Taihang Mountains

The Taihang range on the borders of Shanxi, Hebei and Henan, with grand canyons, cliffside tunnel roads, the Red Flag Canal and the "Taihang No. 1 Scenic Highway."

The Taihang range runs through the four provinces and municipalities of Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi and Henan, and the tourist hotspots are concentrated in the southern Taihang at the junction of Shanxi, Henan and Hebei. On the Henan side are Yuntai Mountain in Jiaozuo (Red Stone Gorge, Tanpu Gorge), Wanxian Mountain in Huixian (the Guoliang cliffside tunnel road), Baligou in Xinxiang, the Red Flag Canal and Taihang Grand Canyon in Linzhou, and Wangwu Mountain in Jiyuan; on the Shanxi side are the Taihang Mountain Grand Canyon in Huguan, Changzhi (Baquan Gorge, Hongdou Gorge), Wangmang Ridge and the Huangcheng Xiangfu in Jincheng, and Niangziguan in Yangquan; on the Hebei side are Kongshan Baiyun Cave and Tianhe Mountain in Xingtai. Shanxi's "Taihang No. 1 Scenic Highway" links many sights and suits a self-drive. Common itineraries: a 3–5-day southern Taihang loop from Zhengzhou or Jiaozuo, or a self-drive through Changzhi and Jincheng. Mountain sights mostly require walking and scenic-area buses, the cliffside tunnel roads are narrow and visitor numbers are capped in peak season; during the autumn red-leaf season weekends are crowded. The Taihang is also a sketching base for art-school students, with sizable sketching villages at Guoliang Village, Shibanyan and Wangmang Ridge; in recent years outdoor sports such as rock climbing, hiking and trail running have taken off here, offering more ways to play beyond traditional sightseeing.

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Itineraries