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Huashan
Huashan is located in Huayin County, Shaanxi province. It
is the Western Mountain of the Five Sacred Mountains. It is second highest to
the Northern Mountain – Huashan is praised as "the First Odd Mountain in the
World". Its craggedness is superior to the other four sacred
mountains. Huashan boasts five imposing peaks with sheer precipices
and overhanging rocks: the east one is called the Peak of the Rising Sun which
is the best location to view sunrising; the north one, the Peak of Cloud Terrace
which is famous for cliffs on its three sides; the west one, the peak of Lotus;
the south one, the Peak of Wild Geese which is the main peak and also the
steepest of Huashan with an elevation of 2,083 meters; and the Central one, the
Peak of the Jade Maiden, which links the east, west and south peaks. Each
presents a unique scenic beauty, surrounded by over 70 minor peaks.
Places of historical interest and scenic spots: towers,
caves, stone steps, temples and pavilions can be found everywhere. The
cloud-enshrouded cliff path, the sculptured rocky cliff, the floating-in-the-air
Somersault Cliff, the cliff-excavated Thousand-Foot Precipice with 370-odd stone
steps, the Hundred-Foot Valley, the Laojun's Furrow with 570-odd stone steps,
the Ear-Touching Cliff, the Up-the-Heaven's Ladder and so on, are all marvelous
views of precipitous and perilous cliff paths. In ancient times, many emperors came here to make
sacrifices to their ancestors, and celebrities visited Huashan leaving quite a
lot of stone inscriptions of poems. Huashan has many places of historic interest
and scenic beauty, as well as many fantastic and legendary stories. Its
fascination lasts forever. -- Cultural Heritage 1、South Peak: Taoism
Temples The south peak is the main peak and also the steepest of
Huashan. Legend has it that Laozi, the originator of Taoism, used to missionize
here. Among the many temples, the Jintian Palace, the Zhenyue Palace and the
Chunyang Temple are the listed among the state-level Taoist
structures. 2. West Peak: Green Cloud Temple
The Green Cloud Temple is also called the Holy Mother
Temple. It enshrines statues of three holy mothers. There is a large stone cut
into three parts outside. It is the well-known "Ax Cutting Stone" for it looks
as if it is being cut by an ax. Beside the stone, there is a huge ax. According
to legend Baolian Deng (The Lotus
Lamp), it was used by Chen Xiang to save his mother.
3. Central Peak: Jade Maiden
Shrine It is on the central peak of Huashan and stands on a
natural stone tortoise. The Jade maiden was said to be Nong Yu -- daughter of
Duke Mu of the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC). The story took place in the Spring and
Autumn Period (770-476BC): A young man named Xiao Shi was good at playing bamboo
flute. Nong Yu, who fell deeply in love with the poor young man, gave up all her
nabobism to marry Xiao. The lovers came to Huashan and lived here for the rest
of their life. To commemorate the couple, people built the Jade Maiden
Shrine. |
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