Qinghua Town
In the afternoon, we took a tour to Rainbow Bridge in Qinghua Town of Wuyuan,
reputedly one of the longest corridor bridges in China. The bridge was built in
the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and has a history of over 1,000 years. It got the
name because of the way it perches on the water, looking like a rainbow
stretched across the river.
Dazhang Mountain Wolong Gorge natural scenic spot
Our next stop was Dazhang Mountain Wolong Gorge natural scenic spot. The spot
won its reputation for its waterfalls, pools, oddly-shaped rocks and rare
plants. Tourists supposedly judged it very favourably, saying it combined the
beauty of the waters of Jiuzhai, the waterfall of Yandang Mountain, the rocks of
Huangshan Mountain and the trees of Xishuangbanna. Maybe this description was a
little exaggerated, but in my opinion the gorge is well worth a day's visit.
One of the highest waterfalls here has a drop of 240 metres and thanks to the
rain in the morning, the water splashed down from the mountain cliff, thundering
and roaring, with tremendous grandeur. From a distance, the waterfall looked
like a jade dragon diving from the sky, shining brightly in the sunlight.
The scenic spot is supposedly slated to become the biggest outdoor arena for
extreme sports in East China, with more attractions being added, such as
rope-dancing, rock climbing and net-crawling.
Schedule changed, next stop: Jingdezhen
At night, we had to change our schedule to find accommodation in Jingdezhen,
a city two hours' drive away from Wuyuan County, as the county's hotels were
already crowded with visitors. The trip to Jingdezhen was an extra bonus on our
trip.
For centuries, the city has been known as the "capital of porcelain." Here,
ceramics were produced as far back as the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). The
imperial porcelain made here was so exquisite that it was described as being "as
white as jade, as bright as a mirror, as thin as paper, with a sound as clear as
a bell."
Porcelain workshops can be found on every street of Jingdezhen. Although we
had a tight schedule, many friends of mine on the tour visited stores and
purchased one or two sets of bowls and plates made of blue-white porcelain or
colour-glazed porcelain. The price was very reasonable, at about 100 to 200 yuan
(US$12 to 24) for a set.