Mount Huangshan was listed as one of
the World Natural and Cultural Heritages in 1990.
Mount Huangshan extends 40 kilometers from south to
north and 30 kilometers from east to
west, covering an area of 1200 square kilometers, the highlights
of which occupy 154 square
kilometers. Huangshan Mountain is a marvel: within an area
of 154 square kilometers there is a crowd of peaks, 72 of
which have names indicating the shapes they resemble. Lotus,
Brightness Top and Celestial Capital are the three major ones,
all rising above 1,800 meters
above sea level. The mountains are a body of granite, often
with vertical joints. Erosion
and fracture contributed to shape the rocks into huge columns,
giving rise to lofty peaks
and deep ravines. When it is cloudy the pinnacles loom in
mists as if they were illusionary,
while the sun is shining they unfold in all their majesty
and splendor. Huangshan Mountain
change its color and appearance with the alternation of seasons.
In spring blooming flowers
decorate the slopes in a riot of color and fill the valleys
with fragrance; in summer you see
verdure peaks rising one upon another and hear springs gurgling
merrily. Autumn dresses the
mountains in red and purple as maples and some other trees
are blazing-red; winter turns them
into a world of frost and ice with silver boughs and rocks
everywhere. Here in Huangshan,
pines and rocks are intimately involved with each other, almost
every rock has a pine tree
growing out of the crevice, and every tree has tortuous and
gnarled roots and branches.The
still sea of snow-white cloud can suddenly begin to roll and
toss, rise or fall, gather or
disperse while the peaks emerge and disappear in the clouds
like isles in the ocean. So from
ancient times it has been frequented by tourists seeking their
mystery and admiring their
There is plentiful rainfall in Huangshan Mountain. Therefore
there are thick forests.Owing
to the peculiar terrain, the Huangshan Mountain's climate
is marked by a vertical change,
and the vertical distribution of vegetation is also distinctive:
plants on the summit, on
the middle levels and at the foot belong to the frigid, temperate
and subtropical zones
respectively. There are more than 1500 species of plants,
of which trees comprise one third.
So the Huangshan Mountain occupy an important place in China's
botanical research. Here you
will find century-old pines, firs, ginkgoes, actinidia, Chinese
torreyas and camphor woods,
remnants of the glacial era. A number of trees are celebrated
on account of their age,
grotesque shape, or precipitously perched position. Mount
Huangshan abound in flowering
plants; many of them are rare ones, such as Huangshan Rhododendron,
magnolia as well as
azalea, camellia, plum, lily, orchid, and so on. It has a
rich store of medicinal herbs;
more than 300 kinds are found here; the notable ones being
glossy ganoderma ginseng, Chinese
gold thread rhizome and Chinese cinnamon. Maofeng tea of Huangshan
is well known at home and
abroad.
 |
Huangshan Mountain
also provide the natural habitat for a wide variety
of fauna. Among the animals there are monkeys, goats,
deer, pangolin and
squirrels. There are rare birds such as the red-billed
leiothrix, the
silver pheasant, the octave-tone bird and the oriole,
all good singers.
The red-billed leiothrix (called "love birds" in Chinese)
are so lovely
that they have become favorites of foreign tourists
and are exported by
pairs. Besides, chukkar(stone frog) from the streams
is good to make
delicious dishes with. |
Mt. Huangshan's climate is mild and humid, neither too hot
in summer nor too cold in winter,
the temperature is agreeable all the year round .
It is cool in summer, averaging 70 °F at the North Sea Area
( 1 ,630 meters above sea) and
80 °F at Hot Spring Area (630 meters above sea) in July (the
hottest month). As clouds often
shut out the sun, hot weather never stays long, and this makes
Yellow Mountains an ideal
summer resort. Mt.Huangshan lies in subtropical zones, so
it's not quiet cold in winter, at
least, not so cold as some people expected. The temperature
ranges from 25 °F to 40 °F, but
it's enough to result in a fantastic snow scenery and a silver
world with pines and
precipitous peaks covered with snow and decorated with icicles.
Today Mt. Huangshan has become a world-famous tourist attraction.
With its convenient
facilities: three cable lines, four three-star hotels on the
top, all the paths paved with
flat stones, it lures millions of visitors both from home
and abroad. Seeing is believing.
Welcome to Mount Huangshan.
