Longmen Waterfall (Dragon's Gate Waterfall) (龙门飞瀑 [Lóngmén Fēi Pù])

Anshun, Guizhou, China

About Longmen Waterfall (Dragon’s Gate Waterfall) (龙门飞瀑 [Lóngmén Fēi Pù])


Hiking Distance: 1-2km round trip (of walking)
Suggested Time: 30-45 minutes (of walking)

Date first visited: 2009-04-26
Date last visited: 2009-04-26

Waterfall Latitude: 26.11751
Waterfall Longitude: 105.88462

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

The Longmen Waterfall (龙门飞瀑 [Lóngmén Fēi Pù]; Dragon’s Gate Waterfall or Dragon’s Gate Flying Falls) was one of the main attractions of the Longgong Caves (龙宫洞 [Lónggōng Dòng]; Dragon Palace Caves).

This was actually an unexpected surprise for us as we had no clue that the Longgong Caves even featured a waterfall.

Longgong_031_04252009 - The Longmen Waterfall
The Longmen Waterfall

And a distinctive, unusual feature about the falls was that it passed through a natural bridge or tunnel (though it did seem like its uppermost part had been man-modified for what appeared to be erosion and/or flood control).

Experiencing the Longmen Waterfall

From the well-established car park, we walked along a well-manicured paved walkway for about 15 minutes.

This path crossed over a couple of bridges, which themselves were perched over some smaller cascades and manmade waterfalls.

Actually, the second bridge crossed over what did appear to be an impressively wide cascade that could’ve been an attraction on its own if not for its vicinity to the Dragon Palace Caves and the Dragon’s Gate Waterfall.

Longgong_013_04252009 - Cascades beneath a bridge en route to the Longmen Waterfall
Cascades beneath a bridge en route to the Longmen Waterfall

Anyhow, I remembered there were quite a few young girls dressed in bright red Miao clothing looking for tourists wanting to pose for a photo with them for a fee.

There were also a few peddlers selling corn and yam as well.

Once at the Longmen Waterfall, there was a wet-with-mist viewing area which got a little crowded in waves from the large Chinese tour groups as well as many more of the young girls in Miao attire.

The mega groups could be a bit trying on the nerves as I remembered one middle-aged guy rudely shoved me out of the way as apparently I was in his photo.

Longgong_040_04252009 - Young girls in Miao attire looking to pose with tourists for a fee in front of the Longmen Waterfall
Young girls in Miao attire looking to pose with tourists for a fee in front of the Longmen Waterfall

Since I was able to appreciate the fact that a country with over a billion people required a bit of aggressive behavior in order to get by and survive (no place for manners in most circumstances, I guess), the annoyance was brief.

But consider yourself warned if you come across this kind of behavior (not just here but throughout the country).

In addition to the main viewing platform, there was also a path that went up a flight of stairs leading to an upper viewing platform.

Up there, it was definitely quieter than the often-crowded lower viewing platform.

It also provided a different perspective of the unusual Longmen Waterfall.

Experiencing the Longgong Caves

Longgong_067_04252009 - The lake feeding the Longmen Waterfall that also was the medium by which we took a boat tour into the Dragon Palace Caves (or Longgong Dong)
The lake feeding the Longmen Waterfall that also was the medium by which we took a boat tour into the Dragon Palace Caves (or Longgong Dong)

When we had our fill of the Longmen Waterfall, the path continued by crossing a bridge flanked by stone carvings of dragons, which traversed the stream responsible for the falls.

Then, it went up some more steps through caves ultimately leading to a queueing area before some boat docks at a lake that directly fed the Longmen Waterfall.

This lake allowed for non-motorized boat trips through the main Dragon Palace Caves (Longgong Dong), which were right at the head of the lake.

I remembered Julie and our guide Li would consistently warn me about the low-hanging branches and stalactites as our boat ride would careen beneath them.

It was definitely a ride where them watching out for my head was appreciated as I was also trying to take photos!

Longgong_075_04252009 - Entering the Dragon Palace Cave (Longgong Dong)
Entering the Dragon Palace Cave (Longgong Dong)

The cave itself was like many of the other caves we had been to in southern China.

The difference here was that it was pretty much exclusively toured by boat, which meant that the constant motion combined with the low lighting conditions made photography difficult due to the likelihood of them turning out blurry.

Nonetheless, the cave featured formations that resembled various things we’d be familiar with in real life though none of them were memorable enough for me to single out let alone identify in this writeup.

After we were done with the boat tour, we had some time to check out the Longmen Waterfall from its top as there was a viewing area with railings to ensure we didn’t fall into the sloping waterfall.

We also returned back the way we came so we could once again experience the Longmen Waterfall as well as the pleasant walk between the entrance and the falls itself.

Longgong_089_04252009 - Looking down over the brink of the Longmen Waterfall from its top
Looking down over the brink of the Longmen Waterfall from its top

In the end, Julie and I spent about two hours in the Longgong complex.

I’m sure we could’ve taken even more time here, but we thought two hours was enough, especially since we were visiting the Huangguoshu Waterfall on the same day.

Authorities

The Longmen Waterfall resides in the Anshun County near Anshun of the Guizhou Province, China. To my knowledge, I have not found a reliable official government authority administering this area (that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist). Therefore, I can’t recommend a particular website belonging to said authority for the latest conditions or other inquiries.

Longgong_001_04252009 - On our way to the Dragon Palace Caves from Guiyang, we were on a road that afforded us views of these attractive terraces which I believed cultivated rice or taro
Longgong_002_04252009 - The entrance gates to the Dragon Palace Caves
Longgong_004_04252009 - This was the first bridge we crossed on the way to the Longmen Waterfall and Longgong Caves, which went over what appeared to be a flood control dam
Longgong_005_04252009 - Looking ahead at cascades in the distance as we approached the Dragon Palace Caves
Longgong_022_04252009 - Approaching what appeared to be the Longgong Caves up ahead, but it was actually a tunnel or maybe natural bridge containing the Longment Waterfall
Longgong_053_04252009 - Elevated view of the Longmen Waterfall and apparent natural bridge (or tunnel)
Longgong_062_04252009 - Looking down at the upper viewing deck before the Longmen Waterfall
Longgong_065_04252009 - Signs pointing the way to the Longmen waterfall in one direction and the so-called Heavenly boating lake in the other
Longgong_066_04252009 - Stairs going through some more caves between the Longmen Waterfall and the lake above it
Longgong_069_04252009 - The docking area for the boat rides into the Longgong Caves above the brink of the Longmen Waterfall
Longgong_070_04252009 - Looking out towards some boats traversing the lake and headed into the Longgong Caves
Longgong_071_04252009 - Boating closer to the entrance for the Dragon's Palace Caves
Longgong_072_04252009 - Getting even closer to the entrance for the Dragon's Palace Cavees
Longgong_079_04252009 - This was the best I could do to take photos of the Longgong Caves under low lighting conditions
Longgong_083_04252009 - Inside the low artificial lighting confines of the Dragon's Palace Caves
Longgong_085_04252009 - About to head back out of the Longgong Caves
Longgong_095_04252009 - Crossing back over the bridge above the wide and attractive cascade as we were headed back to the entrance of the Longgong Caves complex
Longgong_096_04252009 - Looking downstream from the bridge above the attractive cascades downstream of the Longmen Waterfall
Longgong_097_04252009 - This person was traveling in style at the Longgong Caves
Longgong_098_04252009 - Another person who paid to get carried around by good old fashioned human power


In our custom tour, the Longgong Caves were combined with the Huangguoshu Waterfall in a day trip out of Guiyang.

Even though we stayed at the Huangguoshu Waterfall area on our visit, I could easily envision tours doing the whole thing in a day.

And that might explain why it gets pretty busy over here.

From Guiyang, it was about a 2-hour car ride to get here.

For geographical context, we arrived in Guiyang after an hour long flight from Nanning. Nanning was a two-hour flight from Hong Kong, 1,859km (20 hours drive or 2.5 hours flight) southwest of Shanghai, and 2,174km (22.5 hours drive or 3 hours flight) south of Beijing.

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Bottom up sweep of the falls from the lowest viewing deck


Deliberate top down sweep directly of the falls as well as some of the scenery downstream


Top down view of the falls

Tagged with: anshun, guiyang, guizhou, china, waterfall, longgong, dragon palace, cave



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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