Danxia Mountain------"Redstone Park of China"

Situated in Renhua County, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) from Shaoguan City, Danxia Mountain is a world famous AAAA National Tourist Spot and National Geological Park of China. With a nick name of "Redstone Park of China", Danxia Mountain is characterized by the red steep cliffs with precipitous landform of even peak, sheer body and flat valleys. In geography, the name of "Danxia Landform" refers to the sort of landform similar to the Danxia Mountain.

The Danxia Mountain area is the largest Danxia landform in the world, covering 215 square kilometres. It is characterized by its magnificence, trill, rareness, beauty, seclusion, wideness and deepness. The whole scenery park is dotted with numerous spots of scenic beauty such as nature-formed stone walls, pillars, arches, and bridges. Danxia Mountain is therefore paralleled with Guilin as the top scenes in China.

The enchanting mountain has a rich variety of plants due to the moderate subtropical climate and the yearly monsoons that provide plenty of rainfall. There are twenty-eight ancient trees over one hundred years old, with fourteen of them having survived for more than three centuries. These ancient Danxia Phoenix Trees are native to this area and are the most distinguished species of the mountain. Of the ten varieties, four of them are extremely rare. One such variety of the Phoenix Trees has been named the 'Dharma Orchid'. It was discovered in 1987, and only two of them have existed in the world. When flowering season arrives, the sweet scent of the orchid tree lingers in the mountain and visitors swarm to its attraction.

The Danxia Mountain consists of many other wonderful scenic spots, including Zhanglao Peak, Yangyuan Hill, Xianglong Lake and Jin River. At the foot of Zhanglao Peak, there is a grotto temple that was built during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). The Biezhuan Temple, which lies in the middle of the Zhanglao Peak, is one of the ten most notable temples of Guangdong. Yangyuan Hill and Zhanglao Peak face each other across a river. The hill is renowned for the marvelous Yangyuan Stone, which looks like a male genital. The Xianglong Lake (Flying Dragon Lake) sits to the south of Zhanglao Peak, named so because the lake resembles a flying dragon. The Jin River features charming waterside scenery and wonderful aquatic programs, such as swimming, boating and yachting.

Countless cliff tombs and cliff coffins of times long ago were left by our ancestors who inhabited the mountain. In addition, the mountain has been a busy place for Buddhism activities since the Sui (581-618) and Tang Dynasties (618-907). In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the mountain prospered and more than eighty temples were built. A great number of poems, carvings and inscriptions praising the bewitching scenery were left behind by writers, poets and painters throughout past dynasties.

For more information, please visit www.top-chinatour.com