Sanqing Mountain Scenic Area Guide

Sanqing Mountain, as one of the famous Taoist mountains, has long been on my list of places to visit, and I recently fulfilled my wish to go there! The weather was not good when I set off from the downtown area of Shangrao, gloomy and seemingly about to rain. Embracing the idea of 'since we're here, let's make the best of it,' I still went ahead. As luck would have it, the weather cleared up after we arrived at the scenic area, despite a little rain on the way. We were very fortunate! Although we reached the West Coast scenic area a bit late, we still enjoyed the sunset glow of Sanqing Mountain! The beautiful scenery always makes people linger, and I actually missed the time to go down the mountain. So, I decided to go with the flow and stay overnight on the mountain, hoping to catch the sunrise of Sanqing Mountain. The weather in the early morning was still not ideal, but I woke up early and went to the best spot to watch the sunrise, waiting for the moment when the sun would rise in the east. As the sky gradually brightened, the unique red glow of the sunrise appeared, slowly revealing its true face. The sky mirror suddenly became colorful, and the clouds also started to change dramatically. This is the unique sunrise of Sanqing Mountain! Sanqing Mountain, also known as Shaohua Mountain and Y Mountain, is located at the junction of Yushan County and Dexing City in Shangrao, Jiangxi Province, China. It is named after the three peaks of Yujing, Yuxu, and Yuhua, which resemble the three revered Taoist deities of Yuqing, Shangqing, and Taiqing sitting atop the mountain. Among them, Yujing Peak is the highest, with an elevation of 1819.9 meters, the fifth highest peak in Jiangxi, and the highest peak of the Huaiyu Mountain Range, which is also the source of the Xin River. The main body is 12.2 kilometers long from north to south and 6.3 kilometers wide from east to west, with a lotus leaf shape and a southeast to northwest inclination. It is located within the Huaiyu Mountain structural block unit, at the junction of the Yangtze ancient plate and the Cathaysia ancient plate in the southeastern part of the Eurasian plate. It is situated in the hinterland of the Huaiyu Mountain Range and is a mid-mountain terrain mainly formed by the erosion of granite structures. The mountain is steep on the east, south, and west sides, and relatively gentle on the north side. The horizontal distance from the foot to the top of the mountain is 5km, with an altitude increasing sharply from 200m to 1816m. Sanqing Mountain has a dense distribution of micro-landforms of granite of different origins, displaying the most densely distributed and diverse granite peak forest known in the world; 2373 species of higher plants and 1728 species of wild animals constitute the environment of biodiversity in East Asia; more than 1600 years of Taoist history has nurtured a rich Taoist cultural connotation. The ancient architectural complex of Sanqing Palace, arranged according to the Bagua, has been evaluated by the State Council's cultural relics appraisal expert group as 'an open-air museum of ancient Taoist architecture in China.' The World Heritage Committee believes that Sanqing Mountain, within a relatively small area, displays unique granite pillars and peaks, a rich variety of granite-shaped rocks and vegetation, changing landscapes from near to far, and awe-inspiring climatic wonders, creating a unique landscape aesthetic effect in the world, presenting captivating natural beauty. 'National Geographic' magazine in China has selected it as one of the 'five most beautiful peak forests in China'; geologists from China and the United States unanimously consider it 'the most beautiful granite on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean.' Sanqing Mountain Scenic Area has two entrances, the southern entrance (Wai Shuangxi cable car) and the eastern entrance (Jinsha cable car). There are ten major scenic areas, namely Nanqing Garden Scenic Area, Sanqing Palace Scenic Area, Yujing Peak Scenic Area, West Coast Scenic Area, East Coast Scenic Area (Sunshine Coast Scenic Area), Wanshou Garden Scenic Area, Yuling Observatory Scenic Area, Xihua Platform Scenic Area, Shiguling Scenic Area, and Sandongkou Scenic Area. The ten major landscapes are the Oriental Goddess, Python Emerging from the Mountain, Monkey King Presenting Treasure, Maiden's Open Heart, Old Taoist Praying to the Moon, Guanyin Enjoying Music at the South Heavenly Gate, Ge Hong Presenting the Elixir, Dragon Playing with Pines, Three Dragons Emerging from the Sea, and Pulong Singing to the Sky (formerly known as Sea Lion Swallowing the Moon). The best route is to enter the scenic area from the eastern entrance, where you can first enjoy the most famous sights such as the Oriental Goddess and Python Emerging from the Mountain, and exit the scenic area from the southern entrance to return to Shangrao downtown, which is more convenient and avoids backtracking. Transportation Tips: 1. Departing from Shangrao downtown, you can take a minibus at Shangrao Station, which only goes directly to the southern entrance, namely the Wai Shuangxi cable car, with few buses, usually departing from the downtown in the morning, taking about an hour and a half to arrive; alternatively, you can take a custom shuttle bus, which can go to both the southern and eastern entrances. 2. Departing from Yushan County, take a train to Yushan or take a high-speed train to Yushan South Station, then take a bus or taxi to Yushan County Bus Station, and then take a bus to Sanqing Mountain Scenic Area. There are two types of buses, one to the eastern Jinsha and the other to the southern Wai Shuangxi, with a fare of 16 yuan per person, and you can go up the mountain from both sides. The buses run every 40 minutes, taking about an hour to arrive, with stops near the cable car stations. The earliest bus is at 6:10, the last bus to the south is at 5:00, and the last bus to the east is at 6:10 in the afternoon; note: there may be adjustments according to the season. However, there is also a bus from Shangrao to Sanqing Mountain East (Jinsha) to Wuyuan, departing from Shangrao at 17:20, arriving at Yushan Bus Station at 18:00, where it will stop. 3. Although there is a shuttle bus from the eastern Jinsha to the southern part, there are few buses, and the timing needs to be planned in advance! Although there are regrets, the trip was worthwhile!