Huangshan (Yellow Mountain)

12. Cable Car Landing

This is the landing at the top of the cable car trip. The granite cliffs surround this area on all sides. Huang shan, according to tradition, consist of 72 peaks. In fact, more than 77 of these stone pillars, formed 100 million years ago, exceed 3,200 feet elevation. The base of the mountain lies at 2,000 feet. The highest point, Lotus Flower Peak, rises to 6,115 feet. The network of footpaths, mostly stone steps, makes a circuit exceeding 30 miles. The earliest recorded climb of Lotus Flower Peak occurred in 1268. The party took three days to complete the climb. The first stairway seems to have been cut into the mountain about 1606, when monks began to connect the many temples. During the Yuan Dynasty alone (1271 -1368), the monks added 64 temples to Huangshan slopes. Today, hardly half a dozen remain.