Oasis of calm with commanding view draws visitors from afar

Summer is the best season for Lishan Mountain Scenic Area, in Yuanqu county in the south of Shanxi province, when it welcomes tourists with variety of blossoming flowers.

Pang Yanzhi, a tourist from Jincheng city, sees the mountain a perfect place to escape the summer heat. The temperature there is more than 10 degrees Celsius lower than its surrounding areas.

"This is my third time visiting the mountain. Every time I visit Lishan, I see various sights and get a different experience," Pang said. She added that she intended to visit the scenic areas again.

Zhao Xuanjie is a high-school graduate who has just finished his gaokao－or university entrance－exams. He came to Lishan with his schoolmates to see the sunrise.

"Seeing the sun jumping out from the east, I felt a poetic nature to life. It gave me relief from the worries and anxiety that accompanied me for years in preparing for the exams," Zhao said.

He added that he loves standing on the Shunwangping mountaintop grassland to get a panoramic view of faraway mountains, rivers and farmlands.

"You just feel the world is broad and there are unlimited possibilities ahead," Zhao said.

Covering more than 300 hectares, Shunwangping is the highest mountaintop grassland in North China. Standing at an altitude of 2,358 meters above sea level, it is also the main peak of Lishan Mountain.

Shunwangping is so named because legends have it that it was the place where Emperor Shun, a leader of the Chinese nation some 3,000 years ago, farmed and herded cattle.

The second-highest peak of the area is the 2,143-meter Huangguman. Its landscape is in contrast to Shunwangping as 98 percent of it is forested.

Another major attraction of the area is the 10-square-kilometer Mihouyuan Valley. The valley is said to be the largest wild monkey habitat in North China, with more than 1,000 such animals discovered. Rare amphibians like giant salamanders were also spotted in streams in the valley.

Because of its healthy environment and the excellent air quality as a result of its high forest and grass coverage, the scenic area was listed as a national recreational destination in June by the State's tourism authorities.