Liupan Mountain National Forest Park

Liupan Mountain National Forest Park is located in the southern part of Ningxia, spanning two counties and one district: Jingyuan, Longde, and Yuanzhou District, with a total area of 67,800 hectares. The main peak, Migang Mountain, has an altitude of 2942 meters. The main attractions include Wild Lotus Valley, Xiaonanchuan, Liangdian Gorge, Botanical Garden, and Er Long River, among others. This area is a junction of the Central Plains agricultural culture and the northern nomadic culture, a necessary path of the eastern section of the ancient Silk Road's northern route, and a military stronghold contested by military strategists through the ages. The Xiaonanchuan and Liangdian Gorge scenic areas that we visited this time are located more than 5 kilometers from Jinghe Source Town in Jingyuan County, Guyuan City. As the name suggests, this is the source of the Jing River. After entering the visitor center, one must first take a scenic shuttle bus to reach the Xiaonanchuan and Botanical Garden attractions. Due to time constraints, we only visited the Xiaonanchuan scenic area, which offers both water and land trails, with a one-way distance of about 3.5 kilometers. Additionally, there is an electric cart service (10 yuan per person one-way), but the last 0.5 kilometers to reach the Yunnv Waterfall must be walked. It is recommended to enter via the water route and return by electric cart. The scenery along the water route is quite nice, and the last 500 meters or so are probably the essence of Xiaonanchuan, where the road becomes more difficult to navigate. There is also a pine needle forest trail along the way, but due to time constraints and having seen many pine needle forests in the Greater Khingan Range, I did not go there. After visiting the Xiaonanchuan and Botanical Garden attractions, walk about 100 meters uphill to the shuttle bus stop for Liangdian Gorge. You can take the bus to reach the Liangdian Gorge scenic spot. It is advised to only check out the nearby Mongolian yurt-style buildings, Mani stone piles, and lawns at the arrival point of Liangdian Gorge, and there is no need to go down to the riverbank.