Movie fantasy scene - Three Natural Bridges

The Three Natural Bridges are located in Xiannvshan Town, Wulong District, Chongqing. It is a municipality-level scenic spot in Chongqing and part of the Chongqing Wulong Karst National Geopark. It has also been rated as a national 5A tourist attraction in China. In June 2007, it was listed as a United Nations World Natural Heritage as a part of China's Southern Karst - Wulong Karst. The Three Natural Bridges are located on the banks of Yangshui River, a tributary of Wujiang River. The core protected area is about 22 square kilometers, including Tianlong Bridge, Qinglong Bridge, Heilong Bridge, Qinglong Tiankeng, Shenying Tiankeng, Yangshui River karst canyon, Longshuixia fissure, Zhongshiyuan Tiankeng, Xiashiyuan Tiankeng, Qishishi Cave, Longquan Cave, Xianren Cave, Houzituo underground stream, Baiguo underground stream, cave creatures and the natural ecological environment within the protected area. The straight-line distance from the upper end of Tianlong Bridge to the lower end of Heilong Bridge is only 1,500 meters. It is the only one in the world with three magnificent natural bridges appearing consecutively on the same river. Compared with other natural bridges, although the Three Natural Bridges do not have the largest average span parameter, their average span height ranks among the top four, and their bridge height, width and thickness all rank among the top three. It is undoubtedly "the largest group of karst natural bridges in the world." Between Tianlong Bridge and Qinglong Bridge, and between Qinglong Bridge and Heilong Bridge, there are two huge cenotes - Qinglong Cenote and Shenying Cenote, with depths and diameters ranging from 276m to 285m and 300m to 522m respectively. Perhaps you have never met such a friend, nor have you ever heard of the name of the Three Natural Bridges, but it is very likely that you have already known this magnificent and majestic scenery through the big screen. The Three Natural Bridges are Wulong's signature attraction. They became famous as the filming locations for the movies "Curse of the Golden Flower", "Transformers 4" and "Eternal Love". As a result, Wulong has been transformed from an unknown small town on the southeastern edge of Chongqing to an internationally renowned tourist town, attracting countless tourists every year. Even without the movie, the three natural bridges and two tiankengs that are almost miraculous are stunning enough in themselves. Let’s walk into this magnificent landscape today ~ Then you will probably agree that the Three Natural Bridges are well-deserved to be selected as a Chinese 5A scenic spot and a United Nations World Natural Heritage Site! The Three Natural Bridges are located in Xiannvshan Town, Wulong County, Chongqing. They are part of the Chongqing Wulong Karst National Geopark and are famous for having the world's largest group of karst natural bridges. As a representative of the Wulong Tiankeng scenery, the entire Tiansheng Three Bridges scenic area is a typical karst landform. Over tens of millions of years, flowing water first dissolved and washed out a huge underground cave. Then, as the erosion intensified, one day the excessive space and the walls with too many cracks could no longer support the top of the cave, and a spectacular "tiankeng" with a steep depression appeared on the flat surface; and when the underground stream (Yangshui River) penetrated the pit wall between the Wulong Tiankeng, only the rocks on the two sides and the top remained, the "Natural Bridge" shaped like a bridge was formed. The so-called Three Natural Bridges, as the name suggests, refer to the three huge natural stone arch bridges in the scenic area. To be more precise, the attractions in the Natural Three Bridges Scenic Area can be roughly summarized as "one gorge, three bridges and two pits": in the 1.5 square kilometer gorge, the three natural stone bridges of Tianlong Bridge, Qinglong Bridge and Heilong Bridge are sandwiched between the two large cenotes of Tianlong Tiankeng and Shenying Tiankeng, which are majestic and magnificent. This is the only place in the world where you can see three natural bridges in a row on the same river. Going down the stairs, you will see an elephant-shaped protrusion on the stone wall of the north bridge hole of Tianlong Bridge, which is called "Holy Elephant Welcoming Guests". This little elephant, cut out by groundwater erosion, has been welcoming visitors here for at least a million years. Further down, the flying eaves and curved ridges of Tianfu Official Posthouse are hidden among the lush green. Before setting off, the scenery halfway up the Tianlong Bridge steps was my deepest impression of the Three Natural Bridges. At that time, I didn’t know that Tianfuguanyi was the only location created by Zhang Yimou for "Curse of the Golden Flower". I just felt that this building hidden deep underground and surrounded by layers of green was so beautiful that it was unreasonable. Later, I learned that it was not an ancient building and had nothing to do with the Three Natural Bridges. To put it bluntly, it was just a set decoration. Well, that’s what I said. But when I stood in front of the building in person and looked closely at the exquisite architecture and atmosphere, I still couldn't help but want to believe that I had indeed broken into a well-preserved Tang Dynasty post station, and I couldn't help feeling that I was in a scene from a martial arts novel. It is recorded that the history of Tianfu Official Post Station can be traced back to the second year of Wude in the Tang Dynasty (619 AD). It was an important post station on the ancient official road, responsible for delivering official documents from ancient Fuzhou and Qianzhou. Houtian Fuguan Posthouse was destroyed in war, and its appearance and exact location have been lost. The only thing that can be confirmed is that it was located on the post road "Chang'an → Jingzhou → Kuizhou → Zhongzhou". When Zhang Yimou was preparing to shoot "Curse of the Golden Flower", he scouted locations everywhere and finally chose Tiansheng Sanqiao as the site. He spent a huge amount of money to build the current Tianfu Official Posthouse in the style of the Han and Tang dynasties under the overlapping mountains of Tianlong Tiankeng. It was used to shoot the brutal scene of the assassin attacking Doctor Jiang and his family. This courtyard with blue bricks and black tiles and an ancient atmosphere still retains more than 20 rooms. In the movie, they have multiple functions such as living quarters, main hall, reception room, stables, etc. Now it is mainly used as a prop exhibition hall and shop for the movie. Walking into Tianfu Official Posthouse, you can clearly see the props from the movie, such as carriages, armor, swords, tables and chairs. #Chongqing #Chongqing good places #Natural Three Bridges