Guan’egou: Forest valleys and villages in Longnan

Guan’egou lies about one kilometre southwest of the Tanchang county seat. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism describes six scenic areas: Guanzhu Gou, E’man Gou, Maquan Gou, Gang Gou, Baxia Gou and Damiaotan. Together they cover about 42,000 hectares. The ministry’s account evokes the landscape through its lakes, canyons and waterfalls and identifies the area as a national geopark, national forest park and 5A scenic area. A January ice-and-snow festival is one seasonal event held in the park; the six-valley forest landscape gives the place its enduring geographic form.

More than twenty Tibetan and Qiang villages lie within Guan’egou, with a population above 3,000 according to the ministry’s 2024 route description. The same account notes that residents continue to maintain distinctive dress and customs. These villages share the park’s broad setting of forest, water and mountain valleys, making the inhabited landscape part of the place’s cultural character. The nearby county seat situates the park within Tanchang’s everyday geography, while the six named valleys describe the larger area residents call home.

Guan’egou opens onto the mountainous south of Gansu, where forested slopes and running water shape settlement and movement. Its lakes, canyons and waterfalls form a connected landscape across six valleys, while villages remain within the park. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism places Guan’egou on a regional route that continues through Wudu, Kangxian and Wenxian, linking different communities and landforms across Longnan. The park’s scale and resident population make it a useful way to understand the region as a lived mountain environment as well as a protected scenic area.