Anhui's Seriously Underrated Taoist Secluded Immortal Mountain

Just discovered that the "Xiushen Kaitian" cliff carving from "Jianlai" is right here!
Qiyun Mountain is one of the Four Great Taoist Mountains, known as the divine and beautiful crown of Jiangnan. Having been to Huangshan, I still prefer this place for its beautiful natural scenery combined with cultural atmosphere and rustic charm. The ancient Hui-style Taoist village with white walls and black tiles on Qiyun Mountain is truly lovable, and it’s usually not crowded.
📍Attraction: Anhui · Qiyun Mountain
🚄Transportation: Take the high-speed train to Huangshan North Station, then take the scenic area shuttle bus or taxi for about 40 minutes to the [Qiyun Mountain Visitor Center]. You can also take the [Xiuning Yilu] bus directly.
🧗Hiking Route:
✅Complete route: Wangxian Tower - Dongtianfang - Shouzi Rock - Yitian Gate - Zhenxian Cave - Ertian Gate - Santian Gate - Yuehua Tianjie - Taisu Palace - Xiaohutian - Changsheng Tower - Yuxu Palace - Ziyun Pass - Fangla Cave - Fangla Village - Lingxu Dao - Zhangaofeng - Zuowang Platform - Mengzhen Bridge - Wangxian Tower
✨Tips: The full loop takes 4-5 hours; if you’re not very fit, you can choose the medium or small loop.
.
📅Two-day itinerary plan:
Day 1: Arrive in Qiyun Town in the afternoon, stay at [Qiyun Mountain Baiyue Resort Hotel], which is Qiyun Mountain’s own hotel, right next to the visitor center. It’s just 2 minutes to the cable car and bamboo raft dock. In the evening, the town offers 20 free intangible cultural heritage performances: Huizhou fish lantern parade, iron flower forging, fire pot, fireworks show 🎆, drone fireworks show, and more.
Day 2: Take the cable car in the morning to start climbing Qiyun Mountain, and in the afternoon experience bamboo rafting at Hengjiang Bamboo Raft Dock.
.
📸Photo spots:
✅Xiaohutian: The ancient giant gourd-shaped gate, with blue sky and white clouds on sunny days, makes a great frame.
✅Yuehua Tianjie: The ancient Hui village on the mountain, with pink walls and black tiles, full of life and rustic charm, as if time slows down here.
✅Zhenxian Cave: The "Xiushen Kaitian" must-check-in spot, where NPCs perform sword dances.
✅Yuxu Palace: A Taoist temple with red walls and black tiles on the cliff, quaint and ancient, also home to a surviving stele inscription by Tang Bohu.
✅Shouzi Rock: A 9-meter-high cliff carving personally inscribed by Zhu Xi.
✅Fangla Village: Has a viewing platform with a wide open view; after summer rain, you can watch the dreamy sea of clouds here in the morning.
✅Xiake Ancient Trail: Xu Xiake visited Qiyun Mountain twice; follow the footsteps of the ancients to hike and see the famous Danxia landforms along the way.