Mount Huangshan
Location: in the south of Anhui Province
Huangshan
is located in the south of Anhui Province. It is a part of China's
southern ranges. The whole mountain covers an area of 1200 hectares.
But the middle part of the mountain is the most significant of all
the mountain area. The scenic area covers 154 hectares and belongs
to Huangshan City. Huangshan City (formerly Tunxi) is roughly over
60km away from Mount Huangshan. The neighbors of Huangshan in the
south are three counties and one district; in the north is "Huangshan
District". All the above five areas belong to Huangshan City.
Mount Huangshan has been so named and called since Emeror Li Longji
of the Tang Dynasty named it so in the 8th century. Huangshan's former
name was "Mount Qian". "Qian" means "black".
"Mount Qian" means the mountain is full of black stones.
An old tale tells us why the mountain has different names. Legend
has it that our ancestor "Huangdi" created the unitary multi-national
state and civilized the society. Then he came to Mount Qian to make
pills of immortality and take bath in the hot spring. Then he became
an immortal. Emperor Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty believed this tale.
He changed Mount Qian to Mount Huangshan in commemoration of Huangdi.
For visiting Huangshan, you come from different parts of the world.
I would be very glad to say that you have made the right choice. You
will find with your own eyes that Huangshan is the most marvelous
mountain on earth.
The first attractive scene in Huangshan must be the peaks. The wonderful
peaks have unique characteristics and charms. There is no exactly
number of the peaks in Huangshan. According to historical documents,
there are 36 big peaks and 36 small peaks named. And 10 new peaks
that have also been named at present time. Totally 82 named peaks
have been chosen to enter the chronicle "Records of Mount Huangshan".
Most of the peaks rise more than 1000 meters above sea level. The
highest one is Lotus Flower Peak (Lianhuafeng) which is 1864m, followed
by Bright Summit Peak (Guangmingding) at 1841m and Heavenly Capital
Peak (Tiandufeng) at 1829.5m. The three main peaks with the unique
Peak of Starting to Believe (Shixinfeng) at 1683m, are called four
famous peaks of Huangshan. You will get something of Huangshan if
you climb up any one of the four.
The beauty of Huangshan is not only in its peaks, but also in that
it has merged the unique features of all the famous mountains of China;
that is to say, Huangshan has the grandeur of Mount Tai, the precipitousness
of Mount Hua, the misty clouds of Mount Heng, the beautiful waterfalls
of Mount Lu, the exquisite rocks of Mount Yandang and the coolness
of Mount Emei. In short, Huangshan epitomized almost all the unique
features of mountain on earth. Besides, Huangshan is also known for
its own four unique features--gnarled pines, craggy rocks, rolling
seas of clouds and hot springs. Everyone will speak highly of the
four unique sights. Mr. Xu Xiake, a famous geographer and traveler
of the Ming Dynasty, traveled to every famous mountain of China and
climbed up Huangshan twice. His comment on Huangshan was:"No
mountain is better than Huangshan." That means you will realize
that no other mountain is better than Huangshan after hyou have visited
Huangshan. To some extent, it is no need for you to visit other mountains
if you have once enjoyed the beauty of Huangshan. This is also summarized
in the old Chinese saying, "no need to visit other mountains
after visiting the five famous mountains. No need to visit the five
famous mountains after coming back from Huangshan." In May 1990,
a UNESCO official came to Huangshan to investigate the natural resources
and cultural heritage. He could not help saying, "Huangshan is
marvelous. This is the most beautiful mountain I've ever seen."
He is the authoritative person in scenic investigation. What he said
means that Huangshan can be regarded as the moust beautiful mountain
in the world.
Huangshan not only has the natural beauty, but also contains rich
historical and cultural heritage. The natural beauty in perfect harmony
with the historical and cultural heritage creates the beauty of Huangshan.
In 1985, Huangshan was selected as one of the top ten natural and
cultural attractions in China. It was the only mountain that earned
such honor. then, in 1990, UNESCO inscribed it on the World Heritage
List and from then on Huangshan, as a tourist resort, has been getting
more and more popular among tourists both at home and abroad.
Huangshan symbolizes the spirit of Chinese people just as the Yellow
River, the Yangtze River and the Great Wall do.
