Home»(Sacred) Mountains and Sites in China 中国名山宫观»Yandangshan 雁荡山

Images from Yandangshan, north of Wenzhou, in southern Zhejiang province. The Yandang Mountains can be divided into three parts: a Southern range, a middle range, and the Northern range. The core area is about 186 square km. Geologically speaking, the mountains constitute a natural museum for rhyolitic volcanic (magmatic) rocks. Aesthetically speaking, these mountains (with the highest peak at 1056 meters) are one of the most striking environments I ever set foot in. They are easily on a par with the over-exposed Guilin limestone karst mountains and the Nine Turns of Mount Wuyi.

An application to include this region, an A-class scenic (=tourist) site or "World Geopark", on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, was submitted by the National Commission of the People's Republic of China in 2001. A decision is pending.

I traveled here (on foot and by small watercraft) in May 1987, searching for hidden Daoist caves, shrines and monasteries. As you can see, I found them.

Fuji slide film, scanned with Epson 4990 as 1200 dpi TIF files. Converted to lossless JPG; colors restored when possible. Converted to gray-scale (see the other gallery) in cases where colors had shifted.

Thomas H. Hahn
Ithaca, NY