Damao Mountain

Damao Mountain

Damao Mountain is a national-level forest park.

Damao Mountain National Forest Park is situated in the northwest of Tang County, Hebei Province, with its highest peak at an altitude of 1,898.4 meters, 250 kilometers from downtown Beijing. The park spans a total area of 1,353.33 hectares, including 333.33 hectares of natural secondary forest, and boasts a forest coverage rate of 66.5%. The region has a warm temperate, semi-arid to semi-humid continental monsoon climate, with an average annual temperature of 11°C and a frost-free period of 150 days. Preliminary surveys indicate that the park is home to approximately 532 species of higher plants across 357 genera and 120 families, as well as 144 species of terrestrial vertebrates, including 16 species under second-class national protection.

　Damao Mountain National Forest Park is located 70 kilometers northwest of Tang County. Historically known as Beiyue (the Northern Sacred Mountain) Hengshan, also called the Immortal Mountain, it stands at an elevation of 1,898 meters and is famed for its grandeur, steepness, uniqueness, and beauty. It is the source of the Tongtian River, situated 75 kilometers from the county seat and connected via the Tangchuan Line. The mountain is respectively 250 km, 150 km, and 130 km from Beijing, Shijiazhuang, and Baoding, offering convenient transportation. From afar, its ridges appear elegant and towering, enveloped in clouds and mist. Up close, peculiar rocks stand densely, rugged and striking. Vast primeval forests remain lush and verdant, while the Seventy-Two Heavenly Wells offer ever-changing sights. Wild animals roam the mountains, and birds sing in the woods. In winter, the peaks are blanketed in snow, dressed in silvery white; in summer, it serves as a natural air-conditioner—making it an ideal destination for escaping the heat and enjoying leisure. In December 2005, it was designated as a national forest park.

Resources

Damao Mountain

- Damao Mountain Forest Park boasts abundant flora and fauna resources, with 390 plant species across 251 genera and 92 families. Major tree species include mountain poplar, birch, Chinese pine, oriental arborvitae, peachleaf willow, oak, black locust, and wildflowers blanket the hills—such as red sage, daylily, black locust, and azalea—competing brilliantly in color. The area also holds rich reserves of medicinal herbs like codonopsis, euphorbia, psoralea, cinnabar, and leopard bone. Wildlife such as roe deer, partridges, pheasants, rabbits, and blue sheep (a second-class protected animal) thrive here, making it a great spot for tourism and hunting.

Damao Mountain features hundreds of natural and cultural landscapes, such as the Welcoming Pine, Summit Grassland, Shangri-La, Alpine Waterfall, and Old Dragon Pool. Verdant forests and sea of clouds rise amid dense trees and lush grass, with gurgling springs and waterfalls. A grassland crowns the mountaintop, encircling a Taoist temple, while caves hide within cliffs among the woods. In winter and spring, snow blankets the land; in summer and autumn, auspicious mists rise—a true earthly paradise.

Scenery

Damao Mountain National Forest Park is characterized by its pristine and natural features, with deep historical and cultural roots. It exhibits distinct vertical vegetation zones, rich plant diversity, unique mountain landforms, and diverse natural water landscapes, integrating topography, vegetation, waterscapes, and celestial views in a mountainous forest park. Developed scenic areas include the Forest Viewing Zone and Geological Landscape Zone, with attractions such as the Ancient Walnut King Tree, Summit Grassland, and Club Mountain. The park’s construction is carried out in two phases over five years—the first phase from 2005 to the end of 2007, and the second from early 2008 to the end of 2009. Damao Mountain's primeval forests offer naturally formed, breathtaking scenery.

Visiting Damao Mountain gives one a sense of returning to nature, as natural landscapes abound. Butterflies flutter among flowers, and various wild blooms—such as lilac, rosemary, azalea, and wild chrysanthemum—compete in vibrant display across emerald woods. The Spring at Damao Mountain’s North Gully

[4] Approximately 2.3 kilometers west of the park management office, beneath the sheer cliff on the western slope, lies a geological landscape zone featuring Huanglong Cave and Heilong Cave at an altitude of 1,300 meters. These caves are naturally formed, deep and winding, with entrances about 3 meters wide and high, extending roughly 20 meters inside. There are caves within caves, mysterious and hard to fathom, shrouded in dim light—requiring illumination to enter. Inside, crystal-clear water flows year-round, refreshing to drink, and locals call it “holy water.” Legend says that long ago, the Dragon King’s two grandsons, Huanglong and Heilong, ventured out to sea and followed the Tongtian River to its source at Damao Mountain. Addicted to play, they refused to return, causing repeated flooding. One day, Guanyin the Bodhisattva passed by, angrily sealing them in the two caves—giving them their names. In the park’s northeast pine forest scenic area, amid Xiaoshi Ren Gully, atop a ridge at 850 meters altitude, stands a roughly 10-meter-tall boulder resembling a giant. Legend says a woodcutter cutting firewood near Huanglong Cave noticed a yellow paper pasted on the cave entrance. Out of curiosity, he peeled it off—but suddenly, fierce winds blew, sand flew, and a monster rushed out, harming locals. It turned out the paper had been a spell sealing Huanglong. Though innocent, the woodcutter’s rash act angered the Bodhisattva, who punished him to guard a gold mine at the mountain pass. Over time, he turned into the stone man.

The northeast part of the park features nearly 10,000 acres of lush Chinese pine forest, all artificially planted in the early 1960s, now with an average diameter at breast height of 22 centimeters. On the Paoma Ridge south of the summit lies an open area of nearly 40 hectares where yellow flowers and other alpine blooms compete brilliantly, decorating the space in vivid colors. This area is called the Summit Grassland. Historical records say it was once a military training ground during the Ming Dynasty’s Wanli era.