A Day in Wushan: Capturing the Mist and Red Leaves in Your Eyes

Not exaggerating, the scenery in Wushan can only be described as "immersive" — it’s not just a quick glance at the sights, but truly being embraced by the mountains and waters. When the car drove along Shennü Tian Road, I finally understood the meaning of "Wushan Clouds and Rain." The winding mountain road curves around cliffs, and suddenly a cloud of mist rushes in outside the window, even the sightseeing bus ahead is reduced to just a tail light. After another turn, the mist clears, and the silhouette of Shennü Peak suddenly comes into view. That huge rock standing by the river looks just like a girl draped in gauze, no wonder poet Shu Ting wrote about it. The railings at Xianlü Terrace are covered in moisture; looking down from the railing, the Yangtze River looks like a green silk ribbon, stretched long by the surrounding mountains. In the afternoon, I climbed the B section of the Three Gorges Via Ferrata plank road. My palms sweated as I stepped on the suspended wooden boards, but my eyes couldn’t bear to blink. The wind at the high altitude blew the clouds into flowing gauze, the twelve peaks of Wuxia revealed half their heads in the clouds, and the 61-meter-long suspension bridge made my legs weak. But looking down, the rushing river water and the red leaves on both banks looked like splashes of paint, brilliantly red. This wasn’t rock climbing; it was clearly standing inside the frame of a landscape painting. The biggest surprise was the scenic loop trail at the Heart of the Three Gorges. The entire 1,300-meter path was wrapped in red-leaf trees. When the wind blew, leaves floated down, landing on shoulders with a fragrance. Standing at the highest point, the bend of the Yangtze River was perfectly framed in view, and the distant Shennü Peak appeared faintly, truly matching the poem line "The boat’s bow is full of colorful green in the autumn sky." Sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves, sparkling on the river like scattered gold. At dusk, I rushed to the Three Gorges Dragon Spine to watch the sunset. The red leaves beside the trail dyed the sky a warm orange. When it got dark, the "Light of the Three Gorges" on the river lit up, and the 3D projection on the cliff made the shadow of the goddess move. The lights reflected on the river surface, turning even the ripples into colors. I didn’t rush to see many spots that day, but the mist, red leaves, and river water of Wushan had already been etched into my mind.