Emerald Realm: National Park of Xiaoqikong

#nationalparks Xiaoqikong Scenic Area, known as Little Jiuzhaigou is best known for the seven-arch Xiaoqikong Bridge, which is a landmark of the Li Zhangjiang Scenic Area. It was built in 1835 on a busy road in ancient times between Qiannan City and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The bridge demonstrates elegant designs and exquisite craftsmanship. Due to the ongoing erosion, the Xiaoqikong Scenic Area has turned into a deep V-shaped valley of the Xiangshui River, which is home to cascading waterfalls. In the upper reaches of the Xiangshui River, the Laya Waterfall seems to connect with the sky above, surrounded by clouds. Not far from Laya Falls, a 68-step waterfall randomly flows down a winding river less than 2 kilometers away. Downstream of the Xiangshui River, the Green Valley Waterfall is surrounded by high green mountains that turn its water green. To the west of the Xiangshui River Valley are the Mandarin Duck River, the Heavenly Bell Cave, and the Wolong Valley. The Mandarin Duck River, as a typical river of the karst blind valley, covers about 50 acres (0.2 square kilometers). The boat trip takes one hour. The Cave of the Heavenly Bell is a karst cave with landscapes such as stalagmites and stone curtains. Decorated with colorful lights, it looks like a fairyland. The Wolong Valley is a rafting resort. The rafting starts from the Wolong Basin and ends upstream of the Mandarin Dax River, taking a total of 1.5 hours. In addition, the Water Forest and the rock forest are wonderful karst forests of the scenic area of Either Zhangjiang. The aquatic forest is located in the Xiangshui riverbeds. Despite the fact that they are flooded by rushing water, they grow well. About 100 meters to the east of the Water Forest, a delicatessen monstera grows in abundance in the Rocky Forest. The roots of these plants extend in the most amazing way along the cracks in the rocks.