Mount Cangyan

Coordinates: 37°49′45.94″N 114°8′11.60″E / 37.8294278°N 114.136556°E / 37.8294278; 114.136556

Mount Cangyang in September 2007

Mount Cangyan (Chinese: 苍岩山; pinyin: Cāngyán Shān; literally "Green Cliff Mountain") is a scenic area in Jingxing County, Hebei Province, China, famous for its combination of natural mountain scenery with historical man-made structures. It is located approximately 50 kilometers southwest of the provincial capital Shijiazhuang and close to the border with Shanxi Province.

Geography

Mount Cangyan forms the eastern tip of the Taihang Mountain Range (Chinese: 太行山; pinyin: Tàiháng Shān), its tallest peak has an altitude of 1,000 meters. The scenic area covers 63 square kilometers (180 square kilometers according to other counts). The vegetation of the area is a forest of cypress and Blue Sandalwood (Pteroceltis tatarinowii) trees.

History

The most famous building complex on Mount Cangyan is the Fortune Celebration Temple (Chinese: 福庆寺; pinyin: Fúqìng Sì). It was first erected during the Sui Dynasty and is said to have been the place where Princess Nan Yang, the daughter of the Sui Emperor Yang, practiced Buddhism. The various structures of the Fortune Celebration Temple (the Tablets House, the Hall of the Heavenly Kings, the Hall of the Giant Buddha, the Bridge-Tower Hall, the Buddhist Canon Depository) are well integrated into the mountain topography. The central landmark of the complex is the Bridge-Tower Hall (Chinese: 桥楼殿; pinyin: Qiáolóu Diàn). As the name suggests, it is supported by a stone arch bridge spanning a narrow gorge. The bridge has a span of 15 meters and stands 52 meters above ground, it is constructed from 365 stone blocks. Under the bridge a stone staircase with more than 360 steps leads up to the summit.

Cangyan Shan was used as setting for filming some scenes in the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", which according to the movie's story take place on Wudang Mountains.

External links

• travelchinaguide
• china-pictorial.com