Huashan Mountain

The mountain area is usually safe from smog since the high altitude keeps pollution away. Huashan Mountain in Shaanxi Province is known for being dangerously steep. The mountain, a holy site to Taoism since ancient times, can be accessed using cable cars, but there also are plank paths built along the face of cliffs, the best for hardy explorers.

The Changkong Plank Road is famed as “The No. 1 dangerous road in Huashan Mountain.” The path, about 100 meters long, is on a cliff at Nanfeng Peak. It is less than half a meter wide, and the only way to steady yourself is the iron chain attached to the side of the cliff. The road originally was built by Taoist priest He Zhizhen in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

The road is not the only path to the top of the peak, but going to the end of the road is the way to see a mysterious inscription, “Quanzhenyan,” on the cliff. The inscription is carved on the high cliff, and the mystery has not been solved as to who carved the words, or when and how it was done.

Apart from the plank roads, Taoism temples in the mountain are worth visiting. If you stay at a hotel on the mountain, watching the sunrise in the scenic area is recommended.