Tiger Leaping Gorge, China

Tiger Leaping Gorge is a canyon on the Yangtze River – locally called the Golden Sands River located 60 km north of Lijiang City, Yunnan in southwestern China. It is part of the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas World Heritage Site. Around 15 km in length, the gorge is located where the river passes between 5,596 metre Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, and 5,396 m Haba Xueshan in a series of rapids under steep 2000 metre cliffs. Legend says that in order to escape from a hunter, a tiger jumped across the river at the narrowest point (still 25 metres wide), hence the name.