Daimei Mountain 黛眉山

About Daimei Mountain

Daimei Mountain (黛眉山) is a massif of sixteen peaks in northern Xin'an County (新安县), Luoyang (洛阳), Henan, on the south bank of the Yellow River, looking across the water to Wangwu Mountain (王屋山). It forms part of the Wangwushan-Daimeishan UNESCO Global Geopark (王屋山—黛眉山世界地质公园).

Xin'an lies where the last spurs of the Taihang Mountains (太行山) meet those of the Qinling (秦岭), and the Daimei section of the geopark sits in that transition belt, upstream of the Xiaolangdi Reservoir (小浪底水库). The sixteen peaks rise as sheer cliffs topped with standing rock pillars, with thick woods and climbing vines on their slopes. The Xin'an county government promotes the mountain with a four-part slogan: the great river of Henan and Shanxi (the Yellow River), marvels of an ancient sea, grassland on cloud-level tops and alpine meadows.

The geopark was declared a UNESCO global geopark on 18 September 2006, at the second World Geoparks conference in Belfast; the Jiyuan (济源) mayor reported that it ranked second in that round, behind Mount Tai. It joins three landform units: Wangwu Mountain on the north bank in Jiyuan, Daimei Mountain on the south bank, and the Yellow River valley between them. Its exposed strata span the Archean to the Cenozoic and keep the marks of eight episodes of continent and mountain building, recording 2.5 billion years of shifts between land and sea in the crust of North China. The Luoyang part, about 328 km², also takes in Longtan Gorge (龙潭峡), Qingyao Mountain (青要山), Jingzi Mountain (荆紫山) and Wanshan Lake (万山湖).

At the foot of the mountain, Baidi Temple (柏帝庙) shelters the Daimei Emperor Cypress (黛眉帝柏), 27.5 m tall and 9.5 m around the trunk, wide enough that seven or eight people are needed to encircle it. Daimei hand-weaving (黛眉手织布工艺) is one of Xin'an's four items on Henan's provincial intangible-heritage list, and local makers of cultural goods produce coarse Daimei cloth (黛眉老粗布).

What to look for

• The sixteen peaks, with sheer cliffs and rock pillars on their summits
• The high grassland and alpine meadows on the summit area
• Views over the Yellow River to Wangwu Mountain on the Jiyuan side
• The Daimei Emperor Cypress (黛眉帝柏) at Baidi Temple (柏帝庙), 27.5 m tall
• Longtan Gorge (龙潭峡) and Qingyao Mountain (青要山) in the same Luoyang section of the geopark

Location & getting there

Getting to Daimei Mountain

• Search for 黛眉山 with 洛阳市 and 新安县.