Fanjingshan, or called Mount Fanjing, is located in Tongren City (铜仁), the eastern Guizhou Province (贵州省) of China, about 248 kilometers from Guiyang (贵阳) and 220 kilometers from Zhangjiajie. Mount Fanjing is the highest peak of the Wuling Mountains, at an elevation of 2572 meters. Primitive vegetation is the major feature of Mount Fanjing, with mountains standing majestically, peaks rising one after another, streams crossing and waterfalls overshooting. Besides, Fanjingshan is a sacred Buddhist site and many Buddhist believe that Fanjingshan is where one can reach spiritual enlightenment as Maitreya Buddha did.
National Geographic has released its “Best Trips in 2019” list with 28 places selected around the world. Mount Fanjing is the only tourist destination in China to make the list. Before you kick off your trip to this mysterious land, you can carefully have a browse of this latest Fanjingshan travel guide to plan your adventure and itinerary.
Why Visit Fanjingshan?
The 53rd UNESCO World Heritage Site in China. The 42nd session of the World Heritage Committee in Bahrain has announced Fanjingshan as UNESCO’s ever-expanding list of World Heritage Sites. It is an island of metamorphic rock in a sea of Karst and is home to many ancient and relict plant and animal species which originated in the Tertiary period, between 65 million and 2 million years ago.
Profound Buddhist Culture over 1300 Years. Fanjingshan is a sacred Buddhist mountain, considered to be the bodhimaṇḍa of the Maitreya Buddha. It is ranked as the Fifth Buddhist Mountain of China. The influence of Buddhism reached Fanjingshan by the Tang Dynasty in 639 AD. More temples were built during the ensuing Song and Yuan dynasties. Now the two temples sitting atop of the New Golden Summit are the significant pilgrimage site for Buddhist worshipers around the world.
Peculiar Rocks and Superlative Natural Views.
There is arguably no better view of the world that one that can be seen form the New Golden Summit (also known for Red Clouds Golden Summit). It takes about four hours to hike over 8000 steps to the temples. Along the way, you can fully appreciate the strange rock formations like Mushroom Stone standing ten meters high which speaks to the area’s prehistoric creation. There are many other strange rock formations and stone pillars on Fanjingshan that you won’t miss during your visit.
