace nature.