Xiling Gorge is the longest of the three gorges (at 66 kilometers, compared to Wu Gorge at 44 kilometers and Qutang Gorge at 8 kilometers). Xiling Gorge was renowned for its winding waterway that suddenly narrowed into treacherous rapids or skirted over dangerous shoals. In spite of the risks (Xiling Gorge was dubbed a “death passage”), ships were compelled to pass through its waters regularly, as there was little alternative. It was also for this reason, among many others, that the Three Gorges Dam project was justified. It has turned what was once a death passage – where many ships formerly went aground, and some were completely destroyed – into a gentle waterway whose surface today can more fittingly be compared to the placid waters of a lake.
Xiling Gorge is the last of the Three Gorges as one sails down this stretch of the Yangtze, and it marks the end of the narrow, twisting and turning corridor that has been so treacherous in the past. Beyond Xiling Gorge, the Yangtze broadens out into a flat, gentle waterway that is easy to navigate. Here in the middle reaches of the Yangtze, the surrounding landscape is as flat and featureless as the river itself.
Along this gorge sit many archeological sites, including the Huangling Temple, first built during the Three Kingdoms Period, Ancestral of Quyuan and Hometown of Wangzhaojun.
