Hualinzhai-Shangyou Lake Scenic Area

Hualinzhai-Shangyou Lake Scenic Area

Hualinzhai-Shangyou Lake Scenic Area is a national AAA-rated tourist attraction and a national water conservancy scenic area.

Hualinzhai—Shangyou Lake Scenic Area is a provincial-level scenic spot in Jiangxi Province and a national 3A-rated tourist attraction. It is 23 kilometers from Gao’an City and over 80 kilometers from Nanchang City, located in the Hualing Mountains, the southeastern branch of the Jiuling Mountain Range in the northwest of Gao’an. From downtown Nanchang, one can drive northwest along National Highway 320 to Gao’an, or take the Gan-Guang Expressway directly. The Changliu and Changtong Expressways also pass through the area, with interchanges nearby, placing it within the one-hour economic circle of Nanchang and the three-hour circle of Wuhan and Changsha. The Shanghai-Kunming Passenger Dedicated Line runs close by, with a station in the city, making it about a three-hour drive from Shanghai, Zhejiang, and other destinations.

The scenic area features one of the oldest granite low-mountain landform landscapes in Jiangxi. Its main peak, Hualinzhai, stands at an elevation of 816.4 meters, making it the highest point in Gao’an. When Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty took refuge in Hualing and saw the overlapping green mountains and the strategically important location, he wrote a poem: “The spiritual peaks scrape the sky, and bird paths reach into the clouds.”

The scenic area spans a total of 178 square kilometers and includes three major zones: the Shangyou Lake National Water Conservancy Scenic Area, the Hualing Mountain Scenic Area, and the Wuqiao Scenic Area. There are also six independent attractions: the Zhu Shi Mausoleum, a national key cultural relics protection unit; the Wu Youxun Science and Education Museum, a national youth science and technology education base; the Daguan Tower and Qixingdui Ancient Tomb Cluster, both provincial-level key scenic spots; the Tuan Shan Temple Massacre Memorial Cemetery from the Anti-Japanese War; and the Rui Xiang Chan Temple.

The scenic area enjoys pleasant weather all year round, offering breathtaking lake and mountain views that are among the best in southern China, as well as a variety of water and mountain leisure activities. It is hailed as the “Leisure Paradise of Central Jiangxi and the Garden of Western Nanchang.” The area is characterized by its unique rock formations and caves, serene lakes and lush forests, and historical sites. With the theme of “Hometown of Yaobang’s Ancestors, a Paradise for Sports and Leisure,” the scenic area offers activities such as hiking, rock climbing, cave exploration, primeval forest adventures, and water sports on Shangyou Lake. There are over 50 attractions in total, including the Hualing Huizhou-Style Ancient Town, the ancestral home of the Hu Clan of Hualing, the ruins of the Hualing Paper Workshop, the Zhuling Waterfall, the Eight Hundred Caves, the Misty Rain of Shangyou, the Guiyuan Academy, the Rui Xiang Chan Temple, the Zhu Shi Mausoleum, and the Tuan Shan Temple Memorial Cemetery.

Since officially opening to tourists in 2003, the scenic area has received over 4 million visitors from home and abroad. Its natural scenery and cultural attractions have been highly praised, significantly boosting the development of tourism in Gao’an.

Currently, the Gao’an Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government have made plans to develop a “Green Triangle” ecological economic zone centered around the Hualinzhai—Shangyou Lake Scenic Area. The focus is on developing eco-tourism in the “Green Triangle,” accelerating the growth of leisure tourism, horticulture, and modern agriculture, and comprehensively advancing the construction of the scenic area. The goal is to establish the Hualinzhai—Shangyou Lake Scenic Area as a national 4A-rated tourist attraction by 2016.

Attraction Ticket Prices and Contact Information

Eight Hundred Caves: 30 RMB/person | Tel: 56805555, 680666

Daguan Tower: 5 RMB/person | Tel: 5212378