Mount Ling (), also known as Mount Dongling (东灵山), Lingshan or Donglingshan, is a mountain in the
Western Hills
The Western Hills () are the hills and mountains in the western part of Beijing.
Geography
Being an extension of the Taihang mountain range from the Hebei Province, the Western Hills cover approximately 17% of the Beijing municipality, inc ...
, an extension of the
Taihang Mountains
The Taihang Mountains () are a Chinese mountain range running down the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau in Shanxi, Henan and Hebei provinces. The range extends over from north to south and has an average elevation of . The principal peak is ...
. It is located in
Mentougou District
Mentougou District () is a district in western Beijing. Spanning , with 266,591 inhabitants (2000 Census), it is subdivided into 4 subdistricts of the city proper of Beijing and 9 towns (1 of which is a suburb of the city proper of Beijing). It bor ...
,
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, about 120 kilometers to the west of downtown Beijing. The mountain is significant for its wildlife, especially birds. At an elevation of 2,303 metres, the summit is the highest point within the Municipality of Beijing.
Wildlife
Mammals on Mount Ling include
tolai hare
The tolai hare (''Lepus tolai'') is a species of hare native to Central Asia, Mongolia, and Northern and Central China. It inhabits semi-desert, steppes, rocky habitats, and forest meadows. It is relatively common, even in areas with heavy hu ...
,
Siberian roe deer
The Siberian roe deer, eastern roe deer, or Asian roe (''Capreolus pygargus''), is a species of roe deer found in northeastern Asia. In addition to Siberia and Mongolia, it is found in Kazakhstan, the Tian Shan Mountains of Kyrgyzstan, eastern Ti ...
,
Chinese goral
The Chinese goral (''Naemorhedus griseus''), also known as the grey long-tailed goral or central Chinese goral, is a species of goral, a small goat-like ungulate, native to mountainous regions of Myanmar, China, India, Thailand, Vietnam, and pos ...
,
leopard cat
The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a small wild cat native to continental South, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely distributed although threatened by hab ...
,
Siberian chipmunk
The Siberian chipmunk (''Eutamias sibiricus''), also called common chipmunk is native to northern Asia from central Russia to China, Korea, and Hokkaidō in northern Japan. It was imported from South Korea and introduced in Europe as a pet in th ...
,
Pere David's rock squirrel and possibly
raccoon dog
The common raccoon dog (''Nyctereutes procyonoides''), also called the Chinese or Asian raccoon dog, is a small, heavy-set, fox-like canid native to East Asia. Named for its raccoon-like face markings, it is most closely related to foxes. Common ...
.
[Birding Beijing's site guide to Lingshan]
/ref>
Over 100 species of birds have been recorded on the mountain, including pheasants
Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera native range is restricted to Eurasia ...
, hawks
Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica.
* The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfamily ...
and eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
s, doves
Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
, cuckoos
Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...
and owls
Owls are birds from the Order (biology), order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly Solitary animal, solitary and Nocturnal animal, nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vi ...
, woodpeckers
Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. ...
, tits, larks
Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark occ ...
, warblers
Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous.
Sylvioid warblers
Th ...
, nuthatches
The nuthatches () constitute a genus, ''Sitta'', of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs. Mo ...
, thrushes
The thrushes are a passerine bird family, Turdidae, with a worldwide distribution. The family was once much larger before biologists reclassified the former subfamily Saxicolinae, which includes the chats and European robins, as Old World flycat ...
, redstart {{Hatnote, For the ship, see USS Redstart (AM-378)
Redstart is a name used for a number of songbirds that are not closely related to each other:
Old world flycatcher family (Muscicapidae)
* '' Phoenicurus'', 14 species found in Africa, Asia and E ...
, flycatchers, redpolls
The redpolls (genus ''Acanthis'') (in Great Britain also historically known as redpoles) are a group of small passerine birds in the finch family Fringillidae, which have characteristic red markings on their heads. They are placed in the genus ' ...
, finches
The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...
, and buntings
The buntings are a group of Old World passerine birds forming the genus ''Emberiza'', the only genus in the family Emberizidae. The family contains 45 species. They are seed-eating birds with stubby, conical bills.
Taxonomy
The family Emberizi ...
. Rare species have included Przevalski's redstart
Przevalski's redstart (''Phoenicurus alaschanicus''), also known as the Ala Shan redstart, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae.IOC World Bird LisFamily Muscicapidae/ref>
It is endemic to China.
Its natural habitat is temperate fores ...
, Güldenstädt's redstart
Güldenstädt's redstart (''Phoenicurus erythrogastrus'') also sometimes called the white-winged redstart, is a species of bird in the genus ''Phoenicurus'', family Muscicapidae. It is found in the high mountains of the southwestern and central P ...
, and Pallas's rosefinch
Pallas's rosefinch (''Carpodacus roseus'') is a species of bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is found in China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Mongolia, and Russia. Birds are occasionally reported from further west and there are records fro ...
.
Access routes
It is possible to drive up 1,650 metres above sea level where there is a car park and chair lift (running from June to October) which ascends another 430 metres. From the top of the chair lift it takes about an hour to walk to the summit.
There are various paths leading to the summit on either side of the chairlift, which is on the east side of the mountain. The direct route along the ridge immediately south of the chairlift, starting at the Lingshan Hotel, takes about three hours to ascend. There is another less direct route on the north side of the chairlift.
The Lingshan Ancient Path (灵山古道) provides access from the south. Starting at a white marble arch (paifang
A ''paifang'', also known as a ''pailou'', is a traditional style of Chinese architectural arch or gateway structure. Evolved from the Indian subcontinent's ''torana'' through the introduction of Buddhism to China, it has developed many styles ...
) near Julingxia Village (聚灵峡),Lingshan Ancient Path at Ly.com, accessed 11 August 2015
/ref> this route goes to the peak via the Lingshan Ancient Path Forest Park. Most of the path consists of a wooden walkway, with many steep steps. This route takes about five hours to the summit.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Mapcarta gallery of photographs of Mount Ling, accessed 25 July 2015
Mountains of Beijing
Mentougou District