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Insider View
Unique Experience
- Take the cablecar to the mountain top.
- Enjoy the sunrise at the mountain op.
Basic Information
Overview
Mount Hua is a mountain near the city of Huayin in Shaanxi Province, about 120 kilometers (75 mi) east of Xi’an. It is the western mountain of the Five Great Mountains of China and has a long history of religious significance. Originally classified as having three peaks, the mountain is classified as five main peaks in modern times, the highest of which is the South Peak at 2,154.9 meters (7,070 ft).
Mount Hua is situated in Huayin City, 120 kilometers (about 75 miles) from Xi’an. It is located near the southeast corner of the Ordos Loop section of the Yellow River basin, south of the Wei River valley, at the eastern end of the Qin Mountains, in Southern Shaanxi Province. It is part of the Qinling or the Qin Mountains, which divides northern and southern Shaanxi and China.
As early as the 2nd century BC, a Daoist temple was known as the Shrine of the Western Peak located at its base. Daoists believed that in the mountain lives the god of the underworld. The temple at the foot of the mountain was often used for spirit mediums to contact the god and his underlings. Unlike Taishan, which became a popular place of pilgrimage, Mount Hua, because of its summits’ inaccessibility, only received Imperial and local pilgrims and was not well visited by pilgrims from the rest of China.
Mount Hua was also an important place for immortality seekers, as many herbal Chinese medicines are grown, and powerful drugs were reputed to be found there. Kou Qianzhi (365–448), the founder of the Northern Celestial Masters, received revelations there, as did Chen Tuan (920–989), who spent the last part of his life in a hermitage on the west peak. In the 1230s, all the temples on the mountain came under the Daoist Quanzhen School’s control.
Source: Wikipedia
Attractions
Summits
Traditionally, only the giant plateau with its summits to the south of the peak Wuyun Feng (Five Cloud Summit) was called Taihua Shan. It could only be accessed through the ridge known as Canglong Ling (Dark Dragon Ridge) until a second trail was built in the 1980s to go around Canglong Ling. Three peaks were identified with respective summits: the East, South and West peaks.
The East peak consists of four summits. The highest summit is Zhaoyang Feng (Facing the Sune Summit). Its elevation is reported to be 2,096 m (6,877 ft) and its name is often used as the name for the whole of East Peak. To the east of Zhaoyang Feng is Shilou Feng (Stone Tower Summit), to the south is Botai Feng (Broad Terrace Summit) and to the west is Yunű Feng (Jade Maiden Summit). Today, Yunű Feng considered its own peak, most central on the mountain.
The South peak consists of three summits. The highest summit is Luoyan Feng (Landing Goose Summit), with an elevation of 2,154 m (7,067 ft). To the east is Songgui Feng (Pines and Junipers Summit) and to the west is Xiaozi Feng (Filial Son Summit).
The West peak has only one summit and it is known as Lianhua Feng or Furong Feng, both meaning Lotus Flower Summit. The elevation is 2,082 m (6,831 ft).
With the development of a new trail to Mount Hua in the 3rd through 5th century along the Hua Shan Gorge, the peak immediately to the north of Canglong Ling, Yuntai Feng (Cloud Terrace Peak), was identified as the North peak. It is the lowest of the five peaks with an elevation of 1,614.9 m (5,298 ft).
Mount Hua has a variety of temples and other religious structures on its slopes and peaks. At the foot of the mountains is the Cloister of the Jade Spring, dedicated to Chen Tuan. Additionally, atop the southern-most peak, there is an ancient Taoist temple that has been converted into a tea house in modern times.
Source: Wikipedia
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