Thursday, September 3, 2009

TRAVEL | Mount Huang (黃山)

Located in the Anhui province of eastern China, Mount Huang is one of China's major tourist attractions, well known for its scenery, sunsets, peculiarly-shaped granite peaks, Huangshan Pine trees, and views of the clouds from above. Mount Huang has been voted as one of China's top ten scenic spots, the only mountain range on the list.

There are four major attractions (黄山四绝) that are found in Mount Huang:

1. Pine trees 奇松

The pine trees found here are famous for its peculiar shapes and many are more than a hundred years old. Due to the shapes, many pine trees have been given their own names. The most famous is the Welcoming-Guests Pine, thought to be over 1500 years old. The trees here take roots on rocks, instead of soil.


2. Strange Rocks 怪石

The mountains here are a body of granite, often with vertical joints and are known for the lofty peaks and deep ravines caused by constant erosion and fractures. Within an area of 154 square kilometers there is a crowd of peaks, 72 of which have names indicating the shapes they resemble. Lotus, Brightness Apex, and Celestial Capital Peaks are the three major ones, all rising above 1,800 meters. When it is cloudy the pinnacles loom in mists as if they were illusionary, and while the sun is shining they unfold all their majesty and splendor.




3. Sea of Clouds 云海

Most famous mountain peaks offer the view of clouds as seen from above. In Huangshan, the peculiarly-shaped granite peaks and pine trees shrouded in the clouds make the scene particularly surreal. Here, clouds and fog cover the peaks of Huangshan 250 days of the year, producing imagery that change in the blink of an eye.



4. Hot springs 温泉

Huangshan has multiple hot springs, most of them located at the foot of the Purple Cloud Peak (紫云峰). The water stays at 42 °C all year and has a high concentration of carbonates, and is said to help prevent skin, joint, and nerve illness.


In addition, Huangshan has moist climate all year round, facilitating the growing of tea leaves, making it one of China's premier green tea-growing mountains. Mao feng cha ("Fur Peak Tea"), a well-known local variety of green tea, takes its name from the downy tips of tea leaves found in the Mount Huang area.

"Thousands of feet high towers the Yellow Mountains With its thirty-two magnificent peaks, Blooming like golden lotus flowers, Amidst red crags and rock columns." - Li Bai



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