Biwu Dragon Pool: a short waterfall walk the guides call free

Chinese walking guides list Biwu Longtan (碧坞龙潭), the Biwu Dragon Pool, among Moganshan’s free walks. The county paper describes something else: a small scenic area that has traded since 2003, whose operator set out to rebuild its ticket entrance in 2023 and now sells tickets through booking apps. Plan to pay. The walk itself is short: about 3 km up a stream valley through bamboo to a waterfall and a glass viewing platform, then back down, in an hour or two.

Moganshan (莫干山) is a bamboo mountain and former hill station in Deqing County (德清县), Huzhou (湖州), Zhejiang, about 60 km north of Hangzhou and 200 to 240 km from Shanghai. It isn’t Moganshan Road in Shanghai, the M50 art district. The pool sits on the mountain’s northern foot, up the slope behind the Biwu (碧坞) end of Xiantan village (仙潭村), with Tianquanshan (天泉山) above it. The county paper counts it part of the national scenic area, but it has its own operator and its own ticket, separate from the gate on the road up the mountain.

A 3 km walk on stone slabs and gravel up the stream valley to the Dragon Pool waterfall and a glass viewing platform, no steep slope, and a 5 km summer stream walk from Biwu village, GreenTour Asia (绿色旅行网), author Twilight, 3 July 2026, tier 3. https://www.greentourasia.com/article/moganshantubugonglve

About an hour from the entrance to the top and back, five minutes’ walk from the Jiangnan Biwu gate, steps, a café part way up, Ctrip community travelogue (携程攻略 游记), traveller YoYo_2S7R1H9R, 19 August 2024, tier 3. https://gs.ctrip.com/html5/you/travels/87/4143928.html

Nobody from this site walked it. Everything here comes from dated written sources, and where they disagree the page says so.

The ticket the guides leave out

The case for paying comes from Deqing News (德清新闻网), the county paper. On 3 November 2023 it reported that the scenic area, about 100,000 m² and trading since 2003, was being rebuilt: old equipment replaced, the ticket entrance rebuilt, a café put into the old power station. During the works the ticket fell to RMB 20. When they finished it was to go back to RMB 60. Deqing residents with a local ID would get in free on weekdays, which doesn’t help a visitor.

Ticket RMB 20 during the works and RMB 60 afterwards, trading since 2003, about 100,000 m², Deqing News (德清新闻网), 3 November 2023, tier 2. http://dqnews.zjol.com.cn/dqnews/system/2023/11/03/034421443.shtml

The works ran into 2024. On 6 May that year the paper put phase one at RMB 8 million in all, due to finish by July. By March 2025 the operator, a company under the county supply and marketing cooperative, was selling tickets as an agent through Douyin, Kuaishou, Meituan and Ctrip. By its own count it drew about 85,000 visitors in 2024. Over 60 percent came from Hangzhou and Shanghai.

Phase one at RMB 8 million, due by July 2024, Deqing News (德清新闻网), 6 May 2024, tier 2. http://dqnews.zjol.com.cn/dqnews/system/2024/05/06/034610102.shtml

Tickets sold through Douyin, Kuaishou, Meituan and Ctrip, about 85,000 visitors in 2024 by the operator’s count, Deqing News (德清新闻网), 13 March 2025, tier 2. http://dqnews.zjol.com.cn/dqnews/system/2025/03/13/034904107.shtml

The whole record, source by source:

No ticket gate and no entrance fee on the Biwu Longtan path in June 2023, David Fishman, Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones, 5 July 2023, tier 3. https://www.feelingthestones.com/p/weekend-getaways-perfected-escaping

No county source since November 2023 prints a price, and a booking platform is never our source for one. Expect a ticket. Check the figure on the platform you book through, or at the gate, and read paying for things on Moganshan before you go.

Stage by stage: the Biwu Longtan walk

The stages follow the loop a 2021 account suggests and the layout a 2024 visitor describes. The names are in Chinese too, for a map app.

1. Jiangnan Biwu gate to the entrance (江南碧坞 to 景区入口)

The 2024 visitor left the car at the Jiangnan Biwu gate, where there is a car park, and walked about five minutes through the village to the entrance.

2. Up the left bank (溪流步道)

Take the stream path on the left. It climbs past the old sights. The county paper names the gate tower (城楼) and the rain terrace (应雨台); the August 2024 traveller noticed a Nine Dragon Wall (九龙壁), climbed steps from the entrance and passed a café part way up. The 2021 account names a butterfly valley along the stream.

3. The fall and the pool (瀑布 and 龙潭)

The fall drops five zhang (五丈), about 17 m, into the pool. The 2021 account ties the pool to the legend of Ganjiang and Moye (干将莫邪), the sword makers Moganshan is named for; the Sword Pond page tells the story.

4. The glass platform, and down the right side (玻璃观景台)

The glass viewing platform comes after the fall, at the end of the climb. From there the 2021 account goes down a hill path on the right side of the valley, back into the village.

A five zhang fall, a butterfly valley and a glass walkway; up the stream on the left, down the hill path on the right; no ticket and no parking fee; about three hours with the village, Tencent News (腾讯新闻), account 江南实时分享, 25 June 2021, tier 3. https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20210625A0BLFD00

How long it takes

No source gives a climb in metres. Plan on two hours: enough for the walk and the platform, with a stop at the café.

Water, and why to pack a change of clothes

In summer the stream is the point. GreenTour Asia runs a separate 5 km stream walk (溯溪) that starts in Biwu village and goes up the valley in the water, with shallows for paddling and catching fish. It says to wear stream shoes because the stones are slippery, and calls it a summer route. The operator lists stream play among its activities, Deqing News reported in March 2025. Expect children to come out wet.

In winter the same guide sends walkers to short routes such as this one, for the icicles, with grip and poles, and says to avoid rain and snow.

Getting there

Xiantan is on the north side of the mountain, and that traveller drove about 20 minutes from a guesthouse beside Yucun (庾村). In 2025 a weekend shuttle, the Kailas (凯乐石号), ran from Biwu Dragon Pool through Yucun to Wusi (五四村), 08:00 to 17:40 on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from May to October, at RMB 5. No source we can reach confirms it ran in 2026.

The Kailas shuttle’s route, hours and fare in 2025, Deqing News (德清新闻网), 24 June 2025, tier 2. https://dqnews.zjol.com.cn/dqnews/system/2025/06/24/034991600.shtml

Without it, plan on a car or a ride hailing car both ways. No dated source gives the opening hours, so go in the middle of the day. Getting around Moganshan covers the options, and the Xiantan village page covers where to sleep and eat at the bottom.

What to carry

• Grip. Wet stone steps are the hazard, as everywhere on the mountain; the walking page covers footwear.
• A change of clothes and a towel in summer, and stream shoes if you will walk in the water.
• Payment. A phone wallet, and some cash in case the gate wants it.
• The stage names in Chinese. The entrance, the fall and the platform are all above.

When not to go

In or just after heavy rain. GreenTour Asia warns that the stream stones are slippery, and tells winter walkers to stay away in rain and snow.

If you want a long walk. This is an hour’s outing. The Chiang Kai shek path is a full day, and walking on Moganshan sets out the rest.

If you will not pay to walk. The county paper describes a ticketed site.

Last checked 15 October 2026 by Liyan Ye. Prices, timetables and entry rules on this mountain move without notice, so confirm anything you are booking around.

Photographs on this site are representative illustrations, not documentary images of the specific building, property or service described.