Cloud Valley Scenic Area of Huangshan

The Cloud Valley Scenic Area is located 890 meters above sea level and covers an area of over 1026 hectares. Located near the base of Huangshan Mountain and overlooking an open valley, the Cloud Valley Scenic Area boasts rock inscriptions, ancient trees rocks formed into bizarre shapes by centuries of wind and rain.

This valley is filled with natural areas named after China's mythological dragons. Samples are the Dragon's Daughter Pool, Dragon Buddhist Temple, Blue Dragon Gully, Dragon Curling Island, Nine Dragon Cascade, and Dragon Boat Rock. Although dragons are rarely seen in the area, the area is filled with many wild and beautiful animal and bird species.

Cloud Valley Scenic Area

There are three old precious trees growing in the Cloud Valley Scenic Area. An Eastern China Douglas Fir that is over 500 years old, a Southern China Hemlock that is 800 years old, and a ginkgo tree that botanists believe is over 1,00 years old. These ancient trees are said to represent the three gods of longevity in Chinese culture. These three precious trees can be found growing near the site of the ancient Cloud Valley Temple. They are under state protection.

The Cloud Valley Scenic Area is abundant in bizarre rock formations that artists and poets have given names to. The rock formations named: Lions Snatching a Ball, the Fantastic Stone, and Qin Stone Table (Qin: an ancient zither-like Chinese plucked instrument), to name but a few, were formed during the Quaternary Ice Age.

Their strange forms have inspired people for millennia. Many of these rock formations have had marvelous inscriptions carved into them. The majority of these inscriptions were done centuries ago by poets and artists who were so moved by the beauty of the area that they felt they had to describe it in writing.

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