Yellow Ox Gorge

The Yellow Ox Gorge is located at the middle section of Xiling Gorge, about 40 km (24.8 miles) from Yichang City. It is named after the Yellow Ox Mountain at the southern bank of the Yangtze River. A shadow of a dark and strong man pulling a yellow ox can be seen on one grey cliff of the mountain, hence the name Yellow Ox Mountain.

Yellow Ox Mountain has an altitude of over 1,000 meters (3,280.8 feet), so it can be seen even after a ship has cruised for days in the gorge. The Yangtze River meanders in the Yellow Ox Gorge for miles forming a huge "s" shape. In addition, reefs, shoals and rapids make the waterway dangerous and difficult to navigate. Therefore, ships are very careful when cruising through the Yellow Ox Gorge.

A ballad about the Yellow Ox Gorge:
"Our ship sets off from Yellow Ox Gorge at dawn,
and we spend the night in Yellow Ox Gorge;
three days have gone,
but we can still see Yellow Ox Gorge."

Yellow Ox Gorge records the geological changes of the Three Gorges for several hundred millions of years. Fossils of fish, trilobite and other ocean creatures are found in the gorge. In addition to Yellow Ox Mountain, you can also visit the well-known Huangling Temple when cruising along the Yellow Ox Gorge. 

 Yellow Ox Gorge Legend 
After Yao Ji and her six sisters killed the twelve dragons and turned themselves to the Twelve Peaks, the bones of the dragons gradually turned to rocks and blocked the waterway in Xiling Gorge, thus the water level rose and the banks were flooded. Yu the Great then rushed to Xiling Gorge to dredge the river. However, the dragons' bones were too hard to be broken, and Yu the Great's hands and feet were all covered with wounds. A celestial being was moved by Yu the Great, so he decided to help him. He transformed into a huge yellow ox and hit the rocks with his horns. Finally the rocks were pushed out of Xiling Gorge, and the floods were released. The Yellow Ox ran into woods when people came to thank it. Yu the Great went after it to a mountain but only found a shadow of the ox on one cliff of the mountain. From then on, people named the mountain Yellow Ox Mountain and the valley Yellow Ox Gorge to show their gratitude to the yellow ox.