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Huangshan City
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Mt.Huangshan Scenic Spot (Huangshan Jingdian)
Mt.Huangshan in east China¡®s Anhui province is one of China¡¯s ten best-known scenic spots, It is characterized by the four wonders, namely, odd-shaped pines, grotesque rock formation, seas of clouds and crystal-clear hot springs. Mount Huangshan is celebrated for having all the features of mountain scenery. Known as the No. 1 Mountain Under heaven, it features numerous imposing peaks (77 exceed an altitude of 1,000m), forests of stone pillars and evergreen sturdy pines; other features include grotesquely-shaped rocks (many of which are individually named, such as "pig-headed monk eating water melon"), waterfalls, pools and hot springs. Because of its mists and clouds, natural scenery in the area changes beyond prediction. Xu Xiake, a noted Chinese geologist and traveler in Ming Dynasty, praised MT.Huangshan as the best of all mountains. Mount Huangshan was listed as one of the World Natural and Cultural Heritages in 1990.
Mount Huangshan extends 40 kilometers from south to north and 30 kilometers from east to west, covering an area of 1200 square kilometers, the highlights of which occupy 154 square kilometers. Mt.Huangshan is a marvel: 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 Top and Celestial Capital are the three major ones, all rising above 1,800 meters above sea level. The mountains are a body of granite, often with vertical joints. Erosion and fracture contributed to shape the rocks into huge columns, giving rise to lofty peaks and deep ravines. When it is cloudy the pinnacles loom in mists as if they were illusionary, while the sun is shining they unfold in all their majesty and splendor. Mt.Huangshan change its color and appearance with the alternation of seasons. In spring blooming flowers decorate the slopes in a riot of color and fill the valleys with fragrance; in summer you see verdure peaks rising one upon another and hear springs gurgling merrily. Autumn dresses the mountains in red and purple as maples and some other trees are blazing-red; winter turns them into a world of frost and ice with silver boughs and rocks everywhere. Here in Huangshan, pines and rocks are intimately involved with each other, almost every rock has a pine tree growing out of the crevice, and every tree has tortuous and gnarled roots and branches.The still sea of snow-white cloud can suddenly begin to roll and toss, rise or fall, gather or disperse while the peaks emerge and disappear in the clouds like isles in the ocean. So from ancient times it has been frequented by tourists seeking their mystery and admiring their frequented by tourists seeking their mystery and admiring their scenery. They come to the conclusion that the fantastic pines, the grotesque rocks , the sea of clouds and the hot springs are the four major attractions of the Mt.Huangshan. As a matter of fact there are marvels almost everywhere, especially in the following scenic areas: Wenquan (Hot pring) , Yupinglou (Jade Screen Tower), Xihai ( West Sea), Beihai (North Sea), Yungusi (Cloud Valley Temple) and Songgu¡®an (Pine Valley Nunnery).
There is plentiful rainfall in Mt.Huangshan. Therefore there are thick forests.Owing to the peculiar terrain, the Mt.Huangshan¡®s climate is marked by a vertical change, and the vertical distribution of vegetation is also distinctive: plants on the summit, on the middle levels and at the foot belong to the frigid, temperate and subtropical zones respectively. There are more than 1500 species of plants, of which trees comprise one third. So the Mt.Huangshan occupies an important place in China¡®s botanical research. Here you will find century-old pines, firs, ginkgoes, actinidia, Chinese torreyas and camphor woods, remnants of the glacial era. A number of trees are celebrated on account of their age, grotesque shape, or precipitously perched position. Mount Huangshan abound in flowering plants; many of them are rare ones, such as Huangshan Rhododendron, magnolia as well as azalea, camellia, plum, lily, orchid, and so on. It has a rich store of medicinal herbs; more than 300 kinds are found here; the notable ones being glossy ganoderma ginseng, Chinese gold thread rhizome and Chinese cinnamon. Maofeng tea of Huangshan is well known at home and abroad.
Mt.Huangshan also provides the natural habitat for a wide variety of fauna. Among the animals there are monkeys, goats, deer, pangolin and squirrels. There are rare birds such as the red-billed leiothrix, the silver pheasant, the octave-tone bird and the oriole, all good singers. The red-billed leiothrix (called "love birds" in Chinese) are so lovely that they have become favorites of foreign tourists and are exported by pairs. Besides, chukkar(stone frog) from the streams is good to make delicious dishes with.
Mt. Huangshan¡®s climate is mild and humid, neither too hot in summer nor too cold in winter, the temperature is agreeable all the year round .
It is cool in summer, averaging 70 ¡ãF at the North Sea Area ( 1 ,630 meters above sea) and 80 ¡ãF at Hot Spring Area (630 meters above sea) in July (the hottest month). As clouds often shut out the sun, hot weather never stays long, and this makes Mt.Huangshan an ideal summer resort. Mt.Huangshan lies in subtropical zones, so it¡®s not quiet cold in winter, at least, not so cold as some people expected. The temperature ranges from 25 ¡ãF to 40 ¡ãF, but it¡®s enough to result in a fantastic snow scenery and a silver world with pines and precipitous peaks covered with snow and decorated with icicles.
Today Mt. Huangshan has become a world-famous tourist attraction. With its convenient facilities: three cable lines, four three-star hotels on the top, all the paths paved with flat stones, it lures millions of visitors both from home and abroad. Seeing is believing. Welcome to Mount Huangshan.Tunxi Ancient Street (Tunxi Laojie)
The 832-meter-long Ancient Street in Tunxi District, Huangshan City, was built in the Southern Song Dynasty. The street is lined on both sides with buildings in the Ming and Qing styles, and has become a commercial center. The buildings here are mainly brick and wooden structures topped by gray tiles, and decorated with woodcarvings.
At the back of most stores and shops are factories of residences. The towers are exquistite and elegant, with small doors, big-halls, small yards, and narrow lanes.
Place of historic interest include the Memorial Archway of Xuguo of the Ming Dynasty, Taibai Pavilion, Taiping Bridge, the East and south Watchtowers of the Song Dynasty, Pagoda of Changqing Temple, and Xinzhou Stonetower. After a bus drive of 33 kilometers, you can get to the beautiful Qiyun Mountain--the sacred Place of Taoism in China. Xu Xiake, a well-known traveler in the Ming Dynasty, had this remark:"the most mysterious scene in the Qiyun Mountain is the flying-down waterfall." Qianlong, emperor of the Qing Dynasty, described it as "None are equal to the mountain which is the greatest in South Anhui."
The located products include the famous tea such as "Tunlu", "Qihong", "Houkui", "Huangshan Maofeng", and Huizhou¡®s inkstick, Shexian¡®s inkslab (two of the "four treasures of the study" in China), and lacquer-ware, bamboo weaving, and etc.
With pleasant weather, Tunxi is suitable for tourism all the year round. It is an ideal scenic spot and the only way to the marvellous Huangshan Mountain as well. Mt.Jiuhua Scenic Spot (Jiuhua Shan)
With 99 peaks,Jiuhua Shan (Nine Brilliant Mountains) is one of China¡¯s four sacred Buddhist mountains (the others are Putuoshan in Zhejiang,Emei Shan in Sichuan and Wutai Shan in Shanxi).Third-century Taoist monks built thatched temples at Jiuhua Shan,but with the rise of Buddhism,stone monasteries gradually replaced them.
Jiuhua Shan owes its importance to Kim Kiao Kak (Jin Qiaojue), a Korean Buddhist disciple who arrived in China in AD720 and founded a worshipping place for Ksitigarbha,the guardian of the earth.Pilgrims flock to Jiuhua Shan for the annual festivities held on the anniversary of Kim¡¯s death,which falls on the 30th day of the seventh lunar month. The mountain apparently received its name after the poet Li Bai was so moved by seeing nine peaks that he wrote that they help hold the world and heaven together.
In its heyday,during the Tang dynasty,as many as 3000monks and nuns,living in more than 150 monasteries,worshipped at Jiuhua Shan.Today only 70 temples and monasteries remain,but a palpable feeling of spirituality still permeates the place.Jiuhua Shan is also an important place for believers to come and bless the souls of the recently deceased to ensure them a passage to Buddhist heaven.
SIGHTS:
Zhiyuan Temple (Zhiyuan Si)
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