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| 10:43, September 17, 2009 |
Chishui formation offers visual feast in SW China's Guizhou
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A massive uplifting of red sandstone and the Chishui River have together formed the striking scenery of the area, which was included this year on an application for listing as a World Natural Heritage site.(Source: Chinadaily.com.cn)
Among all the natural wonders of Guizhou province, the greatest could be the Chishui formation, a 1,280-sq-km geologic masterpiece formed by a thick layer of red sandstone that has been uplifted then weathered over the millennia.
Chishui - which means red water in Chinese - is a county-level city in the northwest of Guizhou province named for the river running through it.
Red rock formations along the Chishui River reach out of the lofty mountains and lush bamboo, looking like castles in the forest.
Danxia literally means red clouds in Chinese and refers to a specific topography found mainly in south China.
Molded by crust movement and water, its belt of red rock has been pushed up and weathered into fantastic shapes over millions of years. Minerals including ferric oxide and manganic oxide give Danxia formations their striking red color.
The force of nature has sculpted formations along Chishui River into fascinating shapes: some look like people, some like eagles, some like monkeys and turtles, and some even look like Buddha. The possibilities are many - often reflecting the viewer's own imagination.
Famed formations include Five Pillar Peaks, which resemble five fingers, as well as Red Cliff, which looks like it has hanging a map of China on it. Commander Rock is said to look like a general leading a battle, while the Stone of Buddha's Light offers an image of the setting sun.
The waters of the Chishui River also play an important part in the scenic display, adding life to the mute rock. The area's rivers form thousands of waterfalls - more than 4,000 wider than three meters.
The largest is Chishui Waterfall at 76 m high and 80 m wide, which gives off a tremendous sound that can be heard half a km away.
The Danxia topography in Chishui together with five others in different provinces form the Chinese Danxia group that applied for status as World Natural Heritage this year.
Huang Jin, leading expert of the research on the Danxia formation noted that: "the Danxia landscape in Chishui is the largest, the youngest and most complete in terms of geomorphic development".
Covering 1.17 milion acres, Chishui is also home to vast expanses of bamboo.(Source: Chinadaily.com.cn)
It is also a great boon for the area's tourism industry. The Chishui Scenic Area has many honorific titles including the kingdom of pinulose tree fern, home of a thousand falls, crown of Danxia and land of bamboo.
The rocks, rivers and plants in Chishui also provide the city with opportunities in industrial development.
Due to the 352 large and small rivers cascading across the land, Chishui has about 356,900 kW hydropower resources, among which 232,600 kW are usable.
Its abundant resources include natural gas, coal, and silica sand. Chishui's verified reserves of natural gas reach 25.5 billion cu m, the most in Guizhou.
Chishui is also home to vast expanses of bamboo that cover 1.17 million acres. More than 200 bamboo-processing enterprises of the city could make over 300 kinds of products. Revenue from bamboo-related industries reached 1.09 billion yuan, 40 percent of Chishui's GDP.
Source: China Daily
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