Youyang Peach Blossom Spring Scenic Area is a national 5A-rated tourist attraction, a national forest park, and a national outdoor sports training base. Located in the heart of the Wuling Mountains, where Chongqing, Hubei, Hunan, and Guizhou meet, the scenic area covers 50 square kilometers. It brings together karst geological wonders, Qin- and Jin-style farming culture, Tujia folk traditions, and natural ecological landscapes. The area presents some of the most beautiful unspoiled rural scenery in the Wuling Mountains and preserves the long history and vibrant ethnic cultures of the Tujia and Miao peoples. It is an ideal destination for visitors seeking to step away from urban noise, enter a pastoral world reminiscent of the Qin and Jin periods, explore karst landscapes, and return to a green natural haven. It has been listed among the “Top Ten Cultural Leisure Tourism Brand Scenic Areas,” named one of “China’s Tourism Brands with the Greatest International Influence,” and included in CCTV’s ranking of China’s most comfortable scenic areas.

The scenic area consists of eight parts: Ancient Peach Blossom Spring, Taigu Cave, Youzhou Ancient Town, Peach Blossom Spring Forest Park, Peach Blossom Spring Square, Peach Blossom Spring Folk-Custom Town, Eryou Mountain Xanadu Cultural Theme Park, and Taoyuan Grand Stage. According to local tradition, because of an ancient imperial restriction that “the local people should not leave the caves, and Han people should not enter the territory,” the area remained hidden deep in the Wuling Mountains for more than 1,600 years. The General Gazetteer of Youyang Directly Administered Prefecture records that “when its form is examined, it matches Tao Yuanming’s Peach Blossom Spring in every detail.” The General Gazetteer of Sichuan also notes: “Youyang belonged to Qianling of Wuling Commandery in the Han dynasty; who can say that the ferry asked about by the fisherman was not here?” Based on geography, route, scenery, history, distance, and environment, Chinese and international experts and scholars have argued that this area is the real-world prototype of the Peach Blossom Spring described by Tao Yuanming.

The scenic area is known for its beautiful rural landscapes, long cultural history, rich ethnic heritage, and distinctive folk customs. Traditional Tujia and local cultural forms such as the Tujia Hand-Waving Dance, Youyang folk songs, wood-leaf love songs, and Xilankapu brocade have been well preserved and passed down. In Ancient Peach Blossom Spring, peach trees line the stream banks, fragrant grasses grow in abundance, fallen petals scatter across the ground, fields stretch across open land, footpaths crisscross the countryside, and villages are set among fertile fields and clear ponds.

Fuxi Cave is large in scale, with a wide variety of cave deposits and formations. Zhu Xuewen, known as the “Father of China’s Sinkhole Studies,” praised it as an “underground stone forest” and a “wonder of the world.” Peach Blossom Spring National Forest Park is known for its exceptionally clean ecological environment and has been praised as a “kingdom of plants” and a “natural oxygen bar.” Youzhou Ancient Town extends for 1.3 kilometers. Its Tujia stilted buildings are built along the mountain slopes, presenting the grandeur of an 800-year prefectural seat and the historical depth of more than 600 years of Youyang’s Tusi heritage.

Peach Blossom Spring Square covers more than 86,000 square meters. It is a place where visitors can join the lively rhythms of the Tujia Hand-Waving Dance or quietly appreciate the romantic charm of wood-leaf music. Taoyuan Grand Stage can accommodate 2,800 spectators. The large-scale live performance Dreamlike Peach Blossom Spring staged there is a signature production showcasing the ethnic culture of Youyang and the wider southeastern Chongqing region.

Address: Taohuayuan Town, Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, Chongqing