Overview
Chinese Name: 华山，西岳、太山、太华山
English Name: Mount Hua, Hua shan
Location: Huayin City, Shaanxi Province
Type: Natural landscape
Rating Level: AAAAA (5A)
Brief Introduction
Mount Hua 华山, also called Xi Yue西岳 because it is the westernmost of the Five Sacred Mountains of China. Situated in Huayin City, Mount Hua is 120 kilometers from Xi’an. It sits at the Ordos Loop of the Yellow River basin, which lies south of the Wei River 渭河valley. It is part of the Qin Mountains秦岭, which divide not only northern and southern Shaanxi but also China.
Mount Hua is one of China’s five most famous scenic mountains, known for its steep and dangerous peaks. Since ancient times, there has been the saying that” the most dangerous mountain in the world.”
Mount Hua is one of the key national scenic spots in China. In 2011, Mount Huashan was rated as a National AAAAA tourist attraction by the National Tourism Administration.
There are five peaks that make up the mountain: Cloud Terrace Peak云台峰(North Peak,1614m), Jade Maiden Peak玉女峰(Middle Peak,2037.8m), Sunrise Peak朝阳峰(East Peak,2096.2m), Lotus Peak莲花峰(West Peak,2082.6m), and Landing Wild Goose Pea落雁峰k(South Peak,2154.9m). North Peak, the lowest of the five, is the starting point.
Unlike Mount Tai which used to be frequented by pilgrims, Mount Hua was not well visited by pilgrims as the roads up the mountain were extremely dangerous.
Since cable cars were installed in Mount Hua in the 1990s, the number of visitors has increased dramatically.
What is worth to visit and see？
Main attractions
There are more than 210 famous scenic spots in Mount Hua, including the Floating-in-the-Air Path(长空栈道 Changkong Zhan Dao), Somersault Cliff(鹞子翻身 Yaozi Fanshen), and the Thousand-Foot precipice(千尺幢Qian Chi Zhuang), Hundred-Foot Valley(百尺峡 Bai Chi Xia), and Lao Jun Furrow老君犁沟, among which Huayue Fairy Palm华岳仙掌 is listed as the first of the eight scenic spots in Guanzhong.
Black Dragon Ridge苍龙岭is one of the famously dangerous roads in Huashan, named for its pale black exterior and its dragon-like terrain.
The Thousand-Foot precipice千尺幢 is located in the Huixin Stone回心石, is the first dangerous in Mount Hua. There was only space for two people to walk up and down. The chains hang vertically on both sides at a gradient of 70°. There are more than 370 steps from top to bottom, which are not wide as one foot.
Hundred-Foot Valley百尺峡 also called “Baizhang cliff百丈崖”, the two walls seem to merge but was split by two flying stones. When people drilled under the stone feeling terrified for fear of stones falling down from the two walls, they called the “alarming stone惊心石”. When going through this stone and then looking back at the original stuck two stones, people feel relieved, so they are also known as “relieving stone平心石”.
Humanity history
Mount Hua is the holy land of the Quanzhen Sect of Taoism mainstream and is widely worshiped by The Chinese people as the God of Mount Hua. There are a total of 72 semi-hanging empty, more than 20 Taoist temples, among which Yuquan Yuan玉泉院, Dulong Temple都龙庙, Dongdao Temple东道院, and Zhenyue Palace镇岳宫 are listed as the national key Taoist temples. Moreover, there are Chen Tuan陈抟, Hao Datong郝大通, He Yuanxi 贺元希and other famous Taoist eminent persons.
Mount Hua has many Taoist temples with a long history. The most important palace on Mount Huashan is the Xiyue Temple西岳庙. The temple is ten miles below Huashan, five miles east of Huayin.
At the top of the South Peak, there is a natural stone concave, not even one foot wide, about one meter long with an irregular shape, the sky is almost within reach, facing the sky, named “Yangtianchi仰天池”. The pool water is clear, when a flood does not overflow, drought does not dry up, all year round with the sun and the moon. This is still a mystery.
Outside the Floating-in-the-Air Path and above the cliff carved with three big words “全真岩”. However, the striking part is, it was carved on a cliff of tens of meters high, and the cliff is “eaves” like. The words are carved on the bottom of the “eaves”, and below the cliff is an abyss. This is so confusing.
Mount Hua is located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. In the course of the development of the Chinese nation, Mount Hua gave birth to the Chinese nation and created the Chinese civilization with the Yellow River. It is the root and source of the nation.