Known as “the Number One PrecipitousMountain under Heaven”, Mt. Huashan is one of the five sacred mountains inChina. The other four are Mt. Taishan in Shandong, Mt. Hengshan in Hunan, Mt.Hengshan in Shanxi, and Mt. Songshan in Henan.Situated in Huayin City, MountHuashan is 120 kilometers (75 miles) from Xi'an. It is famous for natural vistaof steep and narrow paths, precipitous crags and a high mountain range. Itsfive peaks are the representative attractions and each has its distinctivecharms: East Peak is the best place to enjoy the sunrise; South Peak has thehighest altitude; West Peak is the most elegant; North Peak is famous as theCloud Terrace Peak and Middle Peak is also called Jade Lady Peak.

The Mount Huashan is also home to severalinfluential Taoist temples, where many emperors of past dynasties took part inTaoist activities and sacrificed to the god of mountain, making it a holy landof Taoism. At its foot, are the representatives of its Taoist elements:

MountHuashan Hiking Trails

Hike on Huashan Mountain is very popularamong visitors. For many years most people have taken a traditional butefficient walking-ascending and cable-car-descending route for this mountainclimbing. By taking this route, visitors can experience not only its danger,but also the major meaningful scenic spots. At the foot of Mt. Huashan, you canstart your trip by visiting the Jade Spring Temple. After that, you can walk tothe Memorial Archway in about 15 min, and then in 5 min you will get to FiveDragon Bridge, next to which is the ticket office.

Passing through the ticket office ofHuashan Mountain, you will see the scenic spots one by one:

walking about 30 min to Fish Stone – 20 minto Five-Mile Pass – 15 min to Stone Gate - 10 min to Shaluo Terrace – 10 min toMaonv Cave – 10 min to Qingke Terrace – 10 min to Mind Changing Stone (HuixinStone) – 10 min to Thousand-Foot Precipice – 15 min to Hundred-Foot Crevice –15 min to Taoist Temple of A Group of Immortals – 15 min to Laojun Furrow – 10min to Ear-Touching Cliff – 5 min to Heavenward Ladder – 5 min to Black DragonRidge – 25 min to Golden Lock Pass – 10 min to Five-Cloud Peak – 15 min toSunshine Welcoming Cave – 5 min to East Peak. 

Top5 Dangerous Passes

Along the way to East Peak of Mount Huashanyou should be very careful when passing the major dangerous passes, such as theabove-mentioned Thousand-Foot Precipice, Hundred-Foot Crevice, Black DragonRidge and Golden Lock Pass.

East Peak (Facing Sun Peak)

Climbing to the top of East Peak of Mt.Huashan takes 4 to 6 hours. It has an altitude of 2,090 meters (6,857 feet),forming a platform for visitors to view the sunrise in fine weather. Anastronomical telescope is provided here. The reference time for sunrise is5:00a.m.-6:00a.m. in spring, 4:30a.m.-5:20a.m. in summer, 5:00a.m.-5:20a.m. inautumn and 5:30a.m.-6:00a.m. in winter.

One well-known scenic spot, the Immortal'sPalm Peak, ranked as one of the Eight Scenic Wonders of the Xi'an, is locatedon the East Peak. It refers to the natural rock veins of the cliff, which looklike a giant palm-print.

The legend goes that on March 3rd of theLunar Calendar a torrential flood destroyed the villages within the MountHuashan area. This disaster was caused by the Queen Mother of the West, whoheld her Flat Peach Carnival celebration that year. She carelessly spilled alittle jade wine down from paradise, causing a serious flood below. This newswas quickly reported by Deity Shaohao to the Jade Emperor in CelestialParadise. He gave a prompt order to Deity Juling to go down to tame the flood.When Deity Juling, full of vigor and vitality, descended from the clouds, hearrived at the precipitous cliff of East Peak. At the moment that he laid hisleft hand on one side and his right leg on the other, he ripped Mount Huashaninto two halves and immediately a flood rushed out. This tale adds luster toEast Peak.

* After enjoying the sunrise at East peak,you can descend according to this route in case you have missed some scenicspots: East Peak – about 35 min to Heavenly South Gate – 5 min to Huashan PlankRoad – 25 min to Heaven Watching Pool – 5 min to South Peak – 35 min to WestPeak – 15 min to Middle Peak – 20 min back to Black Dragon Ridge – 25 min toMacaque Sorrow – 5 min to North Peak.

South Peak (Landing Wild Geese Peak)

With an altitude of 2,160 meters (7,087feet), the South Peak is regarded as the monarch of Mount Huashan because it isthe highest peak and also the highest peak among the Five Sacred Mountains ofChina. Visitors who summit South Peak are undoubtedly winners. Looking aroundwhen standing at the peak, the surrounding landscapes are luxuriantly green;the Yellow River wanders far below and everything seems small. A legend goesthat the wild geese returning from the south often landed at South Peak, givingthe area the name Landing Wild Geese Peak.

At the top of South Peak, the Black DragonPool at the summit and the Greeting Pines on the southwestern cliff are twoattractive resorts. At each side of the Landing Wild Goose Peak there are twopeaks, Songhui Peak (Pine and Juniper Peak) in the east and Xiaozi Peak (FilialSon Peak) in the west. The three peaks form a picture of a Titan sitting in achair. The most dangerous place is Plank Road, a plank path built along theside of a vertical cliff, about 0.3 meters (1 foot) wide. Below is a bottomlessgulf which makes visitors shake with fear. In addition, there is a Taoisttemple called Baidi Temple or Jintian Palace, considered to be the host templeof Deity Shaohao.

West Peak (Lotus Flower Peak)

West Peak has very high cliffs standingerect with an altitude of 2,086.6 meters (6,845 feet). There is a Taoist templecalled Cuiyun Palace, before which a huge rock looking like a lotus flowercomes into view, hence the name Lotus Flower Peak. There are another sevenrocks beside Cuiyun Palace, which is said to be the place where Chenxiang, amain character in the movie Lotus Lantern, ripped Mount Huashan to save hismother, The Heavenly Goddess San Sheng Mu.

Middle Peak (Jade Maiden Peak)

Middle Peak clings to East Peak and is inthe center of East, South and West Peaks. There is a Taoist temple on the peaknamed Jade Maiden Temple. Legend has it that the daughter of Qin Mugong (569 -621 BC) loved a man who was good at playing Chinese tung-hsiao (vertical flute)and she gave up the royal life to become a hermit who cultivated herspirituality here, hence the name Jade Maiden Peak. Today Jade Maiden Templeand Jade Maiden Basin for Shampooing can be found on the peak. Other scenicspots in Middle Peak include Rootless Tree and Sacrificing Tree, which have beautifulstories and add to the supernatural atmosphere of Middle Peak.

North Peak (Cloud Terrace Peak)

There are precipitous cliffs on all sidesof North Peak, making it look like a flat terrace in the clouds, hence the nameCloud Terrace Peak. It is 1,614 meters (5,295 feet) high. Three sides arecliffs and one side is to the Ear-Touching Cliff, which is the fourthprecipitous path where visitors can climb up only by pressing an ear close tothe cliff. Almost halfway up the North Peak trees are luxuriantly green,creating a good rest spot.

Upon arrival at the North Peak, you canwalk to the Cableway Station in 3-5 min and take the cable car to descend.

  Tip on Easy Climbing by Cable Car

Visiting Huashan Mountain by cable car isanother good choice for visitors. On the east side of Yuquan Temple, there isan about 8 kilometer (5 miles) long concrete road leading up to Wamiaogou whereyou can take a cable car directly to the North Peak of Mt. Huashan. The topstation is located on the east cliff of North Peak. The whole ride is more than1,500 meters (0.9 mile) long and takes seven or eight minutes. The other cablecar line starts from Donggoukou to West Peak with a stop at White SparrowTemple. The whole ride is about 4,211 meters (2.6 miles) long and takes about20 minutes. It is easier to get to the South and East Peak from West Peakcompared with the North Peak. 

How to get to Mount Huashan

•How to go from Xi'an to Huashan

1. There are high speed trains running fromXi'an North Railway Station to Huashan North Station, taking 30 - 40 minutes.After arrival, take the free Minibus Huayin 1/ Huayin 2 in green outside thestation to Shengtai Guangchang, which is also the tourist center.

2. Take metro line 1 to Fangzhicheng. Afteryou leave from the station, you will see Fangzhicheng Bus Station. Take a busto Huashan. The bus runs between 07:45 and 19:30. It costs CNY 37 and a singletrip takes about 2 hours.