Hukou Waterfall

The Yellow River (huáng hé 黄河) is the mother river of the Chinese nation. In its basin, there is a tourist attraction that visitors should not miss. That is Hukou Waterfall (hǔ kǒu pù bù 壶口瀑布), a glistening pearl in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. It is located in Yichuan ( yí chuān 宜川) County in Yan’an (yán ān 延安) City, Shaanxi (shǎn xī 陕西) Province. It is the only magnificent yellow waterfall in the world and the second biggest waterfall in China after Huangguoshu (huáng guǒ shù 黄果树) Waterfall.

The Hukou Waterfall is naturally formed when water of middle reaches of the Yellow River flows through Jinxia Grand Canyon. It has a width of 30 meters and is as deep as 50 meters with the largest waterfall covering 30,000 square meters. The soaring water of the Yellow River is narrowed from over 400 meters to over 50 meters, making the fall even more violent during the 40 meters’ drop. This picture reminds one of water being poured out of a huge kettle, from which comes the name of Hukou (Mouth of Kettle)
The power of the yellow water of Hukou Waterfall is tremendous when falling down to the pond, so it is hard for you to get close to the main waterfall. Looking from a distance, you still can enjoy the vast and gorgeous yellow ocean of mist-covered water. The big waves and foam, like angry beasts, are running and roaring. The beauty and vigor of the waterfalls are indeed beyond words.

Hukou-Waterfall

There are many wonders at Hukou Waterfall, such as smoke from the river, boats on land, rainbows in the sunshine, and so on. In Hukou the water falls to the deep pond from a relatively high place, stirring the mist which rises high into the air like surging heavy smoke coming out of the river. You can see various shapes of rainbows formed by the rising mist, refracted by the sunshine from different angles. Sometimes rainbows are arched, cutting into the river from the sky like a dragon playing with water; sometimes they are colored ribbons lying across the river; sometimes they become colorful masses which change second by second. The water in Hukou is very much torrential, so all the boats from the upper reaches must be pulled out of the river onto to the bank when they arrive. These boats will have to detour around this section, carried by a group of boatmen or shipped by truck before they can be put in the river again.

The view of Hukou Waterfall changes according to the seasons. In spring the frozen ground thaws and the stalactites of snow fall into the pond like the mountains collapsing and the earth cracking up. In summer and autumn there is much rainfall. With the rains, the river rushes and the yellow waves seem to reach the sky. In winter Hukou Waterfall gives the visitors another new look. On the surface of the silvery ice waterfalls, cool water flows down. Little silver icicles hang on the cliffs around the waterfalls. It presents you a distinctive natural landscape of the northern region of China. The Hukou Waterfall has for years attracted visitors from all over the world. You can have a better understanding of natural wonder if you come here in person.