Mount Huangshan 黄山

About Mount Huangshan

Around Yuping, Welcoming-Guest Pine gives the rock-and-tree relationship a particular focus; Bright Summit opens a broader view across the high peaks when visibility allows. The mountain is crossed by long stair routes, so the choice of entrance, cableway and descent matters as much as a list of sights. Clouds, sunrise and snow are weather-dependent additions to the enduring rock forms and vegetation.

Mount Huangshan lies in southern Anhui, within Huangshan City, and extends about 40 kilometers north-south and 30 kilometers east-west; the range covers 1,200 square kilometers, with a core scenic area of about 160.6 square kilometers. Composed mainly of granite, its highest point is Lotus Peak (莲花峰), at 1,864.8 meters.

The mountain was originally called Yishan (黟山) for the bluish-black color of its peaks. According to legend, the Yellow Emperor (Xuanyuan Huangdi) once refined an elixir of immortality there, and combined with Emperor Xuanzong's Daoist beliefs this led to its renaming as Huangshan in 747, in the Tianbao era of the Tang dynasty. The mountain is regarded as a cradle of Chinese landscape painting; the Huangshan School (黄山画派), formed in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, took its scenery as its subject, and painter Shi Tao was the first to depict all 72 of its peaks.

Huangshan was included in the first group of State-designated Scenic Areas in 1982 and named one of China's ten most renowned scenic spots in 1986. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1990 as a mixed cultural and natural heritage site, designated a World Geopark in 2004, and placed on the IUCN's first Green List of well-managed protected areas in 2015.

What to look for

• Welcoming-Guest Pine and the granite scenery around Yuping.
• Bright Summit’s high-mountain panorama and the ridges surrounding it.

Location & getting there

Getting to Mount Huangshan

For a southern approach, reach Tangkou’s scenic transfer centre and take the shuttle serving your chosen Yuping or Yungu route. Huangshan North’s tourist passenger centre provides onward connections to the mountain gates. Confirm trail and cableway availability before choosing the ascent and descent.