Cangyan Mountain

Cangyanshan is a wooded limestone gorge with a temple complex spread up its slopes, and its signature structure is the Hanging Palace, a two-storey timber hall built on a single stone arch bridge that spans the gorge between two cliffs, so that the building appears suspended in the gap with a drop beneath it. A stairway of several hundred steps climbs from the valley floor past halls, gates and pavilions to reach it. The site dates in legend to a Sui princess who became a nun here, and the present buildings are Ming and Qing. The location was used in the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which brought it wider recognition.

History

The Fortune Celebration Temple on the mountain was first built in the Sui dynasty, in the late 6th or early 7th century, and is said to be where Princess Nanyang, a daughter of Emperor Yang of Sui, practised Buddhism. Its halls are fitted into the mountain, and its landmark, the Bridge-Tower Hall, stands on a stone arch of 365 blocks that spans 15 metres across the gorge 52 metres above the ground, with a stairway of more than 360 steps climbing beneath it to the summit (Wikipedia, Mount Cangyan).

The main sights

• The Hanging Palace - the hall built on a stone arch across the gorge.
• The stone stairway - several hundred steps climbing through the complex.
• The gorge - wooded limestone cliffs enclosing the temple.
• The Ming and Qing halls - buildings terraced up the slope.

When to go

April to October for the best conditions; autumn colour in the gorge is strong in October. Winter is cold and the steps can be icy. Weekends and holidays bring domestic crowds and queues on the stairway.

What to expect

The climb involves hundreds of steep steps and there is no alternative route. The site is over an hour from Shijiazhuang with limited public transport. Facilities are basic and English signage is minimal.

Nearby

Zhengding lies northeast; Shijiazhuang is the nearest city.