This is not an emergency serviceLearn more
华夏跨境医疗

Linzhou, Anyang

Red Flag Canal and Taihang Grand Canyon

国家 5A 级旅游景区（红旗渠·太行大峡谷）全国爱国主义教育示范基地
From Zhengzhou
About 2.5 hours by road from Zhengzhou
Allow
One to two days
Best season
April–October

From the official website

In the scenic area's own words

Transcribed from the operator's official site, with the date we read it. Independent of the guide above, which is our own writing.

The Red Flag Canal runs through Linzhou in Henan, at the junction of Henan, Shanxi and Hebei. It is a 1,500-kilometre water-transfer project built by the people of Linzhou through the 1960s on the cliff faces of the Taihang mountains, and is known as the 'man-made river from heaven' and 'the Great Wall of China's waters'. Reservoirs and ponds were built along it and its natural fall harnessed for hydroelectricity, making it a combined diversion, storage, lift, drainage, power and scenery system. Work began in February 1960 and the whole project was completed in July 1969.

Location
Linzhou, Henan — at the junction of Henan, Shanxi and Hebei
Construction
Began February 1960; completed July 1969
Scale
1,250 hilltops levelled; 152 aqueducts; 211 tunnels; 12,408 structures; 15.158 million cubic metres of rock and earth moved
Length
Over 1,500 km of main, branch and lateral canals
Water on
Main canal opened 5 April 1965; all three branch canals opened 20 April 1966
Youth Tunnel
616 m long, 5 m high, 6.2 m wide; driven by a 300-strong youth brigade from November 1960 over fifteen months
Heritage status
Listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level in June 2006; every structure along it is treated as a historic artefact

What to see

  • Youth Tunnel

    The project's choke point, driven through the Langya cliff — the place where its engineering and the landscape meet most sharply.

  • Red Flag Canal Memorial Hall

    A garden memorial at the point where the main canal divides into three; a 316-metre route displays over 210 historical photographs and the tools used to build it.

  • The dividing sluice

    The end of the main canal, where it splits into three; the memorial hall stands on this hub.

  • Taoyuan bridge-aqueduct

    A three-way structure on the first branch canal: road on top, water through the middle, floodwater beneath.

  • Shuguang Tunnel

    The 4,000-metre tunnel carrying the third branch canal through Luzhai ridge — the longest on the project.

Photographs

These photographs are openly licensed for commercial use (from Wikimedia Commons: CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA or public domain) and are not the attraction's own gallery. Each photo is credited below with its author and licence, linked to the original file.

Source

The Red Flag Canal was cut into the flank of the Taihang mountains in the 1960s by the people of Linxian, to divert the Zhang river into the county. Its 1,500 km of channel earned it the name "man-made river in the sky". The canal head, Youth Tunnel and memorial hall tell the story; the Taihang Grand Canyon, part of the same 5A area, is cliff and gorge country.

What to see

  • Youth Tunnel: the most difficult 616 m of the main canal, driven through by 300 young workers over 17 months.
  • The Red Flag Canal Memorial Hall, which sets out the project and the builders' own accounts — visit it before walking the canal.
  • Taihang Grand Canyon: Taohua Valley, Wangxiang Rock and the Taihang Sky Road, with large cliff relief and wide viewing platforms.
  • The Taihang Sky Road, a ridge-top scenic drive suited to visitors who want the gorge panorama without the climbing.

Practical notes

The canal and the canyon are about an hour apart by road; two days makes far more sense than one. The Youth Tunnel section is walked and passes through the tunnel itself, which is cool and wet underfoot. The Sky Road is a mountain road — take motion-sickness precautions if you need them.