Hukou Waterfall

At Hukou, the Yellow River narrows from a bed some three hundred metres wide into a rock channel about twenty metres across, and the water drops around twenty metres in a churning ochre mass that throws spray high enough to soak spectators and produce rainbows in sun. The name means kettle spout. It is the second-largest waterfall in China and the largest carrying yellow silt-laden water, and its image carries considerable national symbolism. The falls can be viewed from both the Shanxi and Shaanxi banks, each with its own entrance and ticket. Flow varies enormously: strongest after summer rain and spring melt, reduced to a fraction in dry months.

What you actually see

• The narrowed channel - the river squeezed from three hundred metres to twenty.
• The ochre water - the silt load that gives the Yellow River its name and colour.
• The spray and rainbows - mist thrown high above the gorge in sun.
• The two banks - separate viewing areas in Shanxi and Shaanxi.

When to go

April to June for the spring melt and September to November after the summer rains, when flow is strongest; midsummer floods can close viewing platforms entirely, and winter reduces the falls, though ice formations can be striking.

Honest expectations

Flow varies hugely and a dry-season visit is far less impressive. Each bank charges separately and there is no combined ticket. Spray soaks visitors near the platforms, and raincoats are sold at the entrance for a reason.

Nearby

Linfen lies east in Shanxi; Yan'an is west in Shaanxi.