At the foot of Mount Song, one of the five sacred mountains of China, stand three pairs of free-standing stone gateways that have been waiting for the better part of two thousand years. They are que, tall, pillar-like towers that marked the approach to a temple or tomb in Han dynasty China, and the ones at Dengfeng belong to the temples of Mount Song, as ceremonial entrance markers. The Taishi Que, the western gate of the Zhongyue Temple, dates from the second century, and is covered with carved scenes of hunting, chariots, dancers and animals, in a lively, rough, vigorous style. They are among the oldest such structures in China and they are part of the UNESCO listing of the Historic Monuments of Dengfeng.
Mount Song also holds the Shaolin Monastery, the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and of the martial arts that carry its name, the Songyue Pagoda, a twelve-sided brick tower from the early sixth century, and the Songyang Academy. The wider landscape is of limestone ridges, terraces of persimmon and walnut trees, and loess hills, with the Yellow River basin to the north and the Central Plain stretching toward Luoyang and Zhengzhou.
Riding is possible in principle but practically difficult for foreign visitors. China requires a local licence, registration and a permit for foreign vehicles, and most travellers hire a car with a driver instead. The roads around Dengfeng are good, with roundabouts and busy traffic, and when you reach the mountain the roads climb in bends through villages and woods. Spring and autumn are comfortable, summer is hot with thunderstorms, and winter can bring snow and cold wind. Weekends and national holidays are crowded, particularly around Shaolin, so a weekday morning is better.
Songyang, a few kilometres away, is a town of sixty thousand with fuel, hotels and lots of restaurants and martial arts schools. Henan cuisine is noodle-heavy, so try hand-pulled noodles, steamed buns and braised lamb. Tickets for the sights are sold separately or in combination, and the gates themselves are fenced, so you see them from a short distance. Wear shoes with good grip for the stone steps, and take water in summer, since the sun is hot and shade is scarce around the monuments.