I Visited China's Most Popular Waterfall—Hukou Waterfall—And it Didn't Disappoint!

​Let’s see, my t-shirt? Smeared with mud. Legs? Near white from dried flakes of dirt. And my watch? I couldn’t tell you the time if my life depended on it. The face was completely obscured by clay. And well, all that was worth it. Welcome to China’s Hukou Waterfall! Wait, ever heard of it?

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Let’s start from the beginning: If you haven’t known by now, China’s got some pretty dope natural scenic spots spread across an area bigger than the United States. From the karst hills of Guilin to the sprawling grasslands of Inner Mongolia, and the colorful Rainbow Mountains of Zhangye to the jaw-dropping gorge deep inside Tiger Leaping Mountain in Yunnan; there’s just so many beautiful and exotic places to discover.   

With that, venturing out to Hukou Waterfall—the most popular waterfall in China—was a no brainer. Here are the facts:

China’s got two major rivers: Yangzte River, its longest, and Yellow River, the 2nd longest. Hukou Waterfall, though the 2nd largest waterfall in China after Huanggoshu, is the largest waterfall that lies on the Yellow River. Got that? Good! By the way, Hukou waterfall also sits between Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces—a piece of the dividing line between the two regions. 

And so the journey began. My friend and I set off on a train, caught a taxi, then a bus, another taxi, and a—yada, yada, yada, getting around China ain’t simple! 

We arrived at Hukou Waterfall by 2pm and shelled out 100RMB for entry tickets and an extra 20RMB for shuttle rides to and from the scenic spot. 

The 1st thing we noticed: People—lots and LOTS of people. And though the sheer volume of travelers in China is always an attraction itself, it was the picturesque view of the muddy Yellow River, man-made bridges, and lush green mountain ranges against a cloudy but bright blue sky that was awe-inspiring.   

And then came Hukou Waterfall. I don’t know, there’s just something about roaring water that grabs my attention. We’ve all seen the splendor of still water, and waterfalls where the water gently pours over a rock side. Ah, serene, isn’t it? 

But, there’s nothing like peering out over crushing, pounding, thunderous, you’d-for-sure-die-if-you-jumped-in kind of waves. That’s when you get the chance to truly experience the immense power of something simple like water, and, well, Mother nature herself. Seriously, I could look at something like that all day.  

There were crowds surrounding Hukou Waterfall from both the Shaanxi and Shanxi province sides, too. If brave enough, one could walk right up to the gates lining the edge of the waterfall and take pictures. And if you know the Mainland, that’s just what most people were trying to do. 

Heck, I even joined in! How many likes on Instagram do you think a pic like that'll get?

What’s more, the closer I got to Hukou Waterfall, the more my clothes became completely engulfed with mud—a result of mist spewing out from the hammering crash of waves.    

But that didn’t stop us at all. We took more pictures, shot more video, and surveyed Hukou Waterfall for nearly 2 hours. 

​You see? This was the beautiful side of China that more people need to visit, and most importantly, know how to reach. A place like Hukou Waterfall, which most foreigners in China have probably never even heard of, should be on every visitor’s and expat’s bucket list to explore in the country.    

​So what do you think? Look like an adventure you might be interested in? Well, what are you waiting for? Find out how to get to Hukou Waterfall!   

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