In Linzhou Taihang Grand Canyon, these three beautiful free ancient villages are all worthy of your visit.

The three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday has gone by in a blink of an eye. Do you feel like the holiday has not even begun yet and the hard work has started again? Don't worry, the National Day holiday will be here in a few days.

1. Xixiangping. Secret Landscape. Taihang Pinghu

Xixiangping, more than ten kilometers north of Shibanyan Town, is located in the hinterland of Taihang Forest and Lu Mountain. On the west bank of Taihang Ping Lake, with Taihang Mountain as its back and the lake as its back, it is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and is filled with lakes and mountains, which are simple and beautiful. Moreover, food and accommodation here are relatively cheap, usually only fifty or sixty yuan per person per day with food and accommodation.

In 2018, Xixiangping was named in the list of Chinese traditional ancient villages and gradually became known to the outside world. Villagers opened restaurants and B&Bs, and this small mountain village at the foot of the Taihang Mountains became lively. Every year it attracts countless tourists for summer vacation, fishing and leisure, as well as teachers and students from art schools in colleges and universities across the country who come to sketch and paint.

The Taihang Ping Lake in front of the village was originally called "Nangudong Reservoir". It is a dam and water storage project for the Lushui River in the Taihang Grand Canyon and a water supply project for the Hongqi Canal. The Dew River flows through the water here and suddenly opens up, forming a huge mountain lake, embedded in the towering mountains like a precious jade pearl. The beautiful peaks and rocks on both sides of the strait reach straight into the sky, and the Taihang Pinghu Lake in the shade of clouds is like a beautiful lady, nodding shyly.

2. Ma'annao. Photography resort. Gliding base

Speaking of Ma'annao, I believe many photography enthusiasts know it. Ma'annao is located on the top of Linlu Mountain in Taihang Mountain, directly above the Taihang Tunnel of Linshi Highway, with an altitude of more than 1,100 meters. A place that attracts countless photography enthusiasts to watch the sunrise and the sea of ??clouds. Therefore, Ma'annao has also become an internet celebrity spot for photographers.

Pass the Taihang Tunnel from Linshi Highway and turn left to reach Ma'annao. However, the mountain road is steep and requires certain driving skills. Like the mountainous countryside near slate rocks, slate houses, slate tiles, stone tables and benches can be seen everywhere in Ma'annao, and the original appearance is still preserved here.

Standing in Ma'annao, you can have a bird's-eye view of the Linzhou Basin to the east, and the Baili Gallery Taihang Grand Canyon to the west. In the eyes of photographers, it is a holy place, but it is also a place for tourists to sightsee, escape the summer heat, and experience China. A good place to see the red leaves of Taihang in autumn. The beautiful natural scenery also makes this small village hidden in the mountains famous.

Ma'annao is also the location of Linzhou No. 1 Huaxiang Base. The Paragliding World Cup China competition in June 2019 was held at the Ma'annao Linlushan International Paragliding Base in Linzhou City. The National Day holiday is a time of fine autumn weather with crisp air, light wind and clear clouds. Friends who are interested may wish to experience paragliding and freely travel around Taihang, which feels like flying.

3. Gaojiatai. Cliff dwellings. The most beautiful painter village

Gaojiatai is a famous painter village in Linzhou. It is also the village closest to Shanxi in Shibanyan Town and is close to Taihang Grand Canyon Zhumingshi Scenic Area and Jingdi Village in Pingshun, Shanxi.

Gaojiatai is backed by mountains and faces Cangxi River. Its quiet and unique natural scenery and characteristic dwellings attract countless tourists, painters and sketching students from all over the country. Painting and sketching close to the mountains and rivers, with wonderful paintings, linger here and are intoxicated.

Gaojiatai’s characteristic houses are also an indispensable part of the scenery, built on cliffs. Stone houses, stone tiles, stone steps, stone tables, stone benches, every plant and tree look primitive and simple without losing the beauty of a mountain village.