Huangshantou Scenic Area

Huangshantou Scenic Area

Huangshantou Scenic Area is located in the southern part of Jingzhou City, Hubei Province. It borders the Yangtze River to the north, faces Dongting Lake to the south, connects to Gongshi Provincial Highway to the east, and links to the Changsha–Changde Expressway to the south. The Jingdong Expressway and National Highway 207 run along its northern edge. It lies 100 kilometers from Jingzhou, covering a total area of 110 square kilometers, with its core scenic zone spanning 50 square kilometers. It is a tourist attraction that integrates natural landscapes and cultural sites. It is not only a picturesque mountain and water resort, but also a sacred site for Buddhist and Taoist pilgrims in the region, as well as a red education base and a “natural oxygen bar” for leisure and vacation. The area boasts abundant tourism resources, along with well-developed infrastructure including electricity, telecommunications, transportation, water supply and drainage, schools, hospitals, radio and television facilities.

Huangshantou Scenic Area features beautiful mountains and clear waters, offering breathtaking views. There are 32 peaks of varying sizes, with the main peak rising 286 meters above sea level. At the summit of the main peak stand the “Zhongji Temple” and “Xie Gong’s Tomb,” both built during the Northern Song Dynasty. On the southern foothills is the “Nanchan Temple,” constructed during the Tang and Song Dynasties. The second peak hosts the “Yunxiao Palace,” built in the Song Dynasty, while the eastern foothills are home to the unique rock formations “Rhino Gazing at the Moon” and “Cactus.” The western foothills contain the “White Dragon Well,” dug during the Ming Dynasty’s Yongle era, and the northern foothills feature the “Entwined Branches.” Together, these sites are celebrated as the Eight Scenic Spots of Huangshantou. Each attraction has a long historical background and beautiful, legendary tales. Huangshantou is mysterious and ever-changing—when the weather is clear, radiant purple mist shines upon it, known as the “Huangshan Auspicious Haze”; when rain is coming, light clouds drift like scrolls, resembling the “Jade Maiden Draping Her Robe,” one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Gong’an County. A 365-meter double-track cable car has been built from the foot to the top of the mountain. On the eastern side of the main peak, there are recreational palaces, leisure pavilions, a zoo, a haunted house, observation decks, luxury restaurants, tea rooms, and meeting rooms, providing visitors with opportunities for sightseeing, leisure, conferences, and recreation.

Huangshantou Scenic Area is rich in cultural relics and historic sites. The Nan闸 (South Sluice), part of the Jingjiang Flood Diversion Project built in 1952, spans the Hudu River at the foot of Huangshan Mountain. A massive workforce of 160,000 people, including prominent figures like Zhou Enlai, gathered at Huangshantou and completed this largest and world-renowned hydraulic engineering project in China in just 72 days since the founding of the People’s Republic. At the mountain’s base lies the Nan闸 Memorial Park, where a solemn and dignified marble monument bears inscriptions personally written by leaders such as Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai for the construction of the project. The Nan闸 has been designated as a “National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.”

Huangshantou Scenic Area is also one of the birthplaces of ancient Chu culture. There are 19 historic sites scattered throughout the area, including primitive village ruins, settlements from the Shang, Zhou, and Warring States periods, as well as ancient tombs from the Jin and Tang Dynasties. This place has not only been a battleground for generals throughout the ages, but also a destination for scholars and poets. Famous historical figures such as the Eastern Han Dynasty general Ma Yuan and the peasant rebellion leader Qin Erjian, the Song Dynasty’s Yang Yao, the Ming Dynasty’s Li Zicheng’s rebel army, and the Qing Dynasty’s Taiping Army all fought here. During the New Democratic Revolution period, Peng Dehuai and He Long also carried out revolutionary activities in the area. The great patriotic poet Qu Yuan of the Warring States Period, the Tang Dynasty’s Liu Zongyuan, the Song Dynasty’s Fan Chengda, the Ming Dynasty’s “Three Yuans,” and the Qing Dynasty’s Tao Shu all visited here and left behind widely celebrated poems and writings.