Mount Huashan which located within Shaanxi Province, about 100 kilometers to the east of Xian is one of the Five Sacred Taoist Mountains in China. The other four sacred mountains are Mount Taishan, Shandong, Mount Hengshan, Hunan, Mount Hengshan, Shanxi and Mount Songshan, Henan. Besides carrying a long history of religious significance, Mount Huashan is also well known as the Most Precipitous Mountain since ancient China. Mount Huashan has five main peaks in which the tallest peak is the South Peak with height of 2160 meters. Panoramic view of mountains, step and narrow paths, precipitous cliffs, high mountain range will keep you impressed along your journey up the mountain. Mount Huashan is in fact one of the holy land of Taoism. Thus, there are several well known Taoist Temples on the hill which used to be the venue for emperors of past dynasties to make pilgrimages.
The North Peak of Mount Huashan with the height of 1613 meters which served as the lowest peak of the mountain is the major tourist destination throughout the history. There are all together three ways up to the peak. The original route which winds about 6 kilometers from Huashan Village to the North Peak is still remained as the most popular route among the three. On the other hand, cable car service is now available for the convenience of tourists as there are visitors who wish to witness the beauty of Mount Huashan but refuse to take time for climbing. After reaching North Peak, a series of paths which lead you to four other peaks, the West Peak (2038 meters), Center Peak (2042 meters), East Peak (2100 meters) and South Peak (2160 meters) are waiting for your discovery. Of course this is strictly for the strong one who enjoy climbing and adventurous journey.
There are several interesting spots that you must take a look. For example, Jinsuo Pass (Golden Lock Pass) which stands as the must pass way in order to head for the other four peaks from North Peak. When a huge golden lock at nearly four meters width and 1.5 meters high appears in front of you, then it means that you have reached the destination. Besides that, your eye sight will soon be attracted by the iron chains which are decorated with thousands of golden locks until you can hardly recognize that it is a chain. Most of the visitors will buy a golden lock here and lock it on the golden chain as a prayer.
The Central Peak is in fact the peak which located at the center among the five peaks of Mount Huashan. Yunv Temple (Jade Maiden Temple) is one of the spots here with touching legendary. Most of the scenic spots at the Central Peak is surrounded the story of Yunv, who was said the daughter of Emperor Qin Mugong in Spring Autumn Dynasty. Interesting spots that you can find here are like the Yunv Cliff, Yunv Cave, Yunv Stone Horse and Yunv Washing Basin.
East Peak of Mount Huashan can be considered as the best place for observing sunrise. So, there are many tours that promote climbing at night in order to rush for sunrise the next day. It takes around four to six hours to reach the observing platform of the peak at an altitude of 2090 meters.