Mt. Huashan


At a height of 2,160 meters above sea level and about 120km east of Xi'an, Huashan, literally translated
as Flower Mountain, is a sight for sore eyes. The mountain has for centuries been deemed as one of
China's five sacred mountains, along with one Hengshan to the northeast, Songshan and Taishan to the
east and another Hengshan to  southeast.

Huashan, also known as the Western Mountain (Xi yue) due to its geographical location in relation to the
others, is famed as the most precipitous of the five. Along the 12km path leading from the foot of the
mountain, where it starts at the Jade Fountain Temple (Yuchuan si), to its five peaks, the five peaks of
Huashan Mountain have vivid names. The south one is called the Peak of the Wild Geese (Luo Yan Feng),
the east one, the Peak of the Rising Sun (Zhao Yang Feng), the west one, the peak of Lotus (Lian Hua

Feng), the Central one, the Peak of the Jade Maiden (Yu Nu Feng) and the north one, the Peak of the
Cloud Terrace (Yun Tai Feng). You will get the chance to see some impressive scenes, including the strangely shaped granite peaks and the
twisted pines, that make up this, one of the lesser visited of the holy mountains.

Of the five peaks, Lian Hua Feng is the southern peak (2,100 meters) that is the largest, closely followed by those in the east and west. The ascent
provides not only natural scenery, but also a number of man-made constructions that, for better or worse, are now a part of the mountain's tourist
culture. The route to conquer the peaks passes by temples, shrines, pavilions, terraces, carvings, statues, food stalls and hawkers, that appear
interspersed between the stark granite paths and forested margins.

North Peak, with cliffs on three sides, has only one road leading to the south. From here one goes south to
Ca'er Precipice, the fourth most dangerous place along the only path in Mount Huashan. The cliff path is less
than 30 centimeters wide, and faces such a deep valley that the tourists have to edge along carefully. Then
one comes to Sky-leading Ladder, Sun and Moon Precipice and the well-known Blue Dragon Mountain.

East Peak, with a rising-sun platform favorable for viewing the morning sun, is also called Facing Sun Peak.
As the sun emerges from the sea of clouds, one cannot help but show great admiration.