Jigongshan Mountain, an idyllic summer resort in Henan

Photo shows the picturesque scenery of the Jigongshan Mountain Scenic Area in Xinyang city, central China’s Henan Province. (Photo/Wang Jianbo)

It has recently been announced that Jigongshan Mountain Scenic Area in Xinyang city, in central China’s Henan Province, is going to be upgraded to a national 5A-class scenic spot, the highest level in China’s tourist attraction rating system, by the country’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT).

The Jigongshan Mountain Scenic Area features beautiful scenery, fresh air, and clear spring water. It can often be seen shrouded in fog and clouds, and thus has been dubbed the “park in the clouds.” The scenic area, along with the Lushan Mountain scenic spot in east China’s Jiangxi Province, the Mogan Mountain National Scenic Spot in east China’s Zhejiang Province, and the Beidaihe scenic area in north China’s Hebei Province, represents one of the four most famous summer resorts in China. Its average temperature during the summer is only 23.7 degrees Celsius.

A series of buildings featuring the different architectural styles of 23 countries are also a major highlight of the scenic area, which explains why it has also earned the moniker of “museum of world architecture.”

Boasting a good ecological environment and rich biodiversity, the Purdom Forest Park located at the foot of Jigongshan Mountain inside the scenic area preserves a rare gene pool of flora and fauna. Given the high concentration of negative oxygen ions in the air, the forest park has also been called a “natural forest oxygen bar.”