"Morning departure from Baidi amidst colorful clouds"~

Baidi City is located on the north bank of the Yangtze River at the entrance of Qutang Gorge, which is also the western entrance of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. If you look with a drone, you will find that Baidi City is now an island, which is actually due to the rise of the water level caused by the Three Gorges Dam, and the Baidi City stele erected in the 1990s has been submerged underwater. However, Baidi City is indeed easy to defend and hard to attack because of the dangerous entrance of the Yangtze River Gorge, so it has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. The story of Baidi City entrusting orphans, that is, when Liu Bei retreated to this place and fell ill, he entrusted Liu Shan to Zhuge Liang, is said to have occurred in Yong'an City near Baidi City, and some say it was in Baidi Temple on Baidi Mountain. Baidi City is known as the City of Poetry, and many literati have left poems here. The one we are most familiar with should be Li Bai's "Early Departure from Baidi City". When Li Bai was exiled and passed by Baidi City, he happened to learn of the news of his pardon and left this poem that exists not only in textbooks. 🚢Highlights of Baidi City There are two attractions on Baidi Mountain, Baidi Temple and Kuimen Viewing Platform, which are not far apart, go to the one with fewer people first. The gate of Baidi Temple, the pattern is very beautiful, because most of them are visited by tour groups, so you can still wait for a time when no one is taking pictures. The white dragon sculpture after entering the door has a lot to say. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Gongsun Shu named himself the White Emperor because of the white gas like a dragon that emerged from the well in the city, and Baidi Temple was also built by the locals for Gongsun Shu. Baidi Temple is not small in scale, with Mingliang Hall, Wuhou Shrine, Guanxing Pavilion and other Ming and Qing buildings. Mingliang Hall was built during the Jiaqing period and is the main building of Baidi Temple. There are many steles in the halls on both sides and in the courtyard, the oldest of which can be traced back to the Sui Dynasty. Among them is a "Bamboo Leaf Stele", which combines poetry and painting, and is said to be the most valuable. The Kuimen viewing point on the mountain feels not as good as on the cruise ship, but if you can't take good photos yourself, the scenic spot has official photos taken at this position. There are several viewing platforms along the trail down the mountain, but the entrance of Qutang Gorge is deep and tall, and the angle of viewing Kuimen has not changed much because of this little height difference. Perhaps the angle of view from a drone overhead is better. Both up and down the mountain will pass through two antique commercial blocks, but we are always at the end of the team when we come and go, so we don't have time to stroll. 🚢Baidi City·Qutang Gorge Scenic Area Address: Baidi City Scenic Area, North Bank of the Yangtze River at the Entrance of Qutang Gorge, Fengjie County, Chongqing Opening hours: 8:30-19:00, stop admission at 17:30 Ticket: 100 yuan/adult (peak season 3.1-10.31) 60 yuan/adult (off season 11.1-next February) Slide: 200 yuan/one way