Posted on: August 30, 2018 | 
| 中文
The Wuxingshan Mountain
When thinking of the Journey to the West and its most fascinating chapter, most people would recommend the Fight in the Heaven Palace. The monkey, who had came out of an enlightened rock and grasped various extraordinary powers and magic skills later declared himself as the “Great Sage Equal of Heaven” and started to challenge the Jade Emperor, the supreme ruler of the Heaven. After several battles and defeated almost every gods and holy warriors of the Heaven, he was finally subdued by Gautama Buddha who had him pressed down under a giant mountain called “Wuxingshan” (“five-element mountain” – the five elements referring to wood, fire, earth, metal and water in traditional Chinese philosophy and medicine). And this defeat was a turning point for the Monkey King, who lost his freedom for five hundred years until Tang Sanzang (a literature figure of Xuanzang), the master monk who made his historical journey to the west to study Buddhism from ancient India and introduce hundreds of Buddhist works back to China, finally released him and took him to the pilgrim journey.
Wuxingshan Mountain in the novel was actually an outcome of the writer’s imagination; the novelist Wu Chengen did not give out a detail description of where the mountain was located and therefore, aroused different guesses from readers ever since the book came out. Meanwhile, in reality, there were a number of similar natural creations scattered in different parts of China which were all named as “Wuxingshan (five-element mountain)” or “Wuzhishan (five-finger mountain)”.
One of the most famous sites was Wuxingshan Mountain in Linchuan County, Shanxi Province, where five high peaks erected from the earth representing five elements of the nature: wood, fire, earth, metal and water, and therefore, they were called Wuxingshan from the ancient to the present. Compared to other noisy and crowded well-known tourism locations, Wuxingshan is quiet and peaceful and far away from modern bustle with original natural beauty well presented everywhere. With an average altitude of 1300 meters, the Mountain is a perfect “natural oxygen bar” with forestry coverage around 98%. It is said that it’s the best place of China for viewing red autumnal leaves of the maples and other trees.
Wuxingshan Mountain is a 4A scenic spot (China’s national standard for tourism spots and 5A means best with highest quality and 2A is the lowest) with typical and delicate mountain valley views. Total length of the valley is 6 kilometers with numerous plants and overlapping springs and queer rocks sitting here and there, which also bring vigor to its serenity. In the summer, it is cool and pleasant down at the valley with sights rarely seen in mountains, such as Canglong Pond and Four-layer Waterfalls and Wild Sea Waterfall. Additionally, there are full of thousand-year old white bark pines in the valley, which are one of the most attractive scenes in Wuxingshan Mountain.
Besides its natural landscape, Wuxingshan has a long history and abundant cultural relics. According to research, the Weiqi (‘Go’, a traditional Chinese game played with black and white pieces on a board of 361 crosses) actually originated from this area and the thousand-year old paths through which Cao Cao(155-220 AD), a powerful minister of late Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), used to transport army provisions during the war times were still kept well in the scenic spot, let alone quite a number of stone courtyards and folk houses from Qing Dynasty (1616-1912).
Wuxingshan Mountain of Shanxi is quite alike with what is described in the novel of Journey to the West; however, there are some other mountains with five peaks standing there like fingers pointing to the sky in different places of China.
Taihang Mountain Range has earned its reputation as the “bone of China dragon” and “spine of the central China” since olden times and it is referred to as a Wuxingshan Mountain, “Heaven Queen Mountain” and “Goddess Nuwa Mountain” as well. The Taihang Wuzhishan (Five-Finger Mountain) is located at the eastern foot of Taihang Mountain Range, and it is a national 4A scenic spot of eco-tourism with its five peaks very much like the five fingers of the Buddha. There are not only cliffy and precipitous high peaks, but also magnificent thick forests. Looking from afar, towering mountains and dangerous cliffs and luxuriantly wild greens of the mountain are especially attractive, but most astonishing of all is that the shape of the 3 km long mountain range is just like a very image of a giant Buddha lying on his back.
While situated in the centre of the island, the Hainan Wuzhishan is the highest mountain of the province, and it earned its name because that the rises and falls of its mountain range look like five fingers as well. With its scenic views of high mountains of ever greens and clear waters with vivid reflections, plus its unique climate and ethnic customs, Hainan Wuzhishan Mountain is a famous tourism destination enjoyed by tourists from different places.
Wuzhishan is one of the symbols of Hainan Province, and renowned mountains of China, too. It has been recognized as Class A tourism spot by International Tourism Organization. Among its different tourism resources, drifting on the valley river is best of all. There are minor scenic spots in the river and dense woods on the bank, and those who are fond of drifting will meet rapids and shoals as well as slow and quiet currents with excitements and enjoyment. And it is the only drifting spot in China which can be experienced in all four seasons throughout the year.
In addition, there are mountains named as Wuzhishan in other parts of the country, such as those in Heyuan City of Guangdong Province, Shashe City of Hebei Province and Guangyuan City of Sichuan Province, which are publicized by the myth of places described in the stories.
Wuzhishan Mountain in Heyuan City of Guangdong Province consists of five peaks linked with each other with highest one of 828 meters. In the mountain, the forests are so thick that the sky is blotted out, while at the foot of it, there are beautiful wild flowers and grasses, running springs and queer rocks. Human activities are seldom seen around this area which makes it still a virgin land to the outside world.
The Wuzhishan Mountain in Shahe City of Hebei Province, North China, is called West Wuzhishan, also with an altitude of 1282 meters and forestry coverage of 70%. There are parts of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) Great Walls still existing at intermountain area, such as forts, doorways and beacon towers, etc.
In Guangyuan City of Sichuan Province, the mountain is also called Wuzishan (strangely, it means “five-son mountain”) with all five peaks equally lining side by side like five stretching fingers. Wuzishan is the highest mountain in the locality but connected with other peaks as well. When it is sunny, the mountains are surrounded by clouds and forms splendid view praised well by local people.
There is a Chinese saying that goes: “Smart people like enjoying the beauty of the waters, while kind people prefer mountain scenery”, and mountains usually serve as the birthplace of certain local cultures. When spectacular landscapes and folk customs are associated with legendary stories, such as the Journey to the West, they become excellent tourist spots with no exception. Perhaps it is not so wrong to guess that when the extraordinary Monkey King had been pressed under the Wuzhishan, he did not attempt to escape simply because he was too addicted to the mountainous beauty.
Translated by Wu Jinying
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