Song Shan Travel Video Guide

Song Shan Travel Itinerary

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The seventy peaks of the Song Shan range stretch over 64km across Dengfeng County, midway between Luoyang and Zhengzhou. When the Zhou ruler Ping moved his capital to Luoyang in 771 BC, it was known as Zhong Yue, Central Peak - being at the axis of the five sacred Taoist mountains , with Hua Shan to the west, Tai Shan to the east, Heng Shan to the south and another Heng Shan to the north. The mountains, thickly clad with trees, rise from narrow, steep-sided rocky valleys and appear impressively precipitous, though with the highest peak, Junji, at just 1500m, they're not actually very lofty. When the summits emerge from a swirling sea of cloud, though, and the slopes are dressed in their brilliant autumn colours, they can certainly look the part.

You can visit Song Shan on a day trip from either Luoyang or Zhengzhou . Tours leave from outside both cities' train stations early every morning and take in at least the Shaolin Si and the Zhongyue Miao , though you won't see much of the mountain itself. Tours from Luoyang (Y20 return) usually take in the Baima Si on the way back, too. From Dengfeng , a town at the centre of the range, there is plenty to occupy two or three days' walking, with numerous paths meandering around the

valleys, passing temples, pagodas and guard towers, and some wonderful views. Unlike at other holy mountains, there is no single set path, and as the slopes are not steep and the undergrowth is sparse you can set out in any direction you like. The sights are far from one another so you won't be able to do more than one or two a day to count on getting back to Dengfeng before nightfall. Maps of the area are included on the back of maps of Zhengzhou, or can be bought from Dengfeng hotels.

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