As the minibus ascends the winding road to Hua Shan, the jagged scenery unfolds like a captivating piece of Chinese calligraphic art.
Overhanging rock and distant precipices wink from above, and clumps of vegetation peek out from mysterious crevices. Hua Shan’s awe-inspiring peaks will take your breath away. Located some 120km from the ancient capital Xi’an in Shaanxi Province, Hua Shan is the result of dramatic tectonic movements millions of years ago, and is one of China’s most perilous mountains. Although covering an area of just 150km – Hua Shan is inundated with over 70 peaks and ridges.
The most outstanding peaks are the North, South, East, West and Central ones – they stand like petals of a lotus flower reaching for the heavens. These five imperious peaks gaze over the Wei and Yellow Rivers in the north and embrace the Qinling Mountains in the south.
At 2,160m, South Peak (nán fēng 南峰) tops the lot. Her closest rivals are East Peak (dōng fēng 东峰) and West Peak (xī fēng 西峰). The Central Peak (zhōng fēng 中峰), also called Jade Maiden Peak (yùnǚ fēng 玉女峰) and the North Peak (běi fēng北峰) are slightly less statuesque but equally beautiful. In the early mornings and late evenings, cushions of mist dramatically swirl around these granite peaks, lending a romantic and mythic air.
All five peaks are accessible by foot, and for even the most lethargic – by cable car. The Austrian built cable car has its terminus at the “base” of Hua Shan and ferries visitors to the North Peak.
From the North Peak, you can step your way to the other four peaks and scenic spots. Hua Shan has inspired much lyrical poetry through the ages, some of which is carved onto the rock outcroppings. Poets and their paramours have strolled beneath its granite arches, lovers have stolen kisses beneath the dipping willows and under the privacy of peak-top pavilions made from stone. Heroes have visited, hermits have sought serenity and legends have flourished at these rocky walls.
The mountain has electrified the imaginations of generations of visitors, testified by the interesting names given to the nooks and crevices atop Hua Shan – lovely titles like Lotus Flower Cave or Waterfall Cave. Ridges have names like Blue Dragon, Flying Fish, Lion and Black Tiger. Mountain terraces christened Peach Woods and Wild Ginger for the particular fruit and flora that grace the warmer seasons.
There are nine cliffs: Looking onto the Wei River (fǔwèi yá 俯渭崖), Touching Ear (cā’ěr yá 擦耳崖), Thrusting into the Clouds (chōngxiāo yá 冲霄崖), Sacrificing Oneself (shěshēn yá舍身崖), Escaping the Imperial Edict (bìzhào yá 避诏崖), Bright Star (míngxīng yá明星崖), Sun and Moon (rìyuè yá日月崖) and Immortal’s Palm (xiānzhǎng yá 仙掌崖). There are also eight viewing platforms with colorful names like the Three Emperors (sānhuáng tái三皇台), Immortals Gathering (jùxiān tái 聚仙台) and Purple Vapor (zǐqì tái 紫气台). They are built in traditional styles in harmony with the area’s natural beauty. The view from any angle is pretty neat.
Mountain rivulets meander along the many twists and turns of metamorphic rock. The water is funneled into a dramatic Qingke Waterfall (qīngkē ping 青柯坪), about 10km from the mouth of the valley.
CLIMBING NORTH PEAK
Visiting Hua Shan can be a day-trip, a two-day or even a three-day affair. There are two ways up Hua Shan. The cable car reaches the top of North Peak in 10 to 15 minutes or you can follow the stairs that lead up North Peak.
To see as many peaks as you can in one day, but to save time and energy it’s best to take the cable car up the North Peak and from there make your way to the other peaks. The five peaks are about an hour’s walk from each other, but if you have a bit more time on your hands and are ready to get that heart pumping, read on for the sights you’d have missed if you took the quick and easy route.
North Peak is also referred to as Clouds Stand Peak (yúntái fēng 云台峰) because of the three cliffs surrounding it. Only one narrow road leads southwards to Touching Ear Precipice.
The climb up the 1,614m high North Peak starts off gradually enough, but you’ve just begun a 6km trek that spans over 3,000 steps. Most of the steps are in good condition and though some are horizontal incisions trying to pass off as steps, chained railings help the ascent. At a leisurely pace, it takes an average 2 to 3 hours. The route presents several opportunities to test your mettle, Heavenward Ladder (shàngtiān tī上天梯), Sun and Moon Precipice and the sinewy dragon-shaped ridge in front of West Peak, called Dark-green Dragon Ridge (cānglóng lǐng 苍龙岭).
After the first 500 steps, there’s a platform – fortunately one of several, where you can rest and soak in the tranquility. On a sunlit day, the sun’s rays cast dramatic light-and-shadows against the rocky surfaces. Endless steps snake through trees, boulders, lush greenery, over rippling brooks. You’ve been transported into the underbelly of a heaving canyon.
With each step, even more captivating scenery unfolds. The skyscrapers of New York or Shanghai are chopsticks when compared to the towering beauty of Hua Shan.
As you walk your thousandth step, your legs will begin to seriously protest the vigorous step-ups you’ve inflicted on them, but ignore the mocking hum of cable cars overhead. Concentrate instead on the spellbinding view. Cavernous cliffs loll like waves into bushy valleys and depending on the season, you might run into a little waterfall where you can take a dip and chill out.
You know you have almost reached the halfway point when you arrive at a refreshment stand manned by a plump villager. There are little stools and tables where you can sit and catch your breath without having to purchase anything. Keep in mind refreshment items get pricier the higher up the mountain you go.
The villagers at these shops climb up and down North Peak daily. As you lament your exhausted physical state, they console you that you’re much better off climbing up rather than down the mountain, because your knees would then hurt twice as much.
Rest well because what’s around the corner is rather frightful. There are three different flights of steps ahead, each more harrowing than the next. All are inclined at an uncomfortably steep gradient, so it will be difficult for you to rest and take a sip of water or stretch your legs midway. Whichever your choice, put your faith in the rusty railings by the side of the steps and go up on all fours, if need be.
Although you’re at the halfway point of North Peak, that last set of steep steps was only the aperitif. A longer 1,500-step stairway, Huangfu Col path, awaits you on a huge mound, called Turtle Carrying Stone (guī bēi shí 龟背石) by the locals. Tigers and black bears once prowled the southern slopes. The shy and elusive denizens of Hua Shan include mountain goats, snakes, squirrels and on the West Peak, monkeys.
Once over the Turtle Carrying Stone hurdle, the peak-end of the cable car terminus looms into view. It gleams like a champion’s trophy. People hover at the foot and mountaintop of Hua Shan. Human prattle soon replaces the chirping of birds. The hum of the cable car gets louder and drowns out the trickling sound of running water.
At Hua Shan, nature makes the best companion. Between pinnacle and valley is a restful calm. No wonder many thinkers of Confucianism and Taoist religious masters came to Hua Shan to meditate and refine their teachings.
The sun sets just as splendidly from the North or the West Peaks. After such strenuous exertion, reward yourself with a sumptuous dinner at the North Peak Hotel.
PEAK-A-BOO
The saying, “the early bird gets the worm,” is definitely true on Hua Shan. If you sleep in, you’ll lose out on a gorgeously sensual sunrise. At around 6am, the warm rays of the sun caress your skin, cool from the fresh morning breeze. You thaw slowly, as if just waking up from slumber. Your sore muscles may take a bit more persuasion to work the morning after your “Hua Shan-scalathon.” East Peak, sometimes called Sun Facing Peak (cháoyáng fēng 朝阳峰), even has a viewing platform for sun-lovers.
Get a move on early if you want to visit the rest of the four peaks, not to mention the many ridges, caves, pavilions, sculptures, engravings, Buddhist and Taoist temples, such as the Yuquan (yùquán yuàn 玉泉院) and Xiyue Temple (xīyuè miào 西岳庙).
Hua Shan’s highest point is South Peak or Dropping Goose Peak (luòyàn fēng 落雁峰). Along it is a planked route lined with iron chains, which guide the very adventurous, or foolish, up a nerve-wrecking path. Waves of clouds drift above a fantastic horizon of mountain ranges and distant river waters.
On West Peak in front of Cuiyun Temple ((cuìyún gōng 翠云宫), sits a massive lotus-shaped rock called Lotus Peak (liánhuā fēng 莲花峰). Beside the temple is another deeply scarred crack called Axe-Splitting Rock (fǔpī shí 斧劈石). Legend goes that a filial youth by the name of Chen Xiang used a giant axe to crack apart the mountain to rescue his mother. The northwest face of West Peak drops so steeply it appears to be cleaved by a sharp sword, hence its name, Fatal Cliff. The eastern face is lush with dense forest.