Shizhu County is known as the “Hometown of Chinese Coptis”, “Hometown of Chinese Chili”, and “The Largest Water Shield Production Base in China”. It is a national model county for greening, a green well-off county, and a demonstration county for ethnic unity and progress. It is also the birthplace of the world classic folk song “The Sun Rises with Joy” and the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage – Tujia “Luo’er Tune”. It is the only hometown of Qin Liangyu, a female hero of the late Ming Dynasty who has been recorded in Chinese history. It has won titles such as “China’s Natural Oxygen Bar”, “China (Chongqing) Climate Tourism Destination”, and “China’s Health and Food Hometown”.
1、Qiancao Grass Scene Area
The Thousand Wild Grass Scene Area is located in Yuchi Town, Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County, Chongqing. It is a “wonderful flower” gifted to Chongqing by nature and is known as the most beautiful grassland in Chongqing. The scenic area covers an area of 6600 hectares, with an altitude of 1000-1600 meters. The climate varies greatly vertically, and the resources in the area are abundant. It integrates mountains, forests, grasses, stones, and livestock, including four characteristic resources: stone sprouts, fire thorns, forests, and grasslands. It presents a southern grassland scenery of “vast sky, vast wilderness, and low grass with cows and sheep in the wind”.
2、Drifting in Shizhu Huangshui Youcao River
The small boat drifting on the Yellow River and Oil Grass River in Shizhu travels through the winding river, and the scenery on both sides of the river is constantly changing, making people dazzled. The mountains on both sides are rugged, the clouds are blocked, the trees are beautiful, and the stones are strange, fully displaying the beautiful scenery and magnificent charm of nature. The strange peaks on both sides of the river stand tall, one after another, winding through the towering mountains. The water level drop throughout the journey is over 100 meters, with as many as 30 rapids and dangerous rapids, constantly challenging your psychological limits. The Oil Grass River Scenic Area is located in the northeast of Huangshui, with a total area of 8800 hectares. The scenic tourism features include distant views from high places, river scenery, observation of flora and fauna, rock climbing and drifting, and summer sightseeing.
3、Longhe Water Conservancy Scenic Area
Longhe Water Conservancy Scenic Area is located in Shizhu County, Chongqing and is a national level water conservancy scenic area. The water conservancy engineering landscape features of the scenic area’s “one embankment and three reservoirs” are prominent, among which the Tengzigou Dam is a single concrete arch dam with high ornamental and educational value; The Qinliangyu Historical and Cultural Corridor and the Tujia Ethnic Customs Street converge on both sides of the Dragon River, adding a strong cultural atmosphere to the scenic area. The scenic area belongs to the urban river and lake type water conservancy scenic area, with a total area of 27.2 square kilometers. It is centered around the Yudai River water system landscape in the urban area, and decorated with fountains, sculptures, bonsai, ancient bridges and other landscape ornaments along the line, showcasing the unique style of the Longhe Water Conservancy Scenic Area and injecting vitality and spirit into the city.
4、Wanshou Ancient Fortress
Wanshou Ancient Village is a national AAA-level tourist attraction, one of the first batch of rural cultural parks, and a base for the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage of the Tujia ethnic group in Shizhu. Wanshou Ancient Village is built on the mountain, with a thousand-year-old Tujia style, and is a sacred place for Tujia people to worship, sacrifice, pray, and celebrate festivals. There are multiple cultural experiences such as the architectural culture of stilt houses, farming culture, the culture of Qin Liangyu’s military village, the culture of chieftains, Tujia folk song and dance performances, and Tujia special dishes.
5、Chongqing Huangshui National Forest Park
Chongqing Huangshui National Forest Park is primarily located on the mountainous plateau of the Wushan Mountains in the northeastern part of Shizhu County, Chongqing, in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. It is centered around Huangshui Town and serves as the core tourist attraction of Shizhu County. Huangshui National Forest Park was approved as a national forest park by the State Forestry Administration in 1998. The total area of the park is 32,441 hectares, with 6,000 hectares available for tourism. Situated in the heart of the Three Gorges Reservoir area, it is the largest national forest park in Chongqing and the only Tujia ethnic minority tourist destination on the Yangtze River Three Gorges Golden Tourism Route. On December 20, 2017, Chongqing Huangshui National Forest Park was selected as the third batch of “Chinese Forest Oxygen Bars.”.
Huangshui Dafengbao Suspended Glass Covered Bridge is a newly added attraction in the Dafengbao Primitive Forest Tourist Scenic Area of Huangshui National Forest Park, Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County, Chongqing. It is located at the Dafengbao Observation Deck and is a transparent glass suspended covered bridge. It is a canyon landscape glass covered bridge in China. The bridge is known as the “Number One Aerial Sightseeing Platform in Asia”, with an investment of millions of yuan and a unique design. It is built at an altitude of more than 300 meters from the valley floor, suspended in mid air outside the valley wall. The farthest point is 31 meters from the valley wall, which is 10 meters longer than the glass covered bridge of the Grand Canyon in the United States.
6、Bizka Green Palace
The predecessor of Bizka Green Palace was Xiejialiang Forest in Huangshui Village, Huangshui Town. It is mainly composed of artificial willow and fir trees and is a park that showcases green ecology and Tujia culture. It is known as a green oxygen bar, natural air conditioning, and Tujia amusement park. Xie Jialiang was originally a barren and barren land. In response to the call of the Party and the state for afforestation, villagers planted 200 hectares of willow and fir trees here from 1978 to 1990, thus returning farmland to forests and greening mountains and rivers. Outside the cedar trees are natural pine and mixed wood forests, combined with artificial and natural forests, forming an 876 hectare Green Palace with an altitude of 1560 meters, which is a great place for people to enjoy themselves. The land area of Bizka Green Palace is 100 hectares, with an altitude of 1560 meters and a total investment of 8 million yuan.
7、the Moon Palace
Chang’e Palace in the sky, Guanghan Palace on earth. Guanghan Palace is located in Huayang Village, Jinling Township, Shizhu Tujia Autonomous Prefecture, eastern Chongqing, about 50 kilometers away from Shizhu County. It is the core scenic area of Qiyao Mountain National Geopark. Guanghan Palace belongs to the southern karst landform. As a rock cave with a history of over ten thousand years, the cave consists of multiple layers of dry caves with a volume of 1.18 million cubic meters. The temperature inside the cave is around 8 ° C throughout the year, the lowest among similar caves in the country, with warm winters and cool summers. The precise dripping of water inside the cave takes ten thousand years to form a one centimeter diameter treasure called the “Golden Flat Egg”, which is rare in the country. There are currently four zones: Falling Moon Palace, Moon Cage Cold Smoke, Qionglou Yuyu, and Moon Palace Wonderland. Each zone has three gold medal scenic spots, collectively known as the “Twelve Scenic Spots of Guanghan”.
8、Tengzigou National Wetland Park
Tengzigou National Wetland Park has diverse wetland types, abundant wild animal and plant resources, unique landscape features, and profound local cultural heritage. The park integrates wetland ecological protection and restoration, scientific research and publicity education, wetland industry and ecotourism, and is divided into five functional areas: ecological conservation area, restoration and reconstruction area, education and exhibition area, rational utilization area, and management service area. The establishment of Tengzigou National Wetland Park is of great significance for the protection of water ecology, water environment, biodiversity, and the development of the surrounding social economy in the Longhe River Basin and even the Three Gorges region of the Yangtze River.
9、Xituo Ancient Town
Xituo Ancient Town is known as the “Three Counties with One Step” and is a famous historical and cultural town in China, one of the twelve new scenic spots in Bayu and Chongqing, and one of the 30 best new tourist attractions in the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. Xituo was formerly known as the “western boundary of Bazhou” and was named after its location on the south bank of the Yangtze River, known as the Huishui Tuo. It has a long history and culture, and became a commercial hub in southeastern Sichuan during the Qin and Han dynasties. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, it was said to have been an important deep-water port in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, with abundant water and land trade, thriving fireworks, and resembling a swamp town. The ancient history has left valuable tourism wealth for Xituo, making it the most vibrant small town in Chongqing today and a must visit tourist destination.
10、Longevity Hill
Wanshou Mountain is located 20 kilometers east of Shizhu County, Chongqing. It is a national 4A level tourist attraction, and a historical and cultural scenic spot mainly featuring the famous female general Qin Liangyu (Zhu Guoguanglu Dafu, Left Commander of the Central Military Governor’s Office, Commander in Chief, General of Zhendong, Crown Prince Taibao, First Class Lady, and Loyalty Marquis) who built a fortress to resist the enemy on the ancient battlefield during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.
The top of Longevity Mountain has an area of 2,000 square meters and a maximum altitude of 1,490 meters. There are two stone peaks facing each other across the mountain in the north and south, which look like a pair of men and women. They are called “male stone pillar” and “female stone pillar”, and the name of Shizhu County comes from this. The scenic area is divided into three theme scenic areas, namely, the Tujia style town with the theme of Tujia culture and farming culture, which integrates rural experience such as cultural innovation, leisure, and ecological education; the Qin Liangyu Military Village Ruins Park with the theme of Qin Liangyu’s historical culture and longevity culture, which integrates ecological sightseeing, cultural experience, and leisure and entertainment; and the flower resort town with the theme of spectacular flower viewing and mountain vacation, which integrates vacation tourism, residence, and health care.
