Posts from an Australian lost in the Middle Kingdom
Wuyue (五岳) is the general name of the five famous mountains in Chinese Han culture and is the product of the combination of ancient folk mountain god reverence, the concept of the Five Elements and imperial excursions and meditation in ancient times.
The four famous mountains of Taoism in China (道教四大名山) are Qiyun Mountain in Anhui, Wudang Mountain in Hubei, Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan, and Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi. The four mountains are dedicated to the Guangzong Purdue Tianzun, the Zhenwu Emperor, the Moral Tianzun, and the Demon Protector.
With the introduction of Buddhism from India around the time of the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), temples and monastic halls were built on what would become the four famous mountains of Chinese Buddhism.
Zhangjiajie (张家界市), a city located in Hunan Province, is famed for its mountainous regions featuring karst rock formations that were the inspiration for the scenes in the movie Avatar. Near to the city is the Wulingyuan Scenic Area featuring large-scale limestone karst landforms in the northern part of the scenic spot have been eroded and dissolved by the transition of hundreds of millions of years of rivers, forming spectacular landscapes and native wonders.
Huangshan, aka Yellow Mountain, is a famous scenic mountain located in southern Anhui Province. It features amazing scenery the exact liking to that in many famous Chinese paintings, along with rock formations, waterfalls, hot spring, and most famously its cloud viewing areas. It features 36 peaks with the main peak, Lotus Peak, being 1864 meters above sea level.
The Three Parallel Rivers originate in the Tibetan Plateau flowing from north to south for 170 kms to Yunnan Province crossing several mountains along the way. It consists of the Salween River (怒江 Nujiang River), the Mekong River (澜沧江 Lancang River) and the Yangtze (金沙江 Jinsha River) and its mountain ranges. It is a UNESCO World Heritage protected area.
Wuyi Mountain, or Wuyishan, is a famous scenic tourist area and summer resort in China. It is located at the junction of Jiangxi and the northwestern provinces of Fujian. The northern section of the Wuyi Mountains has a total area of 999.75 square kilometers. It is a typical Danxia landform with its tallest peak being Mt. Huangguang at 2,158 meters (7,080 feet) and is one of the first national key scenic spots.
Mount Sanqing, or Sanqingshan, is a UNESCO Global Geopark located within the region of Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province. The mountain features three main summits being Yujing, Yushui, and Yuhua. Yujing is the tallest at 1817 meters.
Here’s a list of over 50 unique destinations in China, from temples to remote villages, that will hopefully open things up a bit as to how unique, diverse and numerous the tourism attractions are that the country offers.
Located in Guangdong province, Zhaoqing, a small scenic city featuring a wetland park and mountain nature reserve, makes for a great escape from the hectic and sprawling cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Craving for fresh air, and a reminder of nature, on the bus we went.
Mt. Emei or Emei Shan (Shan meaning mountain) is located in Leshan City of Sichuan Province. It’s one of China’s Sacred Mountains featuring Buddhist temples and amazing scenery. In 1996 it was given World Heritage status by UNESCO.