Mount Ludong

Mount Ludong

Mount Ludong is located in Hansha Township, Baojing County, Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan Province, with an elevation of 1,127 meters. It gets its name from two natural arches that traverse the mountain, forming an inverted "吕" (Lu) character. The mountain is 21 kilometers from downtown Jishou and 14 kilometers from the Dehang Scenic Area. The Mount Ludong Scenic Area boasts continuous rugged peaks, cascading waterfalls, exquisitely arranged and well-preserved Miao villages, as well as original and profound ancient culture with rich heritage.

The main peak has an elevation of 1,227.3 meters, standing tall with two parallel natural arches forming an "吕" shape. The mountain produces high-quality tea, with "Ludong Silver Needle" ranked as a nationally renowned tea. The area features beautiful scenery and is home to various medicinal herbs such as Gastrodia elata, Dysosma versipellis, and Angelica sinensis.

Mount Agong Mount Agong

Mount Ludong features majestic terrain, with Mount Agong rising 1,227 meters above sea level. Its summit is marked by towering cliffs and a pair of natural arches shaped like "吕" that traverse the mountain, hence its name. Mount Apo, nearly 1,300 meters high, offers panoramic views from its peaks—endless layers of undulating ridges, breathtaking scenery, and a magnificent panorama.

In ancient times, after the defeat of Chiyou, the largest group migrated southward from North China to the southern border of Jingzhou at the Five Ranges. The ancestors of the Miao people traveled upstream by boat, drifting across Dongting Lake, ascending the Yuan River, passing through Luxi, reaching Jishou, then Tatuo, and finally settling at the back of Dongliao Group in Zhangwan Village. The ancestors blew buffalo horn horns, calling the Miao people to sing Miao songs, beat Miao drums, and perform the bull-sacrificing ancestral ritual, reorganizing and branching out. Since then, the five Miao clans—Wu, Long, Liao, Shi, and Ma—have lived separately in the Mount Ludong area, leading peaceful and secluded lives.

The Sacred Mountain Worship Site of Mount Ludong is located directly opposite Mount Agong and Mount Apo, covering over 100 acres, and serves as the main gateway to the Mount Ludong landscape. The sacred worship platform integrates the Miao people’s worship of nature, totems, and ancestors. Centered around the natural landscape of the Miao people in Mount Ludong and based on the pilgrimage to Mount Ludong, it authentically showcases cultural landscapes and folk customs through worship rituals and performances.

Miao Village Clusters

Visiting Mount Ludong without seeing the Miao villages is a regrettable experience. The Mount Ludong area not only boasts beautiful mountains and clear waters, but its Miao villages are especially original and quaint, holding high aesthetic value. Dozens of large and small Miao villages are nestled against mountains and rivers, featuring wooden houses with tiled roofs, ancient trees, fragrant tea, streams winding around the villages, presenting a picturesque pastoral scene.

1. Hangji Miao Village (Golden Village)

Hangji Miao Village Hangji Miao Village

Hangji Miao Village in Hansha Township is a settlement of the Miao ethnic group. "Hangji" is a Miao-language term, originally "Hangge," where "Hang" means valley and "Ge" means tea, thus meaning "valley of tea." The Baojing Golden Tea produced here is very famous, renowned for its excellent color, aroma, and taste. Ancient people said, "An ounce of gold for an ounce of tea," making it a rare delicacy. Because the Miao word "Ge" is difficult to write in Chinese, it was changed to "Ji." The ancient Hangji village has over 1,500 people and more than 430 households, making it a rare large village cluster in western Hunan. The ancient village is distributed across three gullies and three ridges known as the "Nine Dragons Contending for Treasure," naturally built along the terrain with varying heights, all made of wood, and featuring many stilted houses, offering great poetic and picturesque charm with excellent perspectives for painting and photography. Some spots allow you to paint completely different scenes just by turning around in one spot, truly a unique scene at every step.

2. Ludong Miao Village (Water Village)

Ludong Miao Village consists of three villages—Gezhong, Que’er, and Xintian—nestled against mountains and rivers, with over 1,300 people and 342 Miao-style residences. Ludong Miao Village Ludong Miao Village

The ancient village is built against the mountain and beside the water, with buildings arranged at varying heights. Anytime, anywhere, it presents a near-perfect harmony between people and people, nature and nature, humans and nature, and nature and humans. All houses in Ludong Miao Village are wooden with tiled roofs.

The uniform gray-tiled roofs, with board walls treated with tung oil for moisture resistance, shine in dark brown hues. The houses built along the mountain and water blend naturally and harmoniously with the landscape, resembling exquisite traditional Chinese paintings.

3. Tizi Miao Village (Wooden Village)

Tizi Tizi Miao Village Tizi Miao Village

The village is located west of the Hansha Township government, formed by a flat area created by the impact of the Ludong River and the Dafengchong Stream. Nestled against the mountain and beside the water, the wooden stilted houses and dark blue-tiled roofs complement the beautiful mountains and waters. Surrounded by two clear streams on three sides and facing an open field, the village enjoys picturesque scenery year-round, embodying the tranquil charm of "distant hamlets veiled in mist," truly a paradise on earth.

4. Dafeng Miao Village (Fire Village)

Dafeng Miao Village Dafeng Miao Village

Within the Dafengchong Scenic Area, there are Upper Dafeng Village and Lower Dafeng Village. These two Miao villages feature quaint bridges, secluded valleys, interconnected streams, and delicate bridges over flowing waters. The numerous unique peaks and waterfalls enhance the villages' beauty and tranquility, making them a natural oxygen bar perfect for sipping tea and resting.

5. Paiba Miao Village

Paiba Miao Village Paiba Miao Village

Paiba Miao Village is located in the central area of Hansha Township. Wooden houses and tile-roofed stilted buildings line the Ludong Stream, with rows of beautifully crafted stilted houses featuring upturned eaves, creating a spectacular sight. The natural and cultural landscapes blend seamlessly here, with an elegant environment and good sanitation. Here, you can experience the millennia-old charm of Miao villages and the unique Miao customs: eating Miao food, drinking Miao wine, watching Miao arts, tasting Miao tea, singing Miao songs, and exploring Miao villages.

Waterfall Wonders

Mountains encircle flowing water, and water cuts through mountains—this is a highlight of the Mount Ludong Scenic Area. The area features crisscrossing valleys, deep rock gullies, and gurgling mountain streams that flow year-round. Countless streams leap off cliffs and through ravines, creating dozens of beautiful and spectacular waterfalls.

1. Guda Drift—Ring-Shaped Waterfall

Ring Falls

Guda Piao, which means “ring-shaped waterfall like a ring or bracelet gifted to one’s beloved” in the Miao language. The torrent from the upstream Douniao Piao (Bird Ferry Falls) flows down from a cave on the group of peaks at Dafengchong (Great Wind Rush Ridge). The spring splits midway down the mountainside, and a powerful stream plunges from the mountaintop, crashing into a huge rock about two meters thick. The impact forms an arc over three meters in diameter, through which the water flows to create a waterfall and deep pool. The pool’s water is emerald-clear, like jade, with rising mist, making it an absolutely breathtaking sight. Legend says it was the silver ring that Jidong once gave to Nian’gu.

2. Douniao Piao — Camel Hump Falls

Douniao Piao, meaning “waterfall that drifts down like from a bird valley” in the Miao language. This waterfall is about ten to twenty meters wide, flowing out of a cave more than fifty meters high on the back of Bird Peak. It resembles a white rainbow drinking from the stream, a jade dragon descending the mountain, or bright snow flying over the sandbar. With the sound of wind and rushing water all along its path, it is majestic and spectacular.

3. Zerong Piao — Golden Boy Falls

About 2 kilometers within the Dajiu Chong (Big Nine Ravine), along the cliff zone where Dajiu Chong borders Paiao Township in Huayuan County, there is a waterfall that pours out from a cave in a sheer cliff wall. Spanning 30 meters wide with a drop of 120 meters, this waterfall, during peak water flow in spring, sprays foam that rises like mist, crashing down with great force as if smashing pearls and jade, exhibiting an overwhelmingly powerful momentum. It can be described as “beaded curtains not drawn, a long silk hanging from distant peaks,” rivaling Huangguoshu Waterfall in Guizhou.

4. Parong Piao — Jade Maiden Falls

Also about 2 kilometers within Dajiu Chong, along the same cliff zone bordering Paiao Township in Huayuan County, another waterfall pours from a cave in a towering cliff. This one is 10 meters wide with a drop of over 60 meters. The falling water shatters like flowing jade and silver, with droplets spraying like willow catkins or glistening like snow, exuding exceptional gentleness and beauty that moves the heart.

Canyon Mist

Due to the ancient geological age of the Ludong Mountain area, which features numerous caves, canyons, streams, hot springs, and waterfalls, along with high-density and deep river cutting, the many valleys and rivers spread out radially. Layer upon layer of unique and towering peaks form a sea of clouds and a mountain paradise. Locals say that out of the 365 days in a year, at least 200 are foggy.

The mists of Ludong Mountain are truly a marvel of the world. When thick fog rises, it submerges the peaks and valleys; when it thins, it drifts among the peaks and trees. The mists here change in the blink of an eye — sometimes like a calm ocean, sometimes like turbulent waves, sometimes like snow surging into the sky, sometimes like a rushing torrent spanning thousands of miles, sometimes like a waterfall kissing the valley, sometimes like a mirage with purple hues, and sometimes like the faintly visible fairy mountain of Penglai... The still sea of mist stirs the imagination, while the moving sea of clouds brings awe. When all the mist clears, Ludong Mountain stands revealed as: “Layer upon layer of mountains, lush and green, with ten thousand peaks rising like dragons in majestic spirit. Winding waters, crystal clear, flowing gracefully in a thousand twists and turns.”

Unique Peaks and Bizarre Rocks

Towering peaks like sculptures and a variety of bizarre rocks are a major highlight of the natural scenery in the Ludong Mountain scenic area. Sculpted by nature over tens of millions of years, the area features a forest of stone peaks, layered cliffs, interlocking summits, and deep valleys. The cliffs, shaped as if by supernatural forces, rise thousands of feet high and are nearly unclimbable. The bizarre rocks of Ludong Mountain are vivid and interesting, each taking on distinctive shapes. Peaks such as Ludong Mountain, Camel Peak, Peacock Peak, and Jade Pot Peak are all remarkably lifelike.

Hangsha Township: Hangsha Township is located at the foot of Ludong Mountain, on the southern edge of Baojing County, adjacent to Jishou City and Huayuan County. It is over 120 kilometers from Baojing County town. The township covers an area of 64.9 square kilometers and has 7 administrative villages, with 1,547 households and a population of 6,325. The government of Hangsha Township is stationed in Hangsha Village. Since the opening of the Shuigan Highway, transportation conditions have greatly improved. The area has a subtropical mountain climate, with uniquely steep mountain terrain. It is famous for the mystical Ludong Mountain, which boasts peculiar peaks, grotesque rocks, flowing springs, waterfalls, and the magnificent Dafengchong Waterfall Group. Traditional processing industries such as batik, weaving, Xiang embroidery, and copper and silverware are also found here. The township's G...... More detailed information about Hangsha Township ++