Fanjingshan

Fanjingshan is the highest peak of the Wuling range and a UNESCO natural site, protecting forest that survived the last glaciations and now holds the Guizhou golden monkey, found nowhere else, along with the Fanjingshan fir. Its image, though, is the Red Clouds Golden Summit: a narrow rock tower rising from the ridge, split by a cleft, with a small temple built on each side of the split and a short arched bridge joining them, reached by steps and chains cut into the pillar. Below it stand the Mushroom Stone and the old temples of the pilgrimage route. Daily numbers are capped.

What you actually see

• The Golden Summit - a split rock tower with a temple on each half.
• The connecting bridge - the arch over the cleft between the temples.
• The Mushroom Stone - a balanced rock formation on the ridge.
• The old-growth forest - habitat of the Guizhou golden monkey.

When to go

April to June and September to November; the summit is often in cloud, and clear days are the exception rather than the rule. Winter brings ice that closes the summit steps. Book ahead as numbers are capped.

Honest expectations

Tickets are capped daily and sell out in season, requiring advance booking. The summit steps are steep, exposed and queue badly. Cloud hides the view on most days. The golden monkey is not seen by visitors.

Nearby

Tongren lies east; Zhenyuan is southwest.