Situated in Huayin City, 120 kilometers (about 75 miles) east from Xi'an City of Shaanxi Province, Mt. Huashan is known as 'The Number One Precipitous Mountain under Heaven'. It is one of the five sacred mountains in China. The other four mountains are Mt. Taishan in Shandong, Mt. Hengshan in Hunan, Mt. Hengshan in Shanxi, and Mt. Songshan in Henan.
In ancient times, Mt. Huashan was called Mt. Taihuashan. From a distance the five peaks seem to form the shape of a 'flower' (hua in Chinese), hence the name 'Huashan'. It is famous for its natural vistas of steep and narrow paths, precipitous crags, and a high mountain range. It is home to several influential Taoist temples where emperors of past dynasties made pilgrimages, making Mt. Huashan the holy land of Taoism.
South Peak (Landing Wild Geese Peak)
Ancient people called South Peak with an altitude of 2,160 meters (about 7,087 feet) 'Monarch of Mt. Huashan' because it is the highest peak of Mt. Huashan and also the highest peak among the Five Sacred Mountains of China. Tourists who summit South Peak are undoubtedly winners. Looking around when standing at the peak, surrounding mountains are luxuriantly green; the Yellow River wanders far below and everything seems small. Legend has it that the wild geese returning from the south often landed at South Peak, giving the area the name 'Landing Wild Geese Peak'.
At the top of South Peak, the Black Dragon Pool at the summit and the Greeting Pines on the southwestern cliff are two attractive resorts. At each side of the Landing Wild Goose Peak there are two peaks respectively called Songhui Peak (Pine and Juniper Peak) in the east and Xiaozi Peak (Filial Son Peak) in the west. The three peaks form a picture of a Titan sitting in a chair. The most dangerous place is called 'Changkong Zhandao' (a plank path built along the surface of a vertical cliff) which is about 4 meters (about 13 feet) long and about 0.33 meters (about 1.1 feet) wide. Below is the bottomless gulf which makes tourists shake with fear. In addition, there is a Taoist temple called Baidi Temple or Jintian Palace to be considered the host temple of Deity Shaohao.
The panorama was taken in the pine cypress peak of south peak .
360-degree panorama photography by yunzeng liu