Mount Hua Shan is one of the five peaks in China , it is located 120km east of Xi’an, are supposed to look like a five-petalled flower, hence the name, Flowery Mountain.
“Hua ” means flower in Chinese and ” Shan ” is mountain.
Originally it was known as “Xiyue” , ” Western Mountain “, because it is the westernmost of the five mountains that have been sacred to Taoism for more than two thousand years.
It’s always been a popular place for pilgrimage, though these days people puffing up the steep, narrow paths or enjoying the dramatic views from the peaks are more likely to be tourists.
There’s a Chinese saying,” There is one path and one path only to the summit Of Hua Shan”, meaning that sometimes the hard way is the only way. This path (RNB60 entrance fee) has since been uaade much easier. The new way begins at the new east gate, which leads to a cable car (RMB100 return, though note that the ride goes only halfway up the mountain). The arduous old route starts at Yuquan Si (Jade FountainTemple), dedicated to the tenth- century monk Xiyi who lived here as a recluse. Starting from here, every few hundred yards you’ll come across a wayside refi’eshnrent place offering stone seats, a burner, tea, soft drinks, maps and souvenirs - the higher you go, the more attractive the knobbly walking sticks on sale seem. In summer you’ll be swept along in a stream of Chinese, mostly young couples, dressed in their fashionable, but often highly impractical, holiday finest, including high- heeled shoes.
Known as the “Eighteen Bends”, the deceptively easy-looking climb up the gullies in fact winds for about two hours before reaching the flight of narrow stone steps which ascend to the first summit, North Peak. The mountain was formerly dotted with temples, and there are still half a dozen. Many people turn back at this point, although you can continue to Middle Peak next, then East, West and South peaks, which make up an eight-hour circuit trail.
Though the sununits aren’t all that high, the gaunt rocky peaks, twisted pines and rugged slopes certainly look like genuine mountains as they swim in and out of the mist trails. It’s quite possible to ascend and descend the mountain in a single day, especially if you use the cable car. The going is rough in places, but chain handrails have been attached to the rock at difficult points, such as the evocatively named Thousand Feet Precipice and Green Dragon Ridge, where the path narrows to a ledge along a cliff face. Some people arrive in the evening and climb by moonlight in order to see the sun rise over the Sea of Clouds from Middle or East Peak.
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