Mount Wushan
The gorge has been known as the Wuxia Gorge since at least the Three Kingdoms period, when it was recorded in the geographical treatise Shui Jing Zhu. In 589 AD, General Lü Zhongsu of the Chen dynasty stationed troops in the Wuxia and Xiling Gorges in an attempt to stop the advancing Sui dynasty armies. Tang dynasty poet Yang Jiong wrote a classical poem entitled "Passing Wuxia Gorge" (Chinese: 過巫峽).
Among the Twelve Peaks of the Wuxia Gorge, the most spectacular is the Goddess Peak. Legend has it that this peak is the incarnation of Yaoji who assisted Yu the Great in controlling the waters.
The mountains on both sides of the Yangtze, through which the river cuts the Wuxia Gorge, are known as the Wu Mountains (巫山, Wū Shān).
References
- Zhongguo Gujin Diming Dacidian 中国古今地名大词典 (2005). Shanghai: Shanghai Cishu Chubanshe 上海辞书出版社. Page 1456.
31°01′30″N 110°05′00″E / 31.02500°N 110.08333°E