Mount Heng (Hengshan, Shanxi)
恒山
The Northern Sacred Mountain of the Five Great Mountains. The main peak, Tianfeng Ridge, rises to 2,016 meters. The Hanging Temple, Hanging-Root Pine and Guolao Ridge are all in the same scenic area. This Taoist mountain can be climbed in half a day for views over the northern frontier ranges.
Mount Heng is the Northern Sacred Mountain among the Five Great Mountains. It lies south of Hunyuan County, and its main peak, Tianfeng Ridge, is 2,016.1 meters high. The mountain is steep and extends for about 150 kilometers. For centuries it marked the boundary between the Central Plains and the northern frontier. It is also a sacred mountain of the Quanzhen school of Taoism, and the Hall of the Northern Sacred Mountain on the summit is dedicated to the Great Emperor of the North. The scenic area has two parts, the Hanging Temple area and the main Mount Heng area, about 3 kilometers apart. The main area's entrance is at Tingzhi Ridge. You can take the cable car (about 100 yuan round trip) to the midslope, then follow stone steps past Hufeng Gap, the Hanging-Root Pine, Guolao Ridge (where legend says Zhang Guolao left hoofprints when he rode his donkey backward), and Feishi Cave, to reach the Hall of the Northern Sacred Mountain. From there you can climb to the summit of Tianfeng Ridge, where you can look down over the Hunyuan Basin and Mount Heng Reservoir. The autumn foliage is especially striking. Hiking up takes about 3 hours and down about 2 hours. Taking the cable car can shorten the total to around 3 hours. Admission is about 50 yuan, not including the cable car. An eco-shuttle within the scenic area costs about 20 yuan round trip. Getting there: hire a car from Datong city center, about 1.5 hours. A common day trip combines the Hanging Temple, Mount Heng and the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda: visit the Hanging Temple early in the morning, spend half a day on Mount Heng, see the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda in the afternoon, and return to Datong in the evening. Notes: it is 5 to 8 degrees Celsius colder on the mountain than at the base, so bring a jacket. The stone steps are steep, so wear hiking boots. Open flames are banned in autumn and winter due to fire risk. Temples on the mountain are popular with worshippers, so be wary of overpriced incense.
Opening hours
High season 07:00–18:00, low season 08:00–17:00 (cable car hours slightly shorter)
Nearby sights
- Hanging Temple (Xuankong Si)
- Yong'an Temple, Hunyuan
- Datong Earth Forest
- Yunzhou Daylily Fields (Wangyou Farm)
- Datong Volcano Group Geopark
- Datong Fantawild Adventure
- Wenying Lake Ecological Park
- Jingtu Temple, Yingxian