Datong Attractions Mt. HengshanDatong Attractions,Datong Popular Tourists Attractions Guide
Mt. Hengshan is located in Hunyuan County, Shanxi Province, in northern China. It is the Northern Mountain of the Five Sacred Mountains.
Boasting 108 peaks and spanning 150 kilometers, the Mt. Hengshan has an average elevation of 2,017 meters. The Tianfeng Peak, the highest peak, is 2,190 meters above sea level. It is the highest among the Five Sacred Mountains.
Hengshan is famous for steep ridges, splendid peaks, exotic-shaped temples, and gushing fountains, together with oddly shaped stones and forests of ancient trees, which constitute a beautiful landscape.
It is called "The First Mountain Guarding the North Borders," depicting its magnitude and wonder. The mountain links with the Taihang Mountain Range in the east and to the north it faces the vast expanse of a plateau, thus forming a natural screen for Shanxi Province. The Great Wall winds up the mountain, forming many ancient strategic passes; thus, passes, ancient castles, and beacon towers constitute a unique landscape differing from that of the other four mountains.
Hengshan is a very good summer resort. It has a semi-arid continental climate, with cold winter, dry and windy spring, humid summer and sunny but short autumn. It has an annual temperature of 6.1oC -- the hottest month, July, averaging 21.6oC and the coldest month, January, 12oC.
Hengshan's main peak, Tianfeng (Heavenly Peak) Ridge, rises 2,190 meters above sea level. Its steep northern slope is covered with pine trees and located on its southern slope are temples and monasteries built by ancient kings and emperors to worship their ancestors. Hengshan was once famous for its "Eighteen Sites of Interest鈥? and there still remain a dozen sites such as the Xuankong (Suspending or Mid-air) Temple, Zhaodian Hall, Jiutian (Nine Heavens) Palace, Huixian (Celestial-Meeting) Mansion and Flying Stone Cave, etc.
