The First Bay of the Rainbow's Spectacular View

Today, let's drive into the last secret heart of northwest Yunnan—Gongshan Bingzhongluo! 📍Located in the northern part of Gongshan County, Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, it lies in the core area of the "Three Parallel Rivers" World Natural Heritage site. It is a high mountain canyon embraced by the Nu River, Lancang River, and Dulong River, with an average altitude of 1,750 meters, known as "the place where humans and gods coexist." There is no flat land here, only vertical beauty: to the north stands Biluo Snow Mountain crowned with snow year-round, to the south is the sacred Gawagapu Mountain shrouded in mist; the Nu River, like a giant jade dragon, carves out the "First Bay of the Nu River" between sheer cliffs thousands of meters high, with rainbows often hanging over the U-shaped bend; villages are built along the mountains, with Tibetan wooden houses, Lisu bamboo houses, and Nu stone slab houses layered in a staggered fashion. Prayer flags flutter, mani stones stand silently, and in autumn, the terraced fields turn golden, walnut forests blaze red, and church spires shine dazzlingly white—this is a gentle convergence of faith, geography, and agricultural civilization at 2,000 meters above sea level. Itinerary: 1-day Sacred Mountain Pilgrimage Route | View the river bay + visit ancient villages + spin prayer wheels + try Nu Su hand-grabbed rice Total budget: within 400 yuan (about 396 yuan per person) Transportation | ¥220 - Chartered car from Gongshan County town to Bingzhongluo (about 38 km, 1.5 hours) ¥220 (recommended 3–4 people carpool for savings) Tickets | ¥0 ✅ Bingzhongluo is an open cultural ecological area | Nu River First Bay viewing platform, Qiunatong, Chala, etc. are free | only some guesthouse viewing platforms accept voluntary tips Highlights | Be a slow traveler in the canyon! ✅ Early morning climb to Nu River First Bay viewing platform, watch the river paint a perfect U-shape, wait for the morning light to pierce the clouds and shine on the "Shimen Pass" cliff on the opposite bank 🌅 ✅ Walk to explore Qiunatong Village: visit the old zipline site, a century-old Catholic church, and drink a bowl of butter tea in a Lisu family courtyard 🍵 ✅ Evening at Chala Village, stroll along the riverside boardwalk, watch herding cattle cross the rainbow bridge, spin the thousand-year-old mani wheel, listen to wind chimes mixed with chanting 🔔 ✅ At the Nu grandmother’s house at the entrance of Bingzhongluo town, gather around the fire pit to eat hand-grabbed rice: pipa meat, lacquer oil chicken, stone slab pancakes, buckwheat wine (non-alcoholic version optional) 🍖🌾 Meals | ¥176 Lunch: Qiunatong Tibetan family courtyard — butter tea + highland barley cake + yak meat stew with radish ¥68 Afternoon tea: Chala Village honey walnut candy + roasted corn ¥22 Dinner: Bingzhongluo town Nu Su flavor restaurant — hand-grabbed rice set meal (includes 3 kinds of meat + 3 kinds of vegetables + buckwheat wine) ¥86 ✅ Total cost breakdown: Transportation ¥220 + Meals ¥176 = ¥396 (balance ¥4 can buy a bouquet of dried wildflowers) Best season: September to November | rich autumn colors, stable weather, frequent sea of clouds | avoid rainy season landslide areas Essentials: non-slip hiking shoes, light down jacket/windbreaker (temperature difference over 15°C between morning and night), power bank, cash (weak signal, limited mobile payment) Off-the-beaten-path tip: bring a copy of excerpts from "Jiao Ye Chen Meng" and read the poems Chen Quzhen wrote on the eve of crossing the no-man’s land by the Nu River When the prayer flags brush past your ears, I suddenly understand— Bingzhongluo is not the destination, but the bend where the heart finally agrees to stop.