Xiangjia Creek in the Misty Rain

When it rains at Xiangjia Creek, the mist swirls around, creating a fairyland-like scene. Steep cliffs tower, the creek babbles, waterfalls hang in the air, and clouds rise... Xiangjia Creek in Xiangshi Town, Cili, lies in a deep gorge with cliffs on both sides stretching for several kilometers, separated from Jiangya Reservoir by just one mountain. From Xiangshi Town to the Xiangjia Creek Youth Hydropower Station, you pass through two gorges, each about 5 kilometers long. Both gorges have sheer cliffs and are quite imposing. After passing through the first gorge, you reach the village office of Xurita Village. Beyond this village, following the right bank leads into the second gorge (near the gorge entrance, there is a fork to the right that leads to Muyangchong Village). The second gorge runs through the original Xiangjia Creek village area (now merged into Xurita Village), and is narrower, more imposing, and oppressive. Following the creek upstream, a narrow concrete road leads all the way to the Youth Hydropower Station, ending at a tall dam. In the high mountain gorge, rain often causes clouds and mist to rise. Many waterfalls appear on the cliffs, and small waterfalls turn into large ones. Walking through, you see misty rain and hazy mountain colors; in the breaks between rain, clouds swirl instantly. Your ears are filled with the rushing sound of rapids and the crashing of waterfalls. The loudest sound comes from the rapids surging over the dam, roaring wildly. The momentum rivals that of the big waterfalls at Huangguoshu. Standing below, you feel the earth tremble. The sweeping wind will tousle your long hair (if you have long hair) and flutter your clothes. The splashing water sprays into mist that drifts outward, instantly wetting your body. The gorge at Xiangjia Creek is quite beautiful. However, similar landscapes are too common (for example, the well-known Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon has the same type of gorge scenery), so large-scale tourism development prospects may not be very promising. Preserving its current natural state is also quite good. In summer, quite a few people come here to cool off and play in the water. The downstream section of the gorge below the Xurita Village office is a bit wider, with some small pebble beaches where setting up a tent and having a picnic is quite nice. The upstream section of the gorge contains coal in the mountains; there used to be coal mines, and remnants of factory buildings and closed mine tunnels still exist.