The Mountainous Areas in Southern Shaanxi

With Qinling Mountains in the north and Mount Bashan in the south, the mountainous areas are also called as the Qinling and Bashan mountainous areas. Han River, an important tributary of the Yangtze River, stretches along Hanzhong and Ankang among the mountainous areas with its topographic landscape featuring South China, the strata of which is mainly composed of the diamictite of the Paleozoic Era. To the west of Qinling Mountains and Mount Bashan lies the Hanzhong Basin, and to the east lies the Ankang Basin. The mountainous areas in southern Shaanxi, covering an area of 74,000 square kilometers, are rich in special local products and non-ferrous metal.
①High Plateau
②800-li Qinchuan Plain
③The Charming Mountainous Areas in Southern Shaanxi

The Wonderland of Qinling Mountains
Qinling Mountains, stretching across the central Shaanxi as a gigantic dragon, are praised as the Central National Park of China and the backbone of the Chinese nation. As a national scenic spot and the top ecological function zone with the highest density of forest parks, Qinling Mountains have witnessed the establishment of various kinds of nature reserves, forest parks and scenic areas, among which there are famous mountainous sceneries, such as Mount Huashan, Mount Lishan, Mount Zhongnan and Mount Taibai.

Mount Huashan
Ranked as the national AAAAA-class scenic spot, Mount Huasha is one of China’s Five Sacred Daoist Mountains, whose highest peak reaches 2154.9 meters. Located in Huayin, Weinan, with Weihe Plain in the north and Qinling Mountains in the south, it is a granite mountain on the north side of the dividing ridge on the branch range of Qinling Mountains. Mount Huashan, a national scenic spot, is known as “the most precipitous mountain under heaven.”

Mount Taibai
Mount Taibai, an AAAA-rated national scenic spot, positioned in Meixian County on the north side of the main peak of Qinling Range, is the forest park of the highest elevation in China. The park is mainly composed of forest sceneries, together with grotesque peaks, clear waters and several cultural relics and historical sites. All the landscapes, static or dynamic, natural or cultural, have formed an integrated whole, which looks like an impressive picture of unique style.

Zhongnan Mountain World Geo-park
This park, with an area of 1074.85 square kilometers, is situated in the middle part of Qinling Mountains, only 25 kilometers from Xi’an. It has its unique geological relics and Mount Zhongnan civilization, hence is called the “backyard garden” of Xi’an. The park consists of five areas, namely the area of Buddhist culture and landslide configuration of Mount Cuihua, the area of the Quaternary glaciation in southern part of Mount Taibai, the area of migmatitic rocks with Mount Binjingding, the area of granite moorstone of Mount Yushan and the area of the horst configuration of Mount Lishan.
① Mount Huashan
② Mount Taibai
③ Mount Zhongnan

Zhangliang Temple—Mount Zibo
It is a national AAA-class scenic spot, located in Liuba County on the south side of Qinling Mountains. The towering Mount Zibo provides impressive scenery, especially the breathtaking sinkhole on the top. Situated at the foot of Mount Zibo in Liuba County, Zhangliang Temple is built in memory of Zhang Liang, one of “Three Heroes of the early Han Dynasty.” Surrounded by green mountains with rivers and streams flowing round, Zhangliang Temple, which can be compared as the fairyland on earth, used to be a famous resort for Taoist pilgrims and the center for the Daoist practitioners in southern Shaanxi.