Mount Sanqing

The Mount Sanqing Scenic Area is located at the junction of Yushan County and Dexing City, Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province, China. It is a national scenic spot and a world natural heritage site. This famous Taoist mountain is named after the three peaks of Yujing, Yuxu, and Yuhua, which resemble the Three Pure Ones, the highest deities in Taoism. It is known as "the No. 1 fairy mountain in the world." Mount Sanqing is famous for its unique granite peak forest landform, which was formed during the Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic Era 140 million years ago. The Yujing Peak, at an altitude of 1,819.9m, is the highest point in the scenic area. The entire mountain presents a typical landscape of "eastern precipitousness, western wonder, northern elegance, and southern uniqueness." It preserves a well-preserved granite micro-landform landscape and is known by geologists as "the most beautiful granite on the edge of the western Pacific Ocean." The main attractions include the Nanching Garden, West Coast, Sunshine Coast, and Sanqing Palace areas. The Nanching Garden concentrates the most representative strange peaks and rocks of Mount Sanqing, such as the iconic landscapes of "Oriental Goddess" and "Giant Python Out of the Mountain"; the West Coast is famous for its high-altitude plank road, which is 3,600m long and hangs on cliffs at an altitude of 1,600m; the Sanqing Palace Scenic Area is a sacred place of Taoist culture and retains a Ming Dynasty architectural complex. The ecosystem of Mount Sanqing is well-preserved, with a forest coverage rate of 88%, and has 2,373 species of higher plants and 1,728 species of wild animals, including rare species such as the Southern Yew and Ginkgo. The scenery here varies in the four seasons: azaleas bloom in spring, the sea of clouds is magnificent in summer, the forests are colorful in autumn, and the frost is crystal clear in winter. As one of the birthplaces of Taoism, Taoists have practiced here since the Eastern Jin Dynasty. There are more than 50 existing Taoist temples and more than 200 stone carvings, forming a humanistic landscape of "harmony between man and nature." In 2008, Mount Sanqing was listed in the "World Heritage List," becoming the seventh world natural heritage site in China and the first in Jiangxi. The scenic area has complete supporting facilities, including cableways, walkways, and viewing platforms, and provides a variety of tour routes to choose from. The best time to visit is from April to November, and it is recommended that tourists arrange 2–3 days for an in-depth tour. Mount Sanqing is not only a natural wonder, but also a comprehensive tourist attraction integrating geological wonders, ecological treasures, and Taoist culture.