Throats of the Jump of the tiger

The throats of the Jump of the tiger (zh-Hant 虎跳峡; Pinyin : Hǔtiào Xiá ) is a Canyon on the river Yangzi (known in this area under the name of Jīnshā Jiāng ), located at 60 km in the north of the town of Lijiang, in the Chinese province of the Yunnan.

Approximately 16 km length, the throat S deliver passage to the river between the two tops of the Yulong Xue Shan (5596 m) and of the Haba Xue Shan (5396 m), in a series of rapids framed by escarpments 2000 m height precipice, and claim under the deepest canyon of river in the world. Their name refers to the legend which tells that, to escape a hunter, a tiger jumped over the river in its narrowest point (all the same broad from 25 to 30 m).

The inhabitants of origin are the populations Naxi, which live in some small Hameau X of place in place along the throats. Their principal means of subsistence are the production of Céréale S and the hikers foreign.

The throats are not regarded as navigable. At the beginning of the Years 1980, four bold tried of it the descent in Rafting, but nobody never revives them. The first known successful descent, which goes back to 1986, was carried out by the forwarding which descended Yangzi in its totality, since its higher source with the lake of Gelandandong glacier, until its Delta on the Eastern China Sea.

It is possible to skirt the totality of the throats to foot. The hiking trail, to semi-slope, goes from the town of Quiaotou to Daju. It is well maintained, and Naxi use it in their life of the every day. It makes it possible to discover an amazing variety of microphone ecosystem S, many water falls, and splendid sights on the throats. Lodgings for hikers whom one regularly finds along the path being generally badly heated, and the unforeseeable weather conditions in high mountain, it is strongly advised to carry out this excursion only apart from the rain season.

The built road at lower altitude is frequently blocked by landslides, and certain portions are sometimes immersed under water of the river. At the place where the hiking trail joined this road, it is possible to go down to the edge from water, near the Rock of the Jump of the tiger, from where the tiger of the legend would have jumped on other side of the river. Natural crystals are extracted from various sites inside and around the throats.

There exist government projects of construction of a series of Barrage S on the river for the electrical production, which would involve the displacement of some: 100000 people and disappearance under water of the single site of the throats of the Jump of the tiger.

External bonds

Throats of the Jump of the tiger
Photographs of the throats in July 2006
Photographs of the canyon
Greed for energy threatens to prejudice legendary throat - Times Online
Clouded: Another dammed throat - Asia Times

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