The trend of National Highway 318 is also very strange. After heading west from Yesanguan to Lichuan City, the westernmost city in Hubei Province, it stands to reason that it should go straight west through Shizhu County in Chongqing and directly to Guang'an in Sichuan. On the contrary, it goes northwest here. Go ahead and go to Wanzhou to get around this guy.
That's it, I had no choice but to follow it and run to Wanzhou to get around this guy.
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At 8 o'clock in the morning, I left the Badong Xiazhou Yesanguan International Hotel where I had a very bad experience (to be specific, the rooms were not clean enough, the facilities were old and poor, the front desk staff had a cold attitude, and the breakfast was not many types and was in short supply). Get on the road quickly.
The town is not big, and we soon arrived at the intersection of the town's main road and National Highway 318.
There is a monument erected here at the intersection, which reads "Sichuan-Hankong Highway Memorial Tower". Only then did I realize that this section of National Highway 318 was built based on the famous Sichuan-Hankong Highway. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Sichuan-Hankong Highway was built among the lofty mountains of the Wuling Mountains and Wushan Mountains, and many people died. It was really not easy.
Go around the monument and turn left, returning to National Highway 318.
As the road slowly climbed up the mountainside, I looked back and saw that the small town was bathed in the early morning sunshine. Although the town is not big, there are several high-rise construction elevators, and high-rise buildings are rising from the ground, which makes people feel incredible.
We are now in the hinterland of the northern part of the Wuling Mountains. Along the way there are steep mountains, deep valleys, and dense jungles as far as the eye can see. The road winds in the deep mountains and passes through dense forests. Sometimes the sun is blocked, and sometimes it shines down boldly, making people feel extremely happy.
This is probably what a good morning feels like.
However, although it is said to be deep in the mountains and old forests, the villages and even small towns along the way are very dense, and together they write the prosperity of the mountainous area. When I was a child, I often saw "If you want to get rich, build roads first" written in big characters on rural walls, I didn't understand it. Now, I finally understand the meaning of this sentence.
At 9:20, we came to a tourist attraction called "Enshi Dixin Valley". The highway passes through the scenic spot. Many people who come here park their cars directly on the national highway, which affects traffic. There are many people coming to the Center of the Earth Valley, and it seems that this attraction is quite famous.
I guess the so-called geocentric valley should be a deep canyon. After all, the most famous attraction in Enshi is the "Enshi Grand Canyon", so the canyon should be a specialty of the Wuling Mountains.
Fortunately, this section of the road is not too long, and we quickly passed through the scenic area and returned to the normal road.
Walking further, I turned a corner and saw a beautiful bridge in the distance. The bridge is built over a very deep valley, and the huge bridge arches made of steel bars are painted bright red, which contrast with the deep green water of the creek mouth under the bridge, forming a beautiful landscape.
Whether in Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing or Guizhou, there are many large rivers and deep valleys in the Wuling Mountains. Therefore, it is inevitable to build roads and bridges here. The bridges in the Wuling Mountains may be the most numerous and majestic among all the mountains in China. The bridge we saw today is not too big, but it is quite representative.
Yesanguan Town bathed in morning light
I was very happy to leave Yesanguan Town and return to National Highway 318.
When you see a road sign, check in
There are too many valleys like this in the Wuling Mountains
As I was walking, I saw cloud bands appearing in the sky in the distance, so I stopped decisively to take pictures.
The mountains here are like steamed buns
At the entrance of the Dixin Valley Scenic Area, I saw several large trucks pulling long windmill blades, which looked very laborious.
This is one of the Thousand Bridges in Wuling Mountains - Xiaoxikou Bridge on National Highway 318
xiaoxikou
Video: After leaving Yesanguan Town, I found a Sichuan-Hankong Highway monument at the intersection leading to National Highway 318. Only then did I realize that this section of National Highway 318 was built based on the famous Sichuan-Hankong Highway. It winds along the mountain in the mountains. At 10:30 in the morning, we arrived at the famous Xiaoxikou Bridge. There are many majestic bridges in the Wuling Mountains. I got to see them a little today, and they are indeed well-deserved.
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Crossing the bridge and walking forward, at 11:30, I arrived at Enshi City, the seat of the Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture.
Although the national highway passes along the edge of the city, everything you see along the way shows the prosperity of the city - there are rows of shops on the roadside, there is a constant flow of vehicles on the street, and there are people walking shoulder to shoulder on the street. Not far away, there is a A tall building is rising from the ground.
When I heard about Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in the past, the first impression that came to my mind was that of deep mountains and old forests, and remote rural areas. However, I did not expect that minority areas are now developing at a rapid pace and are quickly bordering the most modern cities.
Although rapid urbanization has its negative effects, it has greatly improved the lives of ordinary people. The people at the most basic level will be richer and live happier lives, and the country will be more cohesive and prosperous.
When we walked to Enshi, the highway met Qingjiang.
The Qingjiang River is a short river, but it is the second tributary of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in Hubei after the Han River. The Qingjiang River flows through seven counties and cities, including Lichuan, Enshi, Xuanen, Jianshi, Badong, Changyang, and Yidu. The places it passes through are basically inhabited by the Tujia and Miao people. Therefore, it is the mother river of local ethnic minorities. .
The first time I paid attention to this river was when I was locked up at home during the epidemic. I was wandering around on the map out of boredom. I saw an island in a river not far south of the Yangtze River that was shaped like a whale. When I zoomed in, it looked like a whale. Only then did I learn that this river is called Qingjiang (if you are interested, please see the official article: Wandering on the Map – China IV in the Eyes of Satellites).
Qingjiang is named after its clear water, so I really wanted to see her elegance. However, the roadside is either densely forested or lined with houses, and there is no Qingjiang River at all.
I had no choice but to continue walking. Suddenly, I saw a half-renovated building on the roadside. The building frame was erected, but no doors or windows were installed. The first floor next to the road was filled with various building materials and materials. Garbage is like unfinished buildings in the city.
I slowed down the car and planned to move over to see if I could see the Qingjiang River from here.
The first floor has only a frame and no walls. Looking through the building from the highway, you can just see the Qingjiang River under the deep valley, which is as quiet and quiet as a virgin.
There was no one in the building, so I quickly stopped the car, picked up my camera and jumped out of the car.
I checked the building to make sure there was no danger, then walked through the building to the back.
The house was built out of necessity, with no open space at all except the foundation. The houses here are basically like this, standing straight on the cliff. Living here really requires some courage.
I stood on the back wall, with the cliff at my feet, which made my adrenaline surge rapidly as I was afraid of heights. I took a step back, then moved myself closer to the pillar, closed my eyes, and tried not to look under my feet. After a minute, I finally calmed down.
This is a very deep valley. The valley winds and twists from afar. It turns a corner at your feet and goes east. The Qingjiang River flows quietly along this winding valley. No, in fact, you can’t see it at all. Out of the flow, she is nestled in the embrace of two mountain peaks, quiet and sweet.
The river is green. Although you can't see the water up close, you can imagine how clear the river is. It must be a paradise for fish and a home for local people to survive.
I took a few photos here and then got in the car and headed off.
Along this road, there are many villages and farmers. Therefore, various farmhouse signs are also hung on the road. Some specialize in eating local chickens, some sell Qingjiang fish, and some eat wild vegetables.
I know, I finally don’t have to eat self-heating rice at noon today.
At 12 o'clock, I was hungry, so I happened to see a large farmhouse with a unique house, so I drove over and prepared to have a farmhouse meal.
The layers of Wuling Mountain
Judging from the building materials stacked in the house, this unfinished building has been in this state for some time. I don’t know what happened to the owner.
This is Qingjiang
The Bull Demon King is waiting for me quietly
Going further, I saw that the mountains in the distance were so sharp.
The car stopped on the side of the road to take a rest and planned to take a good photo of the pointed head, but unfortunately the view was not good enough.
Get ready for a farm meal
Video: Crossing the Xiaoxikou Bridge and continuing forward, there are really many villages and towns along the way. It seems that with the opening of the highway, more and more people in the mountains have moved to the roadside. After all, this is much more convenient. At noon, we came to a roadside farmhouse for lunch. Unexpectedly, this farmhouse was quite unique.
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The farmhouse is called "Pengjiayuan". It is built near the mountain and is not small in scale. There are 7 or 8 rooms on the right side of the road. On the other side of the road, there are also several pavilion-like buildings.
In the cool and breezy late autumn, it should be quite comfortable to sit in the pavilion and eat.
I don’t know why, but during this National Day holiday, there don’t seem to be many people traveling. Except for the many cars and people seen in the Geocentric Valley Scenic Area, there are very few cars on this road.
Naturally, Pengjiayuan is also very deserted. Except for a 60-year-old proprietress and an older aunt who works as a helper, there is no one else.
The lady boss saw me coming and came out to greet me.
I asked the proprietress if there was any food, and she said yes, and enthusiastically took me to the kitchen to order.
I ordered a piece of twice-cooked pork with lettuce, a vegetable omelette soup, and a bowl of rice.
After that, the lady boss took me to the corridor between the two houses. There were several tables here. She pointed to a table outside and asked me if I could sit here.
The corridor is quite spacious and clean, with green plants on the walls and a gentle breeze passing through, bringing comfort and comfort to this early autumn noon when the temperature is as high as 32 degrees.
Yeah, okay, it feels good to eat here. I hurriedly responded to the boss lady.
After I sat down, the lady boss made me a cup of tea and asked me to take a rest, and then went back to the kitchen to cook.
The proprietress's hands and feet were quite fast. About 10 minutes later, she called me to eat while I was walking along the roadside.
I walked over and the lady boss had already put the dishes on the table.
In addition to the dishes I ordered, she also gave me two extra pickles. Oops, it seems that the eating habits here are quite similar to those in Sichuan. No wonder the customs of Sichuan and Hubei, especially in the Enshi area close to Chongqing, should be more similar.
The taste of the dishes is also very similar to that of Sichuan. Whether it is twice-cooked pork or fried egg soup, they all taste like the dishes made by my mother. The other two kinds of kimchi taste even better. One of them is shaped like garlic (you know what it is, I’ll win a prize). I haven’t eaten it in many years. Now that I have it in my mouth, it feels so delicious. My heart is full of happiness.
After 15 minutes, I was full. Of course, I finished all the rice and vegetables. It had been a long time since I had been so full.
I asked the lady boss for the bill, and she said 30 yuan.
Ah, what a bargain!
I transferred 36 yuan to her, and she said you transferred too much.
I said thank you for the side dishes. Besides, your craftsmanship is amazing and the dishes are delicious.
The landlady was a little embarrassed after hearing this and said thank you repeatedly.
After having enough food and rice, my blood tank was full and I jumped into the car and continued moving forward.
Pengjiayuan is not small in scale
This is the small corridor where I eat
It’s not an exaggeration to describe it as wind and rolling clouds.
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Continuing forward, the mountain road becomes steeper, with more and more bends, and the uphill and downhill slopes become steeper and steeper.
The mountains as far as the eye could see also began to change.
Although the previous mountains were also tall and mighty, they were basically covered with thick forests, which showed that the slopes of the slopes were not very steep and were covered with thick soil.
And here, cliff peaks began to appear one after another. The so-called cliff peak means that the slope of the mountain is almost 90 degrees straight up and down. The rocks on the mountain are exposed and it is almost impossible for any plants to grow.
Walking on the edge of such a mountain, the feeling of oppression is extremely strong.
Not to mention, there is an extremely deep canyon beside the road, and the clear river lingering in the canyon makes people feel scared.
This is truly a step forward to a cliff, and a step back into an abyss.
When walking on such a road, you need to drive carefully, but at the same time, your eyes are involuntarily attracted by these spectacular sights. I had no choice but to walk around and take pictures while walking.
Slowly arriving at the junction of Enshi City and Lichuan City, the mountains and boulders here are even more towering, and the abyss and canyons are even more majestic. I quickly parked the car on the side of the road and took a few photos. After not being satisfied, I took off the plane.
Looking at the Grand Canyon from the air, the scene is uniquely spectacular and breathtaking. Although we are not in the most famous "Enshi Grand Canyon" scenic spot in Enshi, the canyon here is already extremely shocking. After thinking about it, even the world's largest Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, as far as the canyon itself is concerned, seems to be more restrained compared with it.
After putting away the plane and continuing forward, a tunnel called "Chaodongyan" passes through this huge rock mountain. From this, we can know the name of this huge mountain beside the canyon in front of us.
I estimate that this tunnel was built in recent years. The old road should have gone down to the depths of the canyon, bypassed the huge rock mountain, and then turned back up.
Today's tunnel runs straight through, saving passers-by at least half an hour.
After having a good meal, we continued to move forward, and there were more and more cliffs and strange rocks.
From a distance, I seem to see the legendary canyon, but it’s a pity that the trees block it and I can’t see it clearly.
As I walked, the mountain became like this
Finally I saw the canyon and quickly found a spacious roadside to park the car.
Unfortunately, due to the limited viewing angle, I can’t capture anything with my camera.
Scan around with a drone
Landscape inside the canyon
This is National Highway 318
Walking a little further, there is a viewing platform at the entrance of the tunnel. Standing here, you can take a close-up photo of this strange mountain - Chaodongyan. It looks very similar to the mountain beside Qutang Gorge.
This is Chaodongam Tunnel
Looking back, there are also strange rocks and rugged rocks.
Video: After lunch, I continued along National Highway 318. Huge mountains and rocks began to appear in front of me. Under the cliffs, there was an abyss. I knew that I had arrived at the hinterland of the Wuling Mountains in Enshi Prefecture, which is famous for its Grand Canyon. Although it is not within the "Enshi Grand Canyon" scenic spot, the scene here is shocking enough. The secretion of dopamine and adrenaline is extremely strong throughout the afternoon.
Video: The soul is lost in Wuling Mountain, and the soul is lost in the Grand Canyon
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After passing through the tunnel, I left Enshi and entered the territory of Lichuan.
After passing through Chaodongyan, the mountain becomes gentler, very similar to the road in the morning. It seems that the unique geological landscape of the entire Enshi Grand Canyon is mainly concentrated in this section of the Qingjiang River. If you have not seen it with your own eyes, it is difficult to imagine that there is such an unusual landscape in Hubei. No wonder it is rated as a national geological park.
At 2:30 in the afternoon, I arrived in Lichuan City.
Lichuan is a small city in the west of Hubei Province, bordering Chongqing's Wanzhou District and Shizhu County. When National Highway 318 reaches this point, it stands to reason that it should go straight west and enter Shizhu County. On the contrary, it deflects towards Wanzhou District in the northwest.
It seems that Wanzhou was much more important than Chongqing or Sichuan at that time.
In fact, this is indeed the case. In the 1960s, against the background of the Sino-Soviet conflict, the country began the "third-tier construction" and relocated many first- and second-tier national strategic enterprises and research institutes to third-tier areas. Among them, Wanzhou (then Wanxian) was the focus of the third-tier construction in Chongqing. There are countless caves hidden in the deep mountains and old forests of Wanzhou. Now some caves are open to people for visiting.
In order to cooperate with the construction of key third-line projects, the corresponding supporting transportation infrastructure needs to keep up. Although Wanzhou is supported by the Yangtze River waterway, land transportation is still very important. For this reason, National Highway 318 (formerly Sichuan-Hankou Highway) has deliberately made a bend. Heading towards Wanzhou.
At 3:40 pm, I left Lichuan and Hubei and entered Wanzhou District of Chongqing City.
From here on, I left the Wuling Mountains and entered the Wushan Mountains.
During my trip to "Daba Mountain in Early Spring" at the beginning of 2021, I came to Wushan and saw the famous Wu Gorge. It was early spring, and the famous Wushan red leaves had just begun to grow green leaves. I wonder if they have started to turn yellow now?
From late November to early December, when the red leaves dye Wushan, it is the most beautiful time for Wushan and Wu Gorge.
The current National Highway 318 is far away from the Yangtze River. Even the red leaves that have just started to turn yellow cannot be seen by me. Put your thoughts away and continue on your way.
After entering Wanzhou, the mountains are no longer tricky and the roads become easier to walk.
Since Lichuan and the G50 Shanghai-Chongqing Expressway parted ways, National Highway 318 has become entangled with the G5012 Enguang Expressway along the way.
Just by looking at the number, you will know that this Enguang Expressway is a branch line of the Shanghai-Chongqing Expressway. Although it is a branch line, its character is exactly the same as the main line.
The entire expressway is basically a combination of viaducts and tunnels, while the national highway constantly shuttles back and forth between viaducts.
Along the way, there are countless villages and towns, all of which are prosperous and prosperous.
In the past, I heard stories of tough folk customs on national highways, and even vicious incidents such as gang-related robberies. But now, with the state's crackdown and governance, social security and morale have improved significantly.
I have been traveling for more than a year and traveled tens of thousands of kilometers of national roads, provincial roads, and even rural and village roads. Everything I met was friendly and kind, which was really gratifying.
Arriving at the boundary of Chongqing’s Wushan Mountains, the mountains become much softer.
This road is the entanglement with Enguang Expressway.
1800 kilometers of road markers, keep checking in
It is still the majestic elevated highway of Enguang Expressway
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At 5:05 pm, I came to the Wanzhou Yangtze River Bridge on National Highway 318, crossed the Yangtze River, and came to Wanzhou City.
The road goes north along the Yangtze River. From a distance, a majestic red cable bridge spans the river. This is the famous "Pailou Yangtze River Bridge".
I made up my mind to take a good picture of this bridge, but unfortunately, I was on a main road. The embankment on the right side of the main road has been turned into a pedestrian viewing trail, and many places are still closed with walls for construction. .
We were about to cross the bridge, but we couldn't find a place to park.
I had no choice but to continue moving forward with the traffic. I thought to myself, when I get to the hotel, I will take a plane to take aerial photos of you.
At 5:30 pm, I arrived at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel. Unfortunately, the small parking lot in front of the hotel was already full of cars, and I was directed to enter the basement.
The basement is the basement of Wanda Plaza. Although there are many parking spaces, it is not easy to find a parking space at 5:30 pm during the National Day holiday, when people go shopping and eat.
I walked around the basement for 20 minutes before I found a spot.
By this time, my interest in flying had long since disappeared.
Forget it, just take a few pictures with your camera. Tomorrow morning, I will fly again and take a look at the Archway Bridge and the riverside city.
As soon as we arrived in Wanzhou, the temperature soared to 35 degrees. Mom, is this autumn?
The hotel is close to the Yangtze River. From the hotel to the river embankment, you just cross a street.
The bridge in the distance is called "Wanzhou Second Yangtze River Bridge"
Look left, look right
Wanda Plaza is a lively place, but behind it are old private houses.
From the hotel room, you can still see the Archway Yangtze River Bridge. At this time, the setting sun dyes the clouds into a burning color.
It's getting dark gradually
It’s getting dark, keep running out to take pictures of the Yangtze River
The river view house in the distance and the Zhuxi River Bridge nearby
Video: Leaving the spectacular Wuling Mountain Grand Canyon in Enshi, passing through the Chaodongyan Tunnel, and continuing along the 318 National Highway, we soon arrived in Wanzhou, Chongqing. This also means that we bid farewell to the Wuling Mountains and arrived at the Wushan Mountains. on the territory
Video: Wanzhou City by the Aunt River
This is today’s trajectory. The yellow circle is where the Enshi Grand Canyon is. The part I took aerial photos of is the southern edge of the Grand Canyon.
This is the track in the morning, in which the yellow circle is the Xiaoxikou Bridge
This is the trajectory at noon. The green circle is the unfinished building in Qingjiang, and the yellow circle is Pengjiayuan Farmhouse where we have lunch.
The green circle is where I took aerial photos of the Grand Canyon, and the yellow circle is the Chaodongyan Tunnel.
Afternoon track