Sānxiá zhī diān, Chìjiǎ yī dēng; zhúzhī yī kè, rìbiān yī tíng. — The summit of the Three Gorges, one climb of Red-Jia; a Bamboo-Branch verse carved, one pavilion at the sun’s edge.
Three Gorges Summit (三峡之巅, Sānxiá Zhīdiān) is the 4A-rated (October 2020) ridge destination on Chijia Mountain (赤甲山), above Baidi town at Shibiao Village — the high viewpoint over the whole Qutang system, and the county’s sunset-and-cloud-sea address. Tickets run 100 yuan in season and free in the off-season. The ridge carries the county’s cultural furniture: the Kui-character gate (夔字门), the Kui-drum altar (夔鼓神坛), carvings of the Bamboo-Branch songs (竹枝词) of Liu Yuxi, and the Sun’s-Edge Pavilion (日边亭) — Li Bai’s phrase reused as a building.
The summit is a viewpoint complex rather than a walk: the structures are placed for the look back down the gorge, and the ridge’s length spreads the views — the Kui Gate from above at one end, the Yangtze’s bend and the county’s confluence country at the other. The Bamboo-Branch carvings matter more than they sound: the 竹枝词 is the gorge’s own folk-song form, Liu Yuxi’s being the canonical literary version, and the stone carvings are the region’s voice written into its own mountain.
The summit’s season is the clear season — the view is a weather product, and locals check the visibility before the drive up. The off-season free entry makes it the locals’ own sunset walk, and the correct timing is late afternoon into dusk, when the gorge light does the work. The road up is the approach; allow the drive and the ridge circuit together.
flowcloud would say that the county’s poem city wrote its best lines about leaving in a hurry — and that the summit is where you stay to watch the light arrive.
Practicalities
- Rating: 4A (graded October 2020)
- Tickets: 100 yuan in peak season; free in off-season
- Address: Shibiao Village, Baidi town, on Chijia Mountain
- Getting there: the mountain road above Baidi town; allow a half-day including the drive ⚠️ (checked October 2026, subject to change)
- Time needed: 2–3 hours on the ridge; late afternoon for the light
Words and Names
三峡之巅 Sānxiá Zhīdiān — the Summit of the Three Gorges · 赤甲山 Chìjiǎ Shān — Red-Jia Mountain, the ridge’s name · 夔门 Kuímén — the Kui Gate, seen from above · 竹枝词 Zhúzhīcí — the Bamboo-Branch songs, the gorge’s folk form · 刘禹锡 Liú Yǔxī — Liu Yuxi, the form’s canonical poet · 日边亭 Rìbiān Tíng — the Sun’s-Edge Pavilion, from Li Bai’s line