The 1,500-meter-long Red Flag Canal was under construction for 10 years in the 1960s. Today it is a local lifeline.

Deep in the Taihang Mountains, there are many small villages. The farm houses there are built of mountain rocks. Stone houses, stone courtyards, stone walls, stone towers, stone stairs and stone rollers can be found everywhere in the villages. To spend one or two nights in the village and savor the simple and delicious dishes prepared by villagers is a highlight of a short getaway in the mountains.

Views in Mount Linlu change with the seasons. In the springtime, the soft and moist mountain slopes look like a painter's palette covered with light-yellow and snow-white patches of flowers. In the summertime, the grand canyon becomes a green corridor, and the scene of clouds streaming out in the glow of the evening is spectacular. It is a colorful world dyed by the autumn hues in the fall, while in the winter it is snow white, revealing the firm lines of the terraces.

Most tourists come to the canyon for sightseeing, relaxing, camping and gliding. In recent years, many art school students have come to sketch and paint, and some television and film production studios also use this place as a location for their shoots.

Tips:

Driving from Beijing: Take the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Expressway to Anyang City, exit to Anlin Highway to Linzhou City. It is a six-hour drive covering a 600-kilometer distance. Road signs will show the way to the Red Flag Canal, the Grand Taihang Canyon and other scenic spots. Local travel services offer one-day, two-day, and three-day package tours.