Escape the furnace and head to the 21℃ summer of Shizhu

In the scorching main city of Chongqing, air conditioner units spew out blazing heat. Drive west for three hours, and the thermometer’s red line suddenly drops—21℃ breezes pass through the cedar forest, carrying a rush of negative oxygen ions. This is Huangshui in Shizhu, a “natural air-conditioned city” at an altitude of 1,500 meters, where forests cover 85% of the land, and midsummer here softens its sharpness. The Tujia brother’s horn sounds melodiously in the wind, and a bowl of refreshing smashed bowl wine is handed over. The 2025 Tujia Culture Summer Tourism Season is in full swing, offering a summer escape from July to September that will redefine your imagination of summer with mountains, forests, song, dance, and long feasts. Tujia Secret Realm: The 21℃ Cool Revolution While Chongqing’s urban area steams at 40℃, the morning mist still clings to the branches of the primeval forest in Huangshui National Tourism Resort. Located at the mysterious 30° north latitude, this land averaging 1,500 meters in elevation boasts an ecological miracle with 85% forest coverage. Sun Lake and Moon Lake, like two pieces of jade embedded in the mountains, offer air rich in negative oxygen ions, making every breath healing. Huangshui, which just earned the “National Tourism Resort” gold title last year, has transformed through five major upgrade projects: from the thrilling cliff swing at Dafengbao, to the light and shadow journey in Secret Realm Huangshui Fantasy Park; from the shimmering paddleboarding on Sun Lake to stargazing at the vast Milky Way from tents in the Forest Kingdom. Tang Hongfang, Deputy Secretary of the Shizhu County Party Committee, poetically describes: “Eat in Huangshui, live in the mountains, enjoy the Tujia culture—this is our vibrant human world.” Thousands of Events: Igniting Folk Carnival As night falls, the lights of the Tujia Grand Stage instantly ignite. At 7:40 PM sharp, the ten-thousand-people Baishou dance erupts, with visitors stepping to the beat of gongs and drums, dancing the farming rhythms of “Baibai,” “Plowing,” and “Harvesting” with Tujia sons and daughters. This year’s dance lineup adds the Liangyu parade and fire pot performances, turning spectators into protagonists of the Tusi golden age. At the Intangible Cultural Heritage Square, the “Tujia Style Village” never rests: by day, try on colorful Tujia costumes and shoot a series of Tusi micro-landscape photos; by night, gather around the bonfire chewing flowing tofu and watch the heritage theater perform century-old legends. Three major themed events sweep through the entire summer: - Travel with the performances: Qianye Grassland has become a carnival paradise. Zhuang Xinyan’s “Goodbye is Just a Stranger” echoes across the starry meadow, top DJs ignite bonfires with electronic music; the grand fireworks show and mass sing-along at Cloud Flower City paint the mountain breeze with romance. - Travel with the competitions: On Sun Lake, open water swimming race athletes break the waves; at Tengzigou Lake, paddleboard enthusiasts race across the water; the “Village BA” basketball tournament in Fengmu Town ignites passion in the wild mountains. - Shared cultural gatherings: 31 international performance teams take turns on the Tujia Grand Stage, and in 230 cultural interactions, Tujia mountain songs blend wonderfully with African drumbeats. Mountain and Water Tours: Three Summer Escape Routes Shizhu has carefully laid out three summer escape routes, each a key to unlocking the secret realm: - Ecological exploration tour straight to the heart of nature: The firethorn forest at Qianye Grassland glows like fireworks, and the Dafengbao glass suspension bridge soars over a 300-meter-deep valley—this “Asia’s longest cantilever” bridge, 10 meters longer than the Colorado Canyon bridge, tests the courage of every adventurer. - Cultural tour through time and space: At Xituo Ancient Town by the Yangtze River, the bluestone slabs of the Bayan Ancient Road record the prosperous past of “water and land trade and bustling life”; on Wanshou Mountain, the Qin Liangyu military camp ruins tell the legend of a heroic woman, and the “male and female stone pillars” on the 1,490-meter peak are the origin of this land’s name. - Summer leisure tour to enjoy comfort: Moon Lake’s flatboats glide over emerald waters, Youcao River rafting thrills with adrenaline over 30 rapids, and outside the tents of Cloud Flower City, the Milky Way dips low to the edge of the flower sea. Culinary Feast: The Wild Flavors of Tujia’s Nine Bowls A 68-yuan long table banquet ticket is your pass to Tujia delicacies. Shizhu’s water shield fish, selected among “Chongqing’s 360 Flavors,” features tender water shield wrapped around sweet fish slices; the secret Huanglian flower is slightly bitter then sweet, like the resilience of mountain folk; Tusi sour cured meat ferments in clay jars, rich with the flavor of time. Chopsticks never stop, as Tujia girls sing toasts, and the crisp sound of smashed bowl wine and laughter rises and falls among the thousand-person feast. Homestays are the key to local immersion: Huaxi Bieyuan’s carved window frames let in the pine waves, and the terrace of Jiuju Homestay faces the sea of clouds. Awakened by birdsong in the morning, open the window to see squirrels clutching pine cones leaping over treetops—this is what “poetic dwelling” truly means. At dusk, Qianye Grassland’s camping tents bloom like flowers across the vast meadow. Young people dance to electronic beats, elders softly sing along at folk song gatherings. Look up to see the Milky Way pouring down, look down to smell the roasted corn’s aroma on the grill. The Chongqing main city, 130 kilometers away, is still wrapped in heat waves, while here the evening breeze carries the scent of autumn. Shizhu’s summer is the breath of yoga in the Biczka Green Palace Forest, the cool water droplets splashing on your face during Youcao River rafting, the swirling colorful skirts of the Baishou dance. When the tourism season ends, what you take away is not just a Tujia sachet or a few starry photos, but the 21℃ your body remembers—a cool memory strong enough to withstand the entire winter. Chongqing Qianye Grassland Scenic Area (Chongqing Huangshui Tourism Resort) Secret Realm Huangshui Fantasy Park Shizhu · Chongqing