Huangshan (),
[Bernstein, pp. 125–127.] literally meaning the Yellow Mountain(s), is a
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
in southern
Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
Province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
in
eastern China
East China () is a geographical and a loosely defined cultural region that covers the eastern coastal area of China.
A concept abolished in 1978, for economical purposes the region was defined from 1949 to 1961 by the Chinese Central Governme ...
. It was originally called “Yishan”, and it was renamed because of a legend that Emperor Xuanyuan once made alchemy here. Vegetation on the range is thickest below , with trees growing up to the treeline at .
The area is well known for its scenery, sunsets, peculiarly-shaped
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
peaks,
Huangshan pine
''Pinus hwangshanensis'', or Huangshan pine, is a pine endemic to the mountains of eastern China; it is named after the Huangshan Mountains in Anhui, from where it was first described.
Description
''Pinus hwangshanensis'' is an evergreen tree r ...
trees, hot springs, winter snow and views of the clouds from above. Huangshan is a frequent subject of traditional
Chinese painting
Chinese painting () is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. Painting in the traditional style is known today in Chinese as ''guó huà'' (), meaning "national painting" or "native painting", as opposed to Western style ...
s and
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
, as well as modern
photography
Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...
. It is a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
and one of
China's major tourist destinations.
Physical description
The Huangshan mountain range has many peaks, some more than 1,000 meters (3,250 feet) high.
The three tallest and best-known peaks are ''Lotus Peak'' (Lianhua Feng, 1,864 m), ''Bright Peak'' (Guangming Ding, 1,860 m) and ''Celestial Peak'' (Tiandu Feng, literally ''Capital of Heaven Peak'', 1,829 m).
[Cao, pp. 114–127.] The World Heritage Site covers a core area of 154 square kilometres and a buffer zone of 142 square kilometres.
The mountains were formed in the
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...
, approximately 100 million years ago, when an ancient sea disappeared due to uplift.
Later, in the
Quaternary Period
The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...
, the landscape was shaped by the influence of
glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...
s.
The vegetation of the area varies with elevation.
Mesic forests cover the landscape below 1,100 meters. Deciduous forest stretches from 1,100 meters up to the
tree line
The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snow ...
at 1,800 meters. Above that point, the vegetation consists of alpine grasslands. The area has diverse flora, where one-third of China's
bryophyte
The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. They are characteristically limited in s ...
families and more than half of its
fern
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...
families are represented. The
Huangshan pine
''Pinus hwangshanensis'', or Huangshan pine, is a pine endemic to the mountains of eastern China; it is named after the Huangshan Mountains in Anhui, from where it was first described.
Description
''Pinus hwangshanensis'' is an evergreen tree r ...
(''Pinus hwangshanensis'') is named after Huangshan and is considered an example of vigor because the trees thrive by growing straight out of the rocks.
Many of the pine trees in the area are more than a hundred years old and have been given their own names (such as the ''Ying Ke Pine'', or ''Welcoming-Guests Pine'', which is thought to be more than 1500 years old).
The pines vary greatly in shape and size, with the most crooked of the trees being considered the most attractive.
Furthermore, Huangshan's moist climate facilitates the growing of
tea leaves
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...
and the mountain has been called "one of China's premier green tea-growing mountains. ''
Mao feng cha'' ("Fur Peak Tea"), a well-known local variety of
green tea, takes its name from the downy tips of tea leaves found in the Huangshan area.
The mountaintops often offer views of the clouds from above, known as the ''Sea of Clouds'' ()
[Heiss, p. 124] or "Huangshan Sea"
because of the cloud's resemblance to an ocean, and many
vista
Vista usually refers to a distant view.
Vista may also refer to:
Software
*Windows Vista, the line of Microsoft Windows client operating systems released in 2006 and 2007
* VistA, (Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture) ...
s are known by names such as "North Sea" or "South Sea."
One writer remarked on the view of the clouds from Huangshan as follows:
The area also is host to notable light effects, such as the renowned sunrises. Watching the sunrise is considered a "mandatory" part of visiting the area.
A phenomenon known as ''
Buddha's Light'' () is also well-known and, on average, Buddha's Light only appears a couple of times per month. In addition, Huangshan has multiple
hot spring
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by c ...
s, most of them located at the foot of the ''Purple Cloud Peak''. The water stays at 42 °C (107.6 °F) all year,
and has a high concentration of
carbonate
A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid (H2CO3), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word ''carbonate'' may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate ...
s. The waters are said to help prevent skin, joint, and nerve illness.
History
Huangshan was formed approximately 100 million years ago and gained its unique
rock formations
A rock formation is an isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock outcrop. Rock formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock. The term ''rock formation'' can also refer to specific sedimen ...
in the
Quaternary Glaciation
The Quaternary glaciation, also known as the Pleistocene glaciation, is an alternating series of glacial and interglacial periods during the Quaternary period that began 2.58 Ma (million years ago) and is ongoing. Although geologists describ ...
.
[''Huangshan Mountains'', p. 12.]
During the
Qin dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...
, Huangshan was known as ''Yishan'' (Mount Yi). In 747 AD, its name was changed to Huangshan (Mount Huang) by imperial decree;
the name is commonly thought to have been coined in honor of
Huang Di Huangdi () may refer to:
*Yellow Emperor (黃帝), a legendary Chinese monarch who supposedly ruled before the Xia dynasty
*Emperor of China (皇帝), the imperial title of Chinese monarchs; and the superlative monarchical title in the Sinosphere
...
(the Yellow Emperor), a legendary Chinese emperor and the mythological ancestor of the
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...
.
One legend states that Huangshan was the location from which the Yellow Emperor ascended to Heaven.
Another legend states that the Yellow Emperor "cultivated moral character and refined
Pills of Immortality in the mountains, and in so doing gave the mountains his name.
The first use of this name "Huangshan" often is attributed to Chinese poet
Li Bai
Li Bai (, 701–762), also pronounced as Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai (), was a Chinese poet, acclaimed from his own time to the present as a brilliant and romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du F ...
.
Huangshan was fairly inaccessible and little-known in ancient times, but its change of name in 747 AD seems to have brought the area more attention; from then on, the area was visited frequently and many temples were built there.
Huangshan is known for its stone steps,
carved into the side of the mountain, of which there may be more than 60,000 throughout the area.
[ p. 52.] The date at which work on the steps began is unknown, but they have been said to be more than 1,500 years old.
Over the years, many scenic spots and physical features on the mountain have been named;
many of the names have narratives behind them. For example, one legend tells of a man who did not believe the tales of Huangshan's beauty and went to the mountains to see them; almost immediately, he was converted to the same view. One of the peaks he is said to have visited was named ''Shixin'' (), roughly meaning "start to believe."
In 1982, Huangshan was declared a "site of scenic beauty and historic interest" by the
State Council of China.
It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990 for its scenery and for its role as a habitat for rare and threatened species.
Subsequently, certified as a National
Geopark
A geopark is a protected area with internationally significant geology within which sustainable development is sought and which includes tourism, conservation, education and research concerning not just geology but other relevant sciences.
In 2 ...
, and then as a regional geopark (
Asia Pacific Geopark Network), it was admitted as a
UNESCO Global Geopark
UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGp) are geoparks certified by the UNESCO Global Geoparks Council as meeting all the requirements for belonging to the Global Geoparks Network (GGN). The GGN is both a network of geoparks and the agency of the United Nati ...
in 2004.
In 2002, Huangshan was named the "sister mountain" of
Jungfrau
The Jungfrau ( "maiden, virgin"), at is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located between the northern canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. Together with the Eiger and Mönch, the Ju ...
in the
Swiss Alps.
Artistic and scientific inspirations
Much of Huangshan's reputation derives from its significance in Chinese arts and literature.
[McGraw, p. 109] In addition to inspiring poets such as Li Bai,
Huangshan and the scenery therein has been the frequent subject of poetry and artwork, especially Chinese
ink painting and, more recently, photography.
Overall, from the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...
to the end of the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...
, more than 20,000 poems were written about Huangshan, and a school of painting named after it.
The mountains also have appeared in modern works; director
James Cameron cited Huangshan as one of his influences in designing the fictional world of his 2009 film ''
Avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...
'', and Chinese animated series ''
Stitch & Ai
''Stitch & Ai'' () is an English-language-produced Chinese animated television series and a spin-off of Disney's ''Lilo & Stitch'' franchise. It is the franchise's third TV series, after the Western animated '' Lilo & Stitch: The Series'' and t ...
'', a spin-off of
Disney's
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
''Lilo & Stitch'' franchise, is set in the Huangshan mountains.
The area also has been a location for scientific research because of its diversity of flora and wildlife. In the early part of the twentieth century, the geology and vegetation of Huangshan were the subjects of multiple studies by both Chinese and foreign scientists.
The mountain is still a subject of research. For example, in the late twentieth century a team of researchers used the area for a field study of
Tibetan macaque
The Tibetan macaque (''Macaca thibetana''), also known as the Chinese stump-tailed macaque or Milne-Edwards' macaque, is a macaque species found from eastern Tibet east to Guangdong and north to Shaanxi in China. It has also been reported from ...
s, a local species of monkey.
Tourism
Having at least 140 sections open to visitors,
Huangshan is a major tourist destination in China.
Huangshan City
Huangshan (), is a prefecture-level city in southern Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. Huangshan means ''Yellow Mountain'' in Chinese and the city is named after the famously scenic Yellow Mountains which cover much of the city's vast g ...
changed its name from Tunxi () in 1987 in order to promote Huangshan tourism.
["Mt.Huangshan Travel Guide" ChinaTour.Net](_blank)
Accessed 2015-1-21 In 2007 more than 1.5 million tourists visited the mountain. The city is linked by rail and by air to
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
,
and also is accessible from cities such as
Hangzhou
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whic ...
,
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...
and
Wuhu
Wuhu () is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Anhui province, China. Sitting on the southeast bank of the Yangtze River, Wuhu borders Xuancheng to the southeast, Chizhou and Tongling to the southwest, Hefei city to the northwest, Ma'ansh ...
,
Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
. Buses connect Huangshan City to the base of the mountain, where visitors can take a cable car or hike to the summit.
There are more than 50 kilometers of footpaths providing access to scenic areas for visitors and staffers of the facilities.
Throughout the area there are hotels and guest houses that accommodate overnight visitors,
many of whom hike up the mountains, spend the night at one of the peaks to view the sunrise, and then descend by a different route the next day.
The area is classified as a
AAAAA scenic area
AAAAA (5A) is awarded to the most important and best-maintained tourist attractions in the People's Republic of China, given the highest level in the rating categories used by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. As of 2020, there are 279 touris ...
by the
China National Tourism Administration
The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA; ) was a Chinese government authority responsible for the development of tourism in the country. The CNTA was subordinate to the State Council. Its headquarters are in Beijing, with regional branch ...
.
The hotels, restaurants, and other facilities at the top of the mountain are serviced and kept stocked by porters who carry resources around the mountain on foot, hanging their cargo from long poles balanced over their shoulders or backs.
[Heiss, p. 132]
Climate
Huangshan has a
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Dfb''). Its elevation makes it colder and wetter than the rest of Anhui.
Panoramas
Image gallery
File:安徽黄山(云谷缆车内拍摄) Mount. Huangshan - panoramio.jpg, View from a cable car
File:Huangshan-笔架峰 20141109.JPG, Bijia Peak
File:Huangshan Pine-梦笔生花 20141109.JPG,
File:天下無山-3.jpg, Artificial steps on the cliffs of Huangshan
File:Huangshan, West Sea Grand Canyon 20141108.jpg, Xihai Great Canyon
File:黄山始信峰风光 - panoramio (11).jpg, Shixin Peak
File:Huangshan Rock Formations.JPG, A rock formation in Huangshan
File:Steps to Heaven.jpg, Carved steps to Tiandu Peak
File:Huangshan - Penglai three islands.jpg, A rock formation in Huangshan
File:Huangshan.jpg, Huangshan pines
File:HuangShan.JPG, Huangshan with trees and clouds
File:Sommet d'un pic - HuangShan.jpg, Summit of mountain in HuangShan
See also
*
List of World Heritage Sites in China
*
Sacred Mountains of China
The Sacred Mountains of China are divided into several groups. The ''Five Great Mountains'' () refers to five of the most renowned mountains in Chinese history, and they were the subjects of imperial pilgrimage by emperors throughout ages. They ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Huangshan overviewby the Huangshan Management Committee
Huangshan Mountain Travel Guideby Huangshan China International Travel Service
Huizhou Geography Essayby Huizhou Geography
{{Authority control
AAAAA-rated tourist attractions
Landforms of Anhui
Global Geoparks Network members
Huangshan City
Mountain ranges of China
Tourist attractions in Anhui
World Heritage Sites in China
Geoparks in China
Highest points of Chinese provinces
Parks in Anhui