Where to Go for a Spring Outing? Just One Hour from Xi’an: Taiping Wanhua Mountain, with Verdant Hills, Clear Waters, and Boundless Scenery

Just over ten kilometers south of Xi’an, there’s a mountain called Nanshan. Nanshan is the Qinling Mountains! The Qinling range runs from the Kunlun Mountains to Hebei, stretching more than 1,600 kilometers from west to east. Its most beautiful section is near Xi’an in Shaanxi, and late spring to early summer is the real springtime in the Qinling.

On April 28, after a rain cleared, some friends and I decided to go in search of spring in the Qinling. We didn’t have a definite destination—just wanted a leisurely, joyful escape. Once we hit the road, we headed for Taipingyu. Taipingyu is one of the seventy-two valleys of the Qinling, located in Huyi District, only about forty kilometers from downtown Xi’an, and very easy to reach.

Not far into Taipingyu, we saw a mountain gate built of piled stones, inscribed with “Taiping Wanhua Mountain Scenic Area” in seal script. Luckily, I’d studied enough to make out the characters. On either side hung a couplet: “Once a summer retreat for emperors; now a pleasure ground for ordinary people.” It made me think this must have been an imperial garden long ago. We parked the car and roamed wherever our hearts led us, utterly relaxed and carefree.

Looking around, I found we were completely encircled by mountains, with a stream murmuring by. Its gentle sound, as pure as heavenly music, washed away all worries and brought an instant feeling of returning to nature. In this valley, workers were tidying up a flower trellis. The climbing roses weren’t yet in full glory, but they already hinted at spring. Beside the trellis, two small ponies grazed peacefully in a clearing—a scene straight out of a pastoral idyll. This is the kind of setting I love most: untouched by worldly dust, serene as a first meeting.

Across the Taiping Bridge to the right stood a temple named Taiping Temple. Legend has it that as early as the end of the Sui Dynasty, this was a place of flourishing worship. In the early Tang Dynasty, it became an imperial summer palace. Later, Princess Taiping took refuge here to avoid a political marriage, lived as a nun, and prayed for blessings; thereafter it was renamed Taiping Temple. Hugging the mountain and facing the water, the temple features an elegant layout with layered roofs and towering old trees—an ideal spot for meditation and prayer.

Strolling leisurely through the landscape, I felt my whole being grow fresher and lighter. Glancing at my watch, I saw it was already eleven o’clock. We returned to the riverside, brewed some tea, and sipped the spring air. Truly: every stretch of scenery, every hill—half fragrance of flowers, half aroma of tea. Before even climbing high, I already longed to float up like an immortal.

After lunch and more tea, around two in the afternoon, we crossed past Taiping Temple and began climbing higher. Step by step, we ascended stairs, with mountain flowers blooming everywhere and emerald birds singing in chorus. All the glories of spring were gathered in Wanhua Mountain. Walking and taking photos, we left behind every vestige of the gloom that city life had bred in us over many days.

As we climbed, we consulted the scenic map. The route passes many sights: Taiping Temple, the Sunning Sutra Stone, Fox Fairy Cave, Princess Spring, Zetian Waterfall, Wanhua Waterfall, General Peak, Waterfall Viewing Pavilion, Sweat-Blood Spring, the Temple of the Land God and Mountain God, Yellow Cliff Sunset Glow, Threshold Stone, the ruins of the Temple of the Three Stars of Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity, Scattered Umbrella Temple, Primitive Tribe, Lawn Hill, Dragon’s Back Ridge, Millennium Pine, Xiangshan Temple, Lingyin Temple, Immortal’s Path, Prince of Silla Platform, Yunji Temple, Wind and Moon Tower, and the Palace of the Queen Mother, among others. Yet we didn’t feel tired; the twelve small zodiac animal sculptures along the way were like little fueling stations, giving us energy.

When we passed the Sunning Sutra Stone, I felt a bit dazed—could it be that the sun-dried scripture stone from Journey to the West had moved east? But no, not at all. According to legend, this is Princess Taiping’s own sunning sutra stone. After she entered the monastic life at Taiping Palace Temple, she often carried scriptures to read. One day, she happened to spread a sutra on this stone and noticed the text suddenly gleamed like green gems, crystal clear. Overjoyed, she made this her treasured spot for chanting, and that’s how it got its name.

Beside the Sunning Sutra Stone, we brewed tea and savored the moment. Our “little fairy” friend made a pot of “Osmanthus Jiuqu Hongmei” tea, its fragrance mingling with the spring air and harmonizing with the rhythm of the stream—leaving a lingering sweetness on our lips. She sat cross-legged in a flowing white robe, exactly like a celestial being descended to earth—an indescribable beauty.

As the saying goes, however high the mountain, the water runs just as long. On Wanhua Mountain, what I loved most—besides the verdant peaks and nameless wildflowers—was the stream alongside the trail. In gentle stretches, it rippled merrily like a song; where the cliffs dropped, it plunged fearlessly into waterfalls.

Wanhua Mountain’s waterfalls come in two tiers: one called Zetian Waterfall, the other Wanhua Waterfall. Looking up from below, they truly have the grandeur of “a cascade plunging three thousand feet.” Towering nearly a hundred meters, the twin falls roar like thunder, their white ribbons floating down as if from heaven. We paused at the Listen-to-the-Rain Pavilion, taking in the ring of layered peaks and precipitous cliffs, the blue-green mountains and the silky cascades—an overwhelming beauty. At the Waterfall Viewing Cliff, as if in dialogue with nature, the woman in white, seen only from behind, already lifted our spirits to new heights.

We hiked on, each finding our own zodiac animal along the trail, moving with easy, unhurried grace.

Higher up, we came to the Temple of the Land God—surely the highest-altitude one I’ve ever seen. Legend says that when Princess Taiping lived at Taiping Palace Temple, she often passed this spot. Seeing how strategically it lay beneath Huange Peak, in a position impossible for many to force open, she ordered a temple built here dedicated to the Land God, the Mountain God, and the Dragon King, so that they might bless the area with favorable weather and lasting peace.

By this point, we had passed eleven of the twelve zodiac animals. Since our companion Gangzi’s sign is the Pig, we continued on until he could take a photo with his own zodiac animal, completing the set.

Further up, there were still the Primitive Tribe, Dragon’s Back Ridge, the Millennium Pine, Xiangshan Temple, Lingyin Temple, Yunji Temple, the Palace of the Queen Mother, and more. Just hearing these names stirs an urge to climb on, but our trip was meant for casual drinks, tea, and catching up. By this time, our hearts felt light and joyful, so we turned back while spirits were high.

A flask of wine in the mountains is enough to toast the gentle breeze. I look forward to returning to Wanhua Mountain, to admire the flowers, soak in the views, gaze upon the waterfalls, and walk singing straight up into the floating clouds.