Sanqingshan is a mountain where granite has been carved into figures. Tall pillars and spires of grey rock rise out of a sea of cloud, shaped by wind and water into forms that Chinese visitors have named for centuries: the Goddess, a pillar that looks like a woman with a tall coiffure, the Python, a slender tower that leans out over the valley. The peaks reach to about 1,800 metres, the highest, Yujingfeng, just under 1,820, and the mist that gathers in the valleys turns the whole range into a landscape out of a classical painting.
The name means Three Pure Ones, after the three highest deities of Taoism, and the mountain has been a Taoist retreat since at least the fourth century, when the alchemist Ge Hong is said to have come here to refine his elixirs. Temples, shrines and altars lie scattered along the paths, many of them small stone structures tucked among the rocks. UNESCO listed the national park in 2008 for the beauty of its granite and for the interplay of rock, forest and cloud.
The mountain is also a great place for plants. The forest changes with altitude, from broadleaf evergreen trees at the base to the twisted pines that cling to the ridges, and the park holds many rare species, including Chinese yews and magnolias, along with shy animals that are almost never seen. Walkways clinging to the cliffs, some of them hundreds of metres above the valley, let visitors move around the peaks, and cable cars cut the climb. Rain and mist are common, so the best chance of clear views is in autumn and early winter.
For the rider, the roads around the mountain, in northeastern Jiangxi, are winding and green, with villages, tea fields and bamboo, and the lowland roads are busy with trucks. Visitors who want to ride in China need to check the rules on licences and registration, which are strict. Fuel and meals are available in the towns near the park, and the local cooking uses bamboo shoots, mountain vegetables and river fish. Take a rain jacket, because the weather changes quickly, and the cold at the top is surprising.