Guan'E Valley Scenic Area, Gansu province

Guan’E Valley Scenic Area, Gansu province

(官鹅沟景区guān é gōu jǐng qū)

Address: Tanchang county, Longnan city, Gansu province
Scenic Spot Level: AAAAA
Opening Hours: 7:30 am - 4:30 pm
Ticket Price: 90 yuan ($13.32)/person

Enjoying a subhumid temperate climate, the Guan’E Valley Scenic Area is located in the interlacing area of the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the branches of the Qinling and Minshan mountains. The area is composed of three major attractions, namely the Guanzhu Valley, Eman Valley and Leigu Mountain, with a total area of 66 square kilometers. The forest coverage rate of Guan’E Valley reaches 75.1 percent, and the average negative oxygen ions per cubic centimeter is about 18,000, making it a rare resort for health. In addition, the Guan’E Valley National Forest Park is famed for its pleasant climate and breathtaking scenery of vales, peaks, snow mountains, meadows, flowers and waterfalls. It is also home to more than 30 kinds of national protected animals and thousands of precious tree species and medicinal herbs. The Guan’E Scenic Area is also a national geopark of sedimentary geological construction with more than 140 natural relics.

Since its establishment, the scenic area has been promoting its historical and cultural resources, especially the cultural inheritance of the local Qiang and Tibetan ethnic groups. The Luren Ancient Stockade, located in the Guanzhu Valley, has become a key cultural protection and inheritance site with a collection of more than 30 ancient Tibetan Bon documents from the late Tang Dynasty (618-907), which is certified as the most antique site of its kind in the world. At an altitude of more than 4,100 meters, Leigu Mountain used to be a shrine to worship the Phoenix Mountain God of the ancient Qiang people. The local Tanchang Exorcism Dance boasts a history of more than one thousand years and originates from the ancient rituals of sacrifice and expulsion of evil spirits.