Fanjingshan
UNESCO World Heritage Site (2018); UNESCO Man And The Biosphere Reserve; National 5A Tourist Attraction · Tongren, Guizhou
The highest peak of the Wuling Mountains and a sacred Buddhist mountain in northeastern Guizhou, famous for one of the most dramatic sights in China: the Red Clouds Golden Summit, a sheer rock tower about 100 metres tall that is split in two near the top, with a small temple perched on each half and a stone bridge joining them. Pilgrims have climbed here since the Ming dynasty to honour the Maitreya Buddha, and the mountain was once reached by a stairway of thousands of steps; today a long cable car lifts visitors through the forest to the upper plateau, where paths lead past the balanced Mushroom Stone, the layered rock walls of the Ten Thousand Volume Books formation and the Old Golden Summit. Fanjingshan rises out of the subtropical lowlands like an island, and its isolation has made it a refuge for rare life: it is the only home of the Guizhou snub-nosed monkey, one of the most endangered primates in the world, and of the Fanjingshan fir, alongside dove trees and ancient beech forest. Its biodiversity won it UNESCO World Heritage status in 2018. Mist, cloud seas and rain are common, and the summit climb closes in bad weather.
Fanjingshan Scenic Area, Jiangkou County, Tongren, Tongren, Guizhou, China
Daily; East line entry about 6:30-15:00, West line entry about 6:30-13:00. The Red Clouds Golden Summit climb uses on-site queue numbers and closes in bad weather.