Yandang Mountains

Yandangshan is a UNESCO geopark built on the remains of a rhyolite caldera that erupted around a hundred and twenty million years ago, and erosion has left a landscape of pinnacles, arches, sheer walls and clefts across several scenic areas. Dalongqiu Waterfall drops around a hundred and ninety metres in a single thread into a plunge pool, one of the tallest in China. The Lingfeng peaks change silhouette as the light moves, and evening tours point out shapes that appear only after dark. Lingyan has cliff performances with acrobats crossing on ropes. The mountains have been visited and written about since the Tang and are dense with poetry and inscriptions.

What you actually see

• Dalongqiu Waterfall - a single thread falling around a hundred and ninety metres.
• The Lingfeng night tour - rock silhouettes that read as figures after dark.
• The rhyolite pinnacles - towers and walls left by caldera erosion.
• The cliff performances - rope acts staged on the walls at Lingyan.

When to go

April to June and September to November; the waterfall is strongest after rain in spring and early summer and can be thin in dry autumn. Summer is hot and typhoons hit this coast. Winter is cool and quiet.

Honest expectations

Each scenic area charges separately and they are spread across the range. Waterfall flow varies greatly. The cliff performances are commercial and short. Public transport between areas is limited.

Nearby

Wenzhou lies southwest; Shenxianju is north in the same province.