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Water-Stealing Holes

At the entrance of the Qutang Gorge there is a series of holes chiseled into the cliffs on the north bank. These rectangular holes are set in parallel lines, each hole being 30 cm (about 1 foot) high and 32 cm (about1.1 feet) wide. The reason these man-made holes are referred to as Water-stealing Holes is believed to have its roots in a historical event which occurred during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

It is said that during the years 1628 to 1644, Zhang Xianzhong led a big army consisting of peasants to overthrow the Ming Dynasty. Zhang wanted to control Kuimen, the entrance of the Qutang Gorge, because it was a military stronghold between Sichuan and Hubei Provinces. Zhang and his forces conquered Baidi City and made it their base in order to guard the Qutang Gorge. This so worried the emperor that he dispatched his army to block the river from the upper reaches so that the enemy would retreat due to a shortage of food and drinking water.

To get water from the deep valley, Zhang decided to chisel holes in the cliff and insert wooden poles as a stairway down to the river. The water was fetched at night. The plan did not work very well, however, for it produced a very limited water supply, but the holes still remain today.