Taohuayuan Scenic Area in Youyang County, Chongqing

Taohuayuan Scenic Area in Youyang County, Chongqing

Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, or Youyang County for short(simplified Chinese: 酉阳土家族苗族自治县; pinyin: YǒuYáng Tǔjiāzú Miáozú Zìzhìxiàn) is located in the southeast of Chongqing Municipality, China, bordering the provinces of Hunan to the east and Guizhou to the southwest.
English Name: Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County
Chinese Name: 重庆酉阳县桃花源
Opening Hours: 08:00-17:30 in winter; 07:30-18:00 in summer
Admission Fee: 100RMB
Best Time: Spring, summer and Autumn
Recommended Visiting Hours: 1-2 days
Address: 360 kilometers away from nine districts of Chongqing

More Picture

Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County

Youyang also called Youzhou in ancient times, is located east of Wu River and west of Youshuihe. It is the largest county of Chongqing, having an area of 5,173 km2 (1,997 sq mi) area and an 840,000 (2012) population. It is an ethnic enclave for about 16 minority nationalities, including the Tujia minority, Mao minority and so on. and is known as the “Cradle of Tujia people” for its rich Tujia culture. It is famous for being the hometown of proletarian revolutionary Zhao Shiyan. And also, it is known as the hometown of Baishouwu Dance, which is beneficial to keep fit and is often performed in some celebrations that is special to people here.

Introduction of Taohuayuan Scenic Area

Youyang also called Youzhou in ancient times, is located east of Wu River and west of Youshuihe. It is the largest county of Chongqing, having an area of 5,173 km2 (1,997 sq mi) area and an 840,000 (2012) population. It is an ethnic enclave for about 16 minority nationalities, including Tujia minority, Mao minority and so on. and is known as the “Cradle of Tujia people” for its rich Tujia culture. It is famous for being the hometown of proletarian revolutionary Zhao Shiyan. And also, it is known as the hometown of Baishouwu Dance, which is beneficial to keep fit and is often performed in some celebrations that is special to people here.

Located to the southeast of the Municipality of Chongqing, the most extensive and populated of the four Chinese municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing), the autonomous county of Tujia and Miao of Youyang (酉阳土家族苗族自治县) is the largest county of the Municipality.

Without a doubt, the crown jewel of this county is Taohuayuan, 桃花源, or “The peach blossom spring”, a scenic area that got the highest rating of 5A (AAAAA).

What to see and do in Youyang

Youyang terraced rice paddies

The cost of a round trip will be around 300/400 Yuan (it depends on your haggling ability, but if you’re a small group of 3/4 people you could lower the cost by dividing it among you) and the travel time will be around an hour to get to the top of a hill in a small farming town. From the town, you can get to a panoramic platform on foot from which you can admire the terraced rice paddies and the picturesque Chinese farmers at work.

Taohuayuan and Longtan

Youyang is the cradle of an actual earthly paradise, Taohuayuan or “the Peach Blossom spring”. This is an area of about 50 square km immersed in the most luxurious nature and represents a prototype of paradise hidden to the world, as it was described by the poet Tao Yuanming during the eastern Jin dynasty (317-420) in his piece 桃花源记, “Chronicles from the peach blossom spring”.

Getting to this earthly paradise is very easy. Take city bus 101 from Youyang toward Yangguang Xigu, 阳光溪谷 (you’ll find it in virtually every bus stop, there aren’t many). The bus cuts the city in two, and in about 20 minutes you’ll be standing in the space of the park. The stop is called Taoyuan Jinshui’an, 桃园金水岸.

How to Get There

There are two main ways to get to Youyang, both starting from Chongqing:

  • The first is to take the train from the north station of Chongqing (Chongqing Beizhan, 重庆北站).
  • The second is to take a bus from the west station in Chongqing (Chongqing Xizhan Qichezhan, 重庆西站汽车站).

Main Attractions in Chongqing

Edited by  Lynette Fu/付云锐