Laoniuwan Yellow River Bend

The Yellow River's first great bend as it enters Shanxi, where the Great Wall meets the river; Laoniuwan's clifftop fort and stone village, the Wanjiazhai gorge and Pianguan's Qiankun Bend are all spectacular.

Laoniuwan lies on the border between Pianguan County in Xinzhou, Shanxi, and Qingshuihe County in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. Here the Yellow River turns from Inner Mongolia into the Shanxi–Shaanxi Gorge, earning it the name 'the first bend of the Yellow River in Shanxi'. The Ming Great Wall was built along the river, creating the unique sight of 'the Great Wall shaking hands with the Yellow River'. The core area is on the Shanxi side, with Laoniuwan Fort, the stone village and the River-Viewing Tower, while the Qingshuihe viewing platform on the Inner Mongolia side overlooks the whole gorge. Heading south along the Yellow River highway, you pass Pianguan's Qiankun Bend and the Wanjiazhai Water Control Project before reaching the old town of Pianguan, one of the Ming dynasty's 'Three Outer Passes'. About 50 km further southwest is the Xikou Ancient Ferry in Hequ, the starting point of the historic 'Going Beyond the West Pass' migration, and to the east, Laoying Fort preserves tall Ming-dynasty walls. The best time to visit is May–October, with the gorge at its most colourful in Sep–Oct; summer mornings and evenings are cool, and in winter the Yellow River freezes over but it is very cold. Getting there: it is about a 3–4 hour drive from Taiyuan or Hohhot. Long-distance buses run to Pianguan town, but you will need to hire a car to reach the sights, so driving the Shanxi Yellow River tourist highway yourself is strongly recommended. Allow 2 days: stay in Laoniuwan stone village to watch the sunrise, spend one day on the Inner Mongolia viewing platform and Wanjiazhai, and another on Pianguan and Hequ.

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