Mt. Huashan

As one of the Five Sacred Mountains (i.e. Mt. Taishan, the Eastern Mountain in Shandong Province; Mt. Hengshan, the Southern Mountain in Hunan Province; Mt. Huashan, the Western Mountain in Shaanxi Province; Mt. Hengshan, the Northern Mountain in Shanxi Province and Mt. Songshan, the Central Mountain in Henan Province), Mt. Huashan stands to the south of Huayin City, 120 km (about 74.6 miles) east of Xian.

Mt. Huashan, which is famous for its egregious cliffs, mainly consists of five peaks which look like five petals of a flower. East Peak is 2,090 meters (about 6,857 ft) high above sea level. It is also called Facing Sun Peak because the top of the peak is the best place to watch the sunrise. West Peak is 2,086.6 meters (about 6,845.8 ft) high and is always called Lotus Peak because of the unique shape. The peak is formed by a huge rock, hence it's very steep. Many beautiful legends also happened here. Among them, 'Cleave the mountain and save the mother' is the most famous. South Peak, with an altitude of 2,160.5 meters (about 7,088.3 ft), is always considered to be the head of the peaks. Climbing to the top of the South Peak may greatly satisfy every climber. What's more, the temple for God of Mt. Huashan is also situated on the South Peak. North Peak, which was called Clouds Stand by ancient people, looks like a flat platform in the clouds. The peak is 1,614 meters (about 5,295 ft) high above sea level. The most important site on the North Peak is the Zhenwu Hall for God of North.

Middle Peak, which is always connected with a beauty, is also called Jade Maiden Peak. Story goes that Nongyu, the daughter of King Mugong (659B.C.-621B.C.) of the Qin Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period (770B.C.-476B.C.), was tired of the life in the court. So she lived reclusively in Middle Peak with her husband.

In the past, many emperors came to pray and sacrifice to the god of Mt. Huashan. Mt. Huashan is also a holy mountain of Taoism. It is said that Lao Zi (Lao Tzu), the founder and patriarch of Taoism, once lived and gave sermons here. Now, many Taoism temples are also located on Mr. Huashan.


The west peak cable car provides an easy and fast access for visitors to the top of the mountain. The ticket fare for a single trip is CNY 140 in high seasons and CNY 120 in low seasons.