Top 10 Waterfalls in China
China's waterfall wealth is concentrated in the karst plateaus of Guizhou and Yunnan, the volcanic lake country of Heilongjiang and Jilin, and the yellow-silt gorges of the Loess Plateau. The country has several waterfalls that are the largest or tallest of their specific type in Asia, and a number with UNESCO recognition. These ten represent the range of China's cascade landscape. All are on the map.
1. Huangguoshu Falls, Guizhou
Huangguoshu on the Baishuihe River in Guizhou Province is the largest waterfall in China by combined flow, with a main drop of 77.8 metres and a width of 101 metres. It is the centrepiece of a karst landscape that includes 18 waterfalls along the same river system. A water curtain cave behind the main falls allows visitors to stand inside the cascade and look out. Best flow: June to September (southwest monsoon). Type: plunge.
2. Hukou Falls, Shanxi and Shaanxi
Hukou Falls on the Yellow River is the widest waterfall in China, spreading up to 130 metres across the river at peak flood. The Yellow River, laden with loess silt, turns the falls an opaque orange-yellow and the surrounding canyon walls the same colour — giving the whole scene an otherworldly uniformity. The falls are located on the Shanxi-Shaanxi border and accessible from both sides by road. Best flow: July to August (rainy season, when silt levels are highest). Type: cataract.
3. Detian Falls, Guangxi
Detian Falls (Ban Gioc in Vietnamese) on the Guichun River spans the border between China (Guangxi) and Vietnam. The falls are 70 metres tall and spread across 200 metres of width in multiple tiers. They are considered the largest transnational waterfall in Asia and the fourth largest by width in the world. Bamboo raft rides approach the base of the Chinese side. Best flow: May to October. Type: tiered cataract.
4. Pearl Shoals Falls, Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan
Pearl Shoals (Zhenzhu Tan) in Jiuzhaigou National Park is a broad shallow cascade 28 metres tall and 340 metres wide, fed by Pearl Shoals Lake above. Jiuzhaigou is a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its turquoise travertine lakes and cascades. The walking boardwalks around Pearl Shoals allow close approach without entering the protected area. Best viewing: September to November (autumn colour). Type: cascade.
5. Jiuzhaigou Falls System
Beyond Pearl Shoals, Jiuzhaigou contains Nuorilang Falls — a broad 20-metre drop considered the widest highland waterfall in China — along with several other named cascades on the interconnected lake and fall system. Access is by shuttle bus within the park. The site was heavily damaged in a 2017 earthquake and partially restored; check current access conditions. Best flow: August to October.
6. Diaoshuilou Falls, Heilongjiang
Diaoshuilou Falls on the Mudanjiang River at Jingpo Lake in Heilongjiang Province is described as China's "underwater volcano waterfall" for the basalt formations created by lava flows that dammed the river. The falls drop approximately 25 metres over a 40-metre-wide basalt face. The lake above Diaoshuilou is the largest alpine lake in China. Best flow: June to September. Type: plunge over basalt.
7. Yuntai Mountain Falls, Henan
Yuntai Falls in the Yuntai Mountain UNESCO Global Geopark, Henan Province, is listed among China's tallest single-drop falls at approximately 314 metres, fed by a narrow cleft in the quartzite ridgeline above. The geopark includes multiple falls, walking circuits, and a glass-floored observation platform. Best flow: June to September. Type: plunge.
8. Jiulong Falls, Yunnan
Jiulong (Nine Dragons) Falls in Luoping, Yunnan, is a series of nine cascades on the Nanpan River tributaries, the largest dropping roughly 56 metres. The site is surrounded in spring (February to April) by canola fields in full yellow flower, making it one of China's most photographed landscape combinations. Year-round flow; best scenery February to April. Type: cascade series.
9. Yandang Mountains Falls, Zhejiang
The Yandang Mountains in Zhejiang Province contain a series of tall narrow plunges through rhyolite cliffs, including Dalong Qiu (Big Dragon Waterfall) at approximately 190 metres and Xiaolong Qiu (Small Dragon Waterfall) at roughly 75 metres. The narrow gorge walls and enclosing cliffs concentrate the sound and spray. Best flow: June to September. Type: plunge.
10. Nonglong Falls, Guizhou
Nonglong Falls in the Libo region of Guizhou, within the South China Karst UNESCO World Heritage Area, drops approximately 60 metres through a limestone amphitheatre surrounded by subtropical karst peaks. The region is one of the most biodiverse parts of China and receives few international visitors. Best flow: May to September. Type: plunge.
Planning a China waterfall trip
Guizhou Province is the practical base for combining several of China's best falls — Huangguoshu and Detian are accessible from Guiyang within a day's drive, and Jiuzhaigou is two hours from Chengdu. The southwest monsoon controls flow across the southern and central falls; plan for June to September for maximum water. Jiuzhaigou requires booking in advance due to limited daily visitor numbers.
Jiuzhaigou after the 2017 earthquake
The Jiuzhaigou earthquake of August 2017 (magnitude 7.0) significantly altered the fall and lake system, destroying several wooden boardwalks and partially filling some lakes with debris. Restoration work has been ongoing since 2018, and the park has progressively reopened sections — but at any given time some of the classic viewpoints may be closed for restoration. Check the Jiuzhaigou National Park official access status before visiting; the list of open sections changes annually. Entry requires an advance online booking through the park's quota system, and numbers are capped at well below the pre-2017 levels. The lakes that remain open retain their extraordinary turquoise colour from calcium carbonate chemistry, and Pearl Shoals Falls is among those that survived the earthquake in good condition.
Guizhou's karst waterfall landscape
Guizhou Province is undervisited by international travellers relative to its waterfall wealth. The Huangguoshu waterfall complex is the centrepiece, but the same karst landscape produces dozens of smaller falls in the canyons around Anshun and in the Libo World Heritage area. The Huangguoshu Water Curtain Cave allows visitors to enter behind the main falls and look out through the curtain — an experience shared with very few falls worldwide. The park infrastructure around Huangguoshu was substantially upgraded from 2016 onwards with better boardwalks, electric vehicle transfers, and a cableway. High-speed rail now connects Guiyang to Anshun in under 30 minutes, making it a day trip from the provincial capital. All of these falls are on the map.
Hukou Falls and the Yellow River aesthetic
Hukou Falls on the Yellow River sits on the Shanxi-Shaanxi provincial border and offers a visual experience found at no other major waterfall in the world. The Yellow River above Hukou carries an extraordinary sediment load — approximately 35 kilograms of silt per cubic metre of water during the rainy season — which turns the water an opaque orange-yellow. The gorge walls, eroded from the same Loess Plateau sediment, are the same colour. At peak monsoon flow in July and August, when the river carries maximum silt and maximum volume, Hukou becomes a uniformly tawny wall of sound and turbulent colour. At lower flow, the yellow-brown water is more clearly defined against grey basalt and the individual turbulence patterns are visible. Both are equally interesting photographically, though for different reasons. Access is from the county of Jixian in Shanxi or Yichuan in Shaanxi, with clear signage from both provincial capitals.