Two Mountains to Visit Once in a Lifetime: Two ‘Fairyland Mountains’ in Jiangxi, Marvelous Creations of Nature
Jiangxi is one of China’s provinces with the most abundant tourism resources, with several prominent mountains, and at least two that visitors should definitely go to at least once. These mountains have unique landforms and geological features, and are often shrouded in mist, resembling fairylands. Even the most skilled painters may not be able to fully capture their beauty.
These two mountains are located in Shangrao City and Yingshan City.
The mountain in Shangrao is Mount Sanqing, which is the world’s most diverse granite landform landscape. Many visitors compare it to Huangshan in Anhui Province, saying they have similarities; however, Sanqing Mountain is more elegant and pristine, while Huangshan is more grand. Visiting Huangshan requires three days, while visiting Sanqing Mountain, without seeing the sunrise, can be done in one day. In some ways, Sanqing Mountain can be considered the ‘essence’ of Huangshan.
Sanqing Mountain has a main length of 12.2 kilometers and a width of 6.3 kilometers north-south. It is now a World Natural Heritage Site.
The mountains stretch endlessly, with distant mountains appearing faint and painted-like, not real paintings. Various mountains, long or short, thin or fat, are given different names, often with mythological legends attached, such as 'Oriental Goddess,' 'Jade Maiden Laughing,' and 'Monkey King Offering Treasure.' These names are both vivid and add fun to the traveler’s journey.
The other ‘fairyland’ is Mount Longhu located in Yingshan City, which is a typical example of Danxia landform, different from Sanqing Mountain’s landform.
Mount Longhu is also a World Natural Heritage Site, jointly declared with other Danxia landform scenic areas like Guangdong Danxia and Zhejiang Jianglang Mountains under the name of ‘Chinese Danxia.’
Mount Longhu is about 20 kilometers from Yingshan City, with a maximum altitude of 1300 meters, but most of the mountains in the scenic area are not very high. Compared to Sanqing Mountain’s rugged peaks, the peaks of Mount Longhu are like gentle maidens, quietly lying on the banks of the blue waves, and ‘beauty’ is their charm.
Mount Longhu has a river called Jinjiang, and tourists can take bamboo rafts to cruise along the river. Along the riverbanks, the Danxia landform changes endlessly, reflected in the river, creating a watercolor-like landscape, even within a few-meter-long cruise, already presenting different moods.
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was said that Zhang Tian Shi (Zhang Daoling) once practiced alchemy on Mount Longhu, adding a legendary color to it.
