Hukou Waterfall (壶口瀑布, Mouth of the Pot Waterfall) is the second-largest waterfall in China and the world’s largest yellow waterfall. It is located on the Yellow River, where the river’s flow is dramatically constricted by steep cliffs on both sides, narrowing to resemble the mouth of a teapot – hence the name “Hukou,” meaning “mouth of the pot.” The river, which is 300 meters wide upstream, is compressed to just 20-30 meters over a distance of less than 500 meters. The water, with a flow rate of 1,000 cubic meters per second, cascades down a steep 20-meter-high cliff, creating a spectacular sight.
Hukou Waterfall straddles the border between Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces, with the western side belonging to Yichuan County in Shaanxi and the eastern side to Jixian County in Shanxi. Each side has its own ticketed scenic area, with the Shanxi side located 45 kilometers west of Jixian County in Linfen City.
The waterfall offers different scenery throughout the year, with the best times to visit being from April to May and September to November. In spring, the surrounding peach blossoms are in full bloom, and the melting ice adds a vibrant touch to the landscape, known as the “March Peach Blossom Flood.” In autumn, after the rainy season, the area is often graced by rainbows and cool breezes, a phenomenon called “Hukou Autumn Wind.” During these seasons, the water volume is at its peak, and the thunderous roar of the waterfall is even more awe-inspiring.
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Basic Information
| Estimated Length of Tour | 1 – 2 hours |
| Ticket Price | Admission: 100 RMB Sightseeing Bus: 10 RMB |
| Opening Hours | 7.00 – 18.30 (1st April – 31st October) 8.00 – 17.00 (1st November – 31st March) |
| Telephone Number | 0086-0357-7955000 |
Location and Transportation
Hukou Waterfall is situated on the border between Shanxi Province’s Hukou Town in Linfen City, Jixian County, and Shaanxi Province’s Hukou Town in Yichuan County, Yan’an City. It is a shared tourist destination between the two provinces. The waterfall is located 350 kilometers south of Xi’an, Shaanxi, and 387 kilometers north of Taiyuan, Shanxi.
To reach Hukou Waterfall from Xi’an, you can take a direct bus from Xi’an Fangzhicheng Bus Station, which offers two daily services at 8:00 AM and 1:20 PM. The journey covers approximately 350 kilometers and takes around 4 hours, with a ticket price of about 97.5 RMB.
From Linfen, one of the main departure points is the Yaomiao Bus Station, where buses to Hukou Waterfall operate from 5:30 AM to 5:30 PM, with departures every half hour.
Highlights of Hukou Waterfall
Smoke Rising from the Water
“Smoke Rising from the Water” is a mesmerizing phenomenon at Hukou Waterfall, where the Yellow River rushes into the narrow “teapot mouth” with such force that it creates a thick mist resembling billowing smoke rising from the water’s surface. This mist can be seen from miles away and varies with the seasons and water flow. In winter, when the river is frozen and the flow reduces to 150-500 cubic meters per second, the waterfall’s force diminishes, and little mist forms. In contrast, during the summer, the flow increases significantly, causing the waterfall to overflow its channel and reducing the drop, resulting in less mist. The most impressive displays of “Smoke Rising from the Water” occur in spring and autumn, when the flow is moderate, and the temperature is cool, allowing the water to plunge over 20 meters, creating a dense mist that fills the air.
Ships Sailing on Dry Land
The dramatic drop at Hukou Waterfall, combined with the narrow, deep channel below, makes navigating the waters extremely challenging. Historically, boats traveling downstream would have to stop upstream at Longwangtan, where all cargo would be unloaded and carried along the riverbank by people or animals to a downstream dock. The empty boats would then be pulled out of the water and moved overland using cylindrical wooden rollers placed beneath the boats. Teams of over a hundred men would often be required to pull the boats along the rocky riverbank. Despite using rollers, the rocks would be deeply scarred by the iron nails on the boat bottoms. This method of “Ships Sailing on Dry Land” was the best option for water transport past Hukou Waterfall at the time, adapted to the relatively smooth stone riverbanks. However, with the advent of modern transportation infrastructure, such as roads, railways, and the construction of the Yellow River Bridge near Hukou, water navigation in this area ceased long ago, and only the traces of this once-common practice remain today.
Rainbow Dancing with Water
At Hukou Waterfall, the mist created by the powerful water surges often interacts with sunlight, producing stunning rainbows. These rainbows can take various forms: sometimes they appear as a curved arc stretching from the sky into the water, resembling a dragon drinking from the river; at other times, they form a straight band across the water, like a colorful bridge. Occasionally, the rainbows manifest as vibrant clusters of color within the mist, shifting and shimmering in a mesmerizing display. This phenomenon, known as “Rainbow Dancing with Water,” is a result of the combined effects of the “Smoke Rising from the Water” and sunlight. It is most commonly seen in spring and autumn when the mist is dense, but can also occur after summer rains when the sun breaks through the clouds.
Ten-Mile Dragon Trough
The Ten-Mile Dragon Trough is a remarkable natural feature extending approximately 5 kilometers from Hukou to Mengmen. In this stretch of the Yellow River, the water has carved out a box-shaped gorge, 400 meters wide at the surface but narrowing to a trough just 30 to 50 meters wide and 10 to 20 meters deep at the bottom. After surging down from Hukou Waterfall, the river flows through this trough at an immense rate of several thousand cubic meters per second. The trough’s name comes from an ancient legend, which tells that the trough was carved by a dragon’s body, stretching for about ten Chinese miles (approximately 5 kilometers). The gorge is a product of the waterfall’s upstream migration, where the deep pools formed below the waterfall continue to extend. From a distance, the winding stone trough resembles a giant dragon, with Hukou as the dragon’s head swallowing the mighty Yellow River, and Mengmen as the dragon’s tail, releasing the river’s waters downstream.
