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Hengshan Mountain is located in Hunyuan County of Shanxi Province in northern China. It is the Northern Mountain of the Five Sacred Mountains. Boasting 108 peaks and spanning 150 kilometers, it has an average elevation of 2,017 meters. The Tianfeng Peak, the highest peak, is 2,190 meters above sea level, the highest among the Five Sacred Mountains.
Legend has it that 4,000 years ago when King Shun visited the mountain and saw the lofty peaks, he named it the "Northern Sacred Mountain". During the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC), Emperor Shihuang named 12 famous mountains, and Hengshan Mountain was regarded as the "Second Mountain in the World". In ancient times, many emperors and celebrities visited Hengshan Mountain and left quite a lot of stone inscriptions of poems.
Hengshan Mountain is famous for steepy ridges, splendid peaks, exotic-shaped temples, and gushing fountains, together with oddly-shaped stones and forests of ancient trees, which constitutes a beautiful landscape.
It is called "The First Mountain Guarding the North Borders", depicting its magnitude and wonder. The mountain links with the Taihang Mountain Range in the east, and to the north it faces the vast expanse of a plateau, thus forming a natural screen for Shanxi Province. The Great Wall winds up the mountain, forming many ancient strategic passes; thus, passes, ancient castles and beacon towers constitute a unique landscape differing from that of the other four mountains.
Hengshan Mountain is a very good summer resort. It has a semi-arid continental climate, with cold winter, dry and windy spring, humid summer and sunny but short autumn. It has an annual temperature of 6.1oC -- the hottest month, July, averaging 21.6oC and the coldest month, January, 12oC.
Hengshan Mountain's main peak, Tianfeng (Heavenly Peak) Ridge, rises 2,190 meters above sea level. Its steep northern slope is covered with pine trees, and located on its southern slope are temples and monasteries built by ancient kings and emperors to worship their ancestors. Hengshan Mountain was once famous for its "Eighteen Sites of Interest, and there still remain a dozen sites such as the Xuankong (Suspending or Mid-air) Temple, Zhaodian Hall, Jiutian (Nine Heavens) Palace, Huixian (Celestial-Meeting) Mansion and Flying Stone Cave, etc.
Hengshan Mountain boasts many cultural relics like temples, sites of academy, steles and engravings, some of which occupy important positions in the development of China's ancient architecture, such as the Xuankong Temple, Yuanjue Brick Pagoda and Yongan Temple. The Xuankong Temple, built 1,400 years ago, hosts worship for the Taoists, Confucians and Buddhists. The temple is hung in the middle of the cliff and is still in perfect conditions after so many years.
Besides the Xuankong Temple, many other temples are constructed on the cliffs or caved just like castles in the air, adding to steepness and grandiosity. Standing high in the mountain, with the clouds floating under your feet and the wind in the pine trees resounding above your head, the mountain peaks occasionally appearing and disappearing in the clouds, one will be reluctant to leave. On the sides of some cliffs there are full of stone inscriptions eulogizing the beauty of Hengshan Mountain by celebrities in history.
Hengshan Mountain
Hengshan Mountain, named the Southern Mountain of the Five Sacred Mountains, is located in Hengyang County, in the middle part of Hunan Province. There are 72 peaks, extending 150 kilometers, with a circumference of 800 miles. The Huiyan Peak is the south end of the peaks, Yuelu Mountain in Changsha City the north end, and the Zhurong Peak is the highest, with 1,290 meters above sea level. On the top, the Shaolin Temple and the Watching Sunrise Platform are the best scenic spots.
Besides marvelous temples, the mountain also boasts 9 ponds, 9 wells, 9 pools, 10 caves, 15 rocks, 25 streams and 38 springs, in harmony with green forests and fragrant flowers and grass. Grand, graceful, sequestered and culturally abundant, Hengshan Mountain leads the five sacred mountains by its gracefulness.
As early as 2,000 years ago, many emperors and celebrities visited Hengshan Mountain and left quite a lot of stone inscriptions of poems, including that of famous poets: Libai, Dufu and Zhuxi. With beautiful scenery and rich cultural heritage, the mountain attracts travelers home and abroad.
The biggest temple in the mountain is the Nanyue Temple, which is the largest group of ancient buildings in Hunan Province, covering an area of 100,000 square meters. Among the temples in the mountain, the Fuyan Temple is known as the nation's "First Temple of Buddhist Doctrine", with a maidenhair tree of 1,400 years old; the Nantai Temple has a history of over 1,400 years and is regarded as the origin of a Buddhist branch in Japan; the Tripitaka Temple, famous for its delicacy and enfeoffed Confuian classics, is surrounded by such oddly-shaped ancient trees like Money Tree, Tree of Love, etc., and many historic sites like Shuzhuang Tai and Diaoyu Tai and Yunchun Pavilion. The Fangguang Temple, which is quiet with a forest of ancient trees, and the Water-Screen Cave, which is mysterious, are all spots of interest.
The renowned Four Wonders of the Southern Mountain are, namely, the loftiness of Zhurong Peak, the delicacy of Tripitaka Temple, the quietness of Fangguang Temple and the mystery of Water-screen Cave.
Nanyue Temple
The Nanyue Temple has nine courtyards and the main hall is 22 meters high, supported by 72 stone pillars, which symbolize the 72 peaks of the mountain. Glazed in red and yellow, the temple, covering 98,500 sq. meters, is linked with many other buildings and represents a grand palace complex.
The gate of the Nanyue Temple is a 20-meter-high stone gate called Lingxing Gate. The main hall of the Nanyue Temple is called the Shendi Hall, over 30 meters high and over 50 meters wide, which looks magnificent and has two layers. In the middle there consecrates the figure of Nanyue God Emperor. With 72 large stone poles supporting the hall, it looks magnificent and characteristic. Passing the God Emperor Hall, it is Mausoleum with the sitting figures of Saint Father and Saint Mother. Besides, there are two halls, one is the Zhusheng Hall, worshipping Taoism, and the other is the Xiashen Hall, worshipping Buddhism.
Water-Screen Cave
The Water-Screen Cave, lying under the Zigai Peak, is an irresistible attraction. The most famous attraction in the Water-Screen Cave is its foundation. Walking along the brook and passing by the stone bridge, you can see stones with different poses and carvings. The falling foundation falls into a stone pool.
Taishan Mountain
The Eighteen Mountain Benda
Taishan Mountain lies in central Shandong Province, spanning the ranges of Tai'an and Jinan cities. It covers an area of 550 square meters. It was regarded as preeminent among China's Five Sacred Mountains. 72 Chinese emperors of various dynasties made pilgrimages to Taishan Mountain for sacrificial and other ceremonial purposes, including Emperor Shihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC), Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty (206BC-8AD), Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Taishan Mountain is endowed with many scenic spots. A large number of them were given names in ancient times. They include 112 peaks, 98 precipices, 18 caves, 58 oddly shaped rocks, 102 streams and valleys, 56 pools and waterfalls, and 64 springs. Vegetation covers 79.9% of the area. The flora is known to comprise 989 species in 144 families.
Taishan Mountain also boasts cultural heritage with an incessant history of several thousand years. Currently on the mountain, there are 22 ancient architectural complexes, 97 ruins, 819 stone tablets and 1,800 stone inscriptions, which provide a natural museum for the study of ancient history and calligraphy. Main sites of interest are the Tiankuang Temple, Nantian Gate, Azure Cloud Temple, Peak for Viewing the Sun, and Sutra Rock Valley, etc.
Taishan Mountain is a mountain of outstanding value from the pointview of aesthetics, science, history and culture. Taishan Mountain was elected to the "World Heritage List" in 1987. Chinese people tend to describe a situation as being as stable as Taishan Mountain or a matter as being as weighty as Taishan Mountain, giving clear evidence of such an impression.
Cultural Heritage
Azure Cloud Temple
Taishan Mountain is one of the birthplaces of the ancient Chinese civilization along the Yellow River. Evidence of human activities includes two flourishing cultures -- the Dawenkou Culture to the north and the Longshan Culture to the south of the mountain. During the Warring States Period, a 500-kilometer-long wall was built from Taishan Mountain to the Yellow Sea. Scenic spots related to the famous ancient sage Confucius are the Confucian Temple, places where Confucius climbed Taishan Mountain and viewed the scenery, etc.
Taishan Mountain has an extremely rich cultural heritage. It has always been regarded as pre-eminent among China's five sacred mountains. It was also a symbol of power. Emperors of different dynasties have made pilgrimages to it for sacrificial purposes shortly after they came to the throne or when the land enjoyed peaceful and prosperous times. Poets and literary scholars of each dynasty also visited Taishan Mountain. Numerous rock inscriptions and stone tablets bear testimony to such visits. Renowned scholars, including Confucius, Sima Qian, Cao Zhi, Li Bai, Du Fu, composed poetry and prose and left their calligraphy on the mountain. The currently preserved 97 sites and 22 ancient building complexes provide materials for research into China's ancient architecture.
Natural Heritage
Taishan Mountain rises abruptly to 1,300 meters above the vast plain of north China. The sharp contrast between Taishan Mountain and its surrounding plain and hills makes it especially majestic.
Taishan Mountain rises from about 150 meters above sea level (north of Tai'an City), to the Middle Gate to Heaven at 847 meters, to the Southern Gate to Heaven at 1,460 meters, and finally to the Jade Emperor Peak at 1,545 meters. Standing in the central part of Shandong, the mountain stretches 100 kilometers. Its base covers an area of 426 square kilometers. The wide base and huge body of the mountain gives an impression of solidity and dignity.
Taishan Mountain is a symbol of loftiness and grandeur, characterized by numerous old but still green pines and cypresses, towering precipices comprising metamorphic rock and granite, and ever-changing seas of clouds.