Laojun Mountain

Laojunshan is named for Laozi, who is said to have retreated here, and it has been a Taoist site since the Han, with the Tang emperors patronising it heavily. Its striking element is modern: gilded halls built on the exposed granite summits, roofs blazing gold against grey rock and, frequently, above a sea of cloud filling the valleys below, which has made the mountain a fixture of Chinese travel photography. Below the peaks, the Ten Mile Gallery walkway runs along cliffs, and the Chicken Ridge is a knife-edge of weathered granite. Two cable cars and a shuttle system carry visitors up the two thousand-metre mountain.

What you actually see

• The gold summit halls - gilded Taoist buildings on the granite peaks.
• The cloud sea - mist filling the valleys below the summits.
• The Ten Mile Gallery - the cliff walkway below the peaks.
• The granite ridges - weathered rock formations along the summit lines.

When to go

April to June and September to November; the cloud sea is most common in spring and after rain, and cannot be predicted. Winter brings snow and ice, striking but with closures. Holidays bring long cable car queues.

Honest expectations

Two cable cars plus entry plus shuttles make the day expensive. Cloud can hide everything as easily as it can make the photograph. Queues at peak times are severe, and the mountain is a long drive from Luoyang.

Nearby

Luoyang lies northeast; the Funiu range surrounds the mountain.