Mount Hua
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I’m your local guide.Today we are going to climb the Mount Hua. I’ll try my best to make your tour an enjoyable one. I expect your support and cooperation. If you have any questions or demands, please let me know and I’ll do my utmost to accommodate your needs. Thank you!
As the steepest sacred mountain in central China, with the Yellow River to the north and the QinLing Mountain Range at the back to the south, the Mount Hua is located 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of the city of Xi'an. .It is one of China's Five Great Mountains, and has a long history of religious significance. Mount Hua was historically the location of several influential Taoist monasteries, and was known as a center for the practice of traditional Chinese martial arts. It is well known for steep trails, breath-taking cliffs, narrow passages, and grand sceneries. Mount Hua in ancient times for its five main peaks shaped much like a flower. It is said to be the most precipitous mountain in the world.
Originally classified as having three peaks, in modern times the mountain is classified as five main peaks, the North Peak(Yuntai Peak), the Middle Peak(Pure Girl Peak),the East Peak(Facing Sun Peak), the West Peak(Lotus Flower Peak), and the South Peak(Landing Wild Goose Peak), of which the highest is the South Peak at 2,154.9 meters. From a distance, these five peaks look like a lotus flower among the mountains. And each of them has its peculiar scene and moving legend.
History
Historically, the Mount Hua has been close to the early centers of Chinese civilization. Legendary kings of China such as Huang Di, Yao, and shun all paid visits to the Hua. Dozens of emperors of the Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties used to hold sacred rituals here. For thousands of years, Buddhist and Taoist monks and pilgrims have traveled here, established monasteries, and practiced alchemy in the Mount Hua. Today there are more than 20 Taoist monasteries, the most famous being the Jade Spring Temple and the East Tao Temple.
As early as the 2nd century BCE, there was a Daoist temple known as the Shrine of the Western Peak located at its base. Daoists believed that in the mountain
lives the god of the underworld. The temple at the foot of the mountain was often used for spirit mediums to contact the god and his underlings. Unlike Taishan, which became a popular place of pilgrimage, Huashan, because of the inaccessibility of its summits, only received Imperial and local pilgrims, and was not well visited by pilgrims from the rest of China. Huashan was also an important place for immortality seekers, as many herbal Chinese medicines are grown and powerful drugs were reputed to be found there. Kou Qianzhi (365–448), the founder of the Northern Celestial Mastersreceived revelations there, as did Chen Tuan (920–989), who spent the last part of his life in hermitage on the west peak. In the 1230s, all the temples on the mountain came under control of the Daoist Quanzhen School. In 1998, the management committee of Huashan agreed to turn over most of the mountain's temples to the China Daoist Association. This was done to help protect the environment, as the presence of taoists and nuns deters poachers and loggers.
Mount Hua is located near the southeast corner of the Ordos Loop section of the Yellow River basin, south of theWei River valley, at the eastern end of the Qin Mountains, in southern Shaanxi province. It is part of the Qin Mountains, which divides not only northern and southern Shaanxi, but also China.
Huashan has historically been a place of retreat for hardy hermits, whether Daoist, Buddhist or other; access to the mountain was only deliberately available to the strong-willed, or those who had found "the way". With greater mobility and prosperity, Chinese, particularly students, began to test their mettle and visit in the 1980s.
Facilities
The inherent danger of many of the exposed, narrow pathways with precipitous drops gave the mountain a deserved reputation for danger. As tourism has boomed and the mountain's accessibility vastly improved with the installation of the cable car in the 1990s, visitor numbers surged. Despite the safety measures introduced by cutting deeper pathways and building up stone steps and wider paths, as well as adding railings, fatalities continued to occur. The local government has proceeded to
