Where to Go Hiking in Xi’an: 8 Best Hiking Spots

What are the eight best hiking spots in Xi’an? If you’re thinking about going hiking while the weather is still good, check out this list! We recommend you climb mountains in places like Mount Hua, Mount Taibai, Mount Cuihua, and Mount Lishan to enjoy the scenery.

1、Mount Hua

Mount Hua is one of the five famous mountains in China, with an altitude of 2154.9 meters, the highest of the five mountains. It is located in Huayin County, Weinan City, 120 kilometers east of Xi’an, a historical and cultural site. It is located north of the watershed of the Qinling Mountains, a granite mountain north of the vast Weihe Plain and the roaring Yellow River. With the help of the ever-changing weather, the thousands of shapes of Mount Hua are vividly depicted, making it a national-level scenic spot.

Mount Hua is a cultural mountain with a profound cultural heritage and rich cultural connotations. Taoist culture, Yang culture, cave culture, chess culture, inscription culture, as well as historical sites, myths and legends, and poems and songs passed down by literati throughout the ages, constitute the main theme of Mount Hua culture.

Ticket Price: Off-season 90 yuan, peak season 160 yuan

Transportation: 120 kilometers from Xi’an, take a special train from the train station to Mount Hua Station, or take a special tourist bus from the train station.

2、Mount Taibai

Mount Taibai is located in Baoji, Shaanxi Province, at the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains, in the territory of Meixian County, Taibai County, and Zhouzhi County. It is the main peak of the famous Qinling Mountains in China, and also the highest peak in the eastern part of the mainland of China, with an altitude of 3767 meters. The Qinling Mountains are a natural barrier between the south and the north of China, and also the watershed of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. As the main peak of the Qinling Mountains, Mount Taibai has even more unique natural geographical conditions. Its majestic momentum that towers into the clouds and its ever-changing climate make it a mysterious place that has been yearned for by scientists and scholars from China and abroad since ancient times.

Mount Taibai is a perfect scenic area with its geological landforms, mountain glaciers, beautiful springs, forest communities, celestial phenomena, rare flowers and plants, and human history.

Ticket Price: Off-season 40 yuan, peak season 70 yuan

Transportation: Take a Xi’an to Meixian bus and get off at Meixian Huaiya East Station (opposite the Shaanxi Provincial Long-distance Bus Station), then take a bus to Tangyu Kou. Along the way, you will pass the Hongya Tou Village Kiwi Fruit Industrial Park.

3、Mount Lishan

Mount Lishan is located south of Lintong District, Xi’an, a branch of the Qinling Mountains. The highest peak, Jiulongding, has an altitude of 1301.9 meters. It consists of Xiuling and Dongxiu, and the mountains are winding and lush, resembling a dark gray steed from afar, hence the name. Mount Lishan is also known as “Xiu Ling” for its beautiful and verdant scenery. As the sun sets, Mount Lishan is bathed in the golden afterglow, creating a particularly magnificent view, which is known as the “Evening Glow of Mount Lishan”.

Mount Lishan is known for its beautiful scenery. Legend has it that King You of Zhou built Lishan Palace here, which was renamed “Lishan Tang” during the Qin Dynasty. Emperor Wu of Han expanded it into a palace, and Emperor Taizong of Tang built a palace called “Tangquan Palace”. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang expanded it again and named it Huaqing Palace. It is also known as Huaqing Pool for its hot springs. The Five-Room Hall in Huaqing Pool is where Chiang Kai-shek resided during the “Xi’an Incident” in 1936. Mount Lishan is also the site of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang.

Ticket Price: Off-season 45 yuan, peak season 70 yuan

Transportation: Take the 306 Xi’an-Terracotta Army special bus from Xi’an Railway Station to get there.

4、Mount Cuihua

Mount Cuihua is a natural scenic spot, located 23 kilometers south of Xi’an, in the northern foothills of the Qinling Mountains, with an altitude of 2132 meters and an area of 1785 hectares. It is famous for its “Unique Peak in Zhongnan” and “China Geological and Geomorphological Museum”.

The Mount Cuihua Tourism Scenic Area consists of three parts: Bishanhut Lake Scenic Area, Tianchi Scenic Area, and Landslide and Stone Sea Scenic Area. The original name of Mount Cuihua was Mount Taiyi. Legend has it that the Taiyi True Person practiced there, hence the name. Since the Qin Dynasty, it has been the “Shanglinyuan” (Royal Hunting Park) and “Imperial Garden” of the royal family. Qin Shi Huang once hunted and relaxed here, Emperor Wu of Han once established an altar for worshipping heaven here, and Qin Shenggong was the summer resort palace of Emperor Li Shimin of Tang Dynasty. It is considered a tourism destination in the Sanqin region. In 1992, it was designated as the “Zhongnan Mountain National Forest Park”, and in 1997, it was recommended as one of the “Top Ten Scenic Spots in Xi’an”.

Ticket Price: Off-season 45 yuan, peak season 70 yuan

Transportation: Mount Cuihua is 30 kilometers south of Xi’an City. You can take buses 600 or 603 from the railway station to the TV Tower and transfer to the 905 tourist bus to get to Mount Cuihua.

5、Mount Zhongnan

Also known as Mount Taiyi, Mount Difei, Mount Zhongnan, and Mount Zhounan, also known as Nanshan, is a section of the Qinling Mountains. It extends from Meixian County, Baoji, Shaanxi Province in the west to Lantian, Shaanxi Province in the east. With thousands of verdant peaks, it is known for its beautiful scenery and is known as the “Immortal Capital”, “Crown of the Grottoes”, and “First Blessed Land in the World”. The main peak is located in Zhouzhi County, with an altitude of 2604 meters. The couplet “Blessings like the East China Sea, long flowing water, life like Mount Nanshan, never-aging pines” refers to this mountain.

Mount Zhongnan has a dangerous terrain and rugged roads. There are five large valleys and over one hundred small valleys, stretching for hundreds of miles. The Zuo Zhuan calls Mount Zhongnan “the danger of the Nine Provinces”, and the Shi Ji calls the Qinling Mountains “the obstacle of the world”.

Mount Zhongnan is one of the origins of Taoism.

Ticket Price: Off-season 20 yuan, peak season 30 yuan

Transportation: Take the special bus to Mount Cuihua from the South Suburb Bus Station to get there.

6、Mount Jiuhua

Mount Jiuhua is located 20 kilometers south of Huxian County, at the southern end of the watershed between Zao Yu and Tan Yu. The main peak has an altitude of 1700 meters, and there is the Amitabha Temple at the foot of the mountain.

According to stone inscriptions, there was Mount Jiuhua Temple before Amitabha Temple. The temple was built in the Sui and Tang dynasties, and before the Southern Song Dynasty, there was a high monk from Sichuan, Yigong, who lived in the temple and preached, and his disciples were numerous.

The name Jiuhua Mountain comes from the fact that the nine peaks rise in succession at the southern end of the ridge, hence the name, which resembles the famous Jiuhua Mountain in Anhui Province, one of the four famous Buddhist mountains.

The twelve scenic spots of Mount Jiuhua: Dengzhanwo, Qinglongling, Wangxiangtai, Lingyun Pagoda, Yu Jingchi, Hu Paoquan, Nantianmen, Duancengya, Fo Ye Dong, Dishi Chi, Shenxian Dong, Tianpeng, etc.
Mount Jiuhua is one of the famous peaks of Mount Zhongnan. When you climb to the top of the mountain, you can see Guifeng in the east, majestic and towering, bright and beautiful. To the west, you can see the valleys of Gan and Lao, with deep ravines and undulating waves. To the south, you can see the peaks of Mount Zhongnan, surrounded by rolling hills and towering peaks. To the north, you can see the vast land of Qin, thousands of miles of fertile fields, with fields stretching as far as the eye can see.

Location: About 20 kilometers south of Huxian County, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province.

7、Mount Nangong

Mount Nangong, also known as Mount Bijia, is the remaining foothills of the Dalong Mountain branch of the northern slope of the Dabashan Mountains, with the highest altitude of 2267.4 meters. Historically, it has been a famous scenic and tourist destination. Nangong Mountain Forest Park is located in the eastern part of Langa County, 92 kilometers from Hanbin District, Ankang City. It covers a total area of 7648 hectares, including five scenic areas: Jinding, East Stone Forest, West Stone Forest, Erlangping, and Lianhuazhai, covering an area of 2663 hectares, with 144 scenic spots. It is characterized by its strangeness, danger, wilderness, beauty, and seclusion, making it a good place for tourism, leisure, vacation, and summer escape.

Nangong Mountain Tourism Guide

Attraction type: Mountains and water

Attraction location: Located in the Dabashan Mountains, 20 kilometers from Langa County, Ankang City, Shaanxi Province.

Ticket Price: 50 yuan

Opening Hours: 6:00 am to 10:00 pm

Bus routes: You can take a bus from Ankang Bus Station on Bashanzhong Road or take a special bus to Nangong Mountain at the Ankang Fire Exit, which is very convenient (Ankang-Langa-Nangong Mountain).

8、Mount Shaohua

Mount Shaohua is located in Baishui County, Shaanxi Province. The Baishui River flows from the northwest around the foot of the mountain, where the mountains are green and the water is clear, creating a beautiful and tranquil environment, a spiritual wonderland.

Mount Shaohua is a limestone mountain, with many primitive caves on the mountain. Local people built temples and shrines, carved gods, and built roads, plank roads, iron chains, and planks, relying on the natural form of the caves along the mountain road. Climbing upwards, it is like a scaled-down Mount Hua, hence the name Mount Shaohua.

There are scenic spots such as Qiyun Cave, Guanyin Cave, and Xiyi Cliff on Mount Shaohua. Twenty meters south of the mountain, there is the “Longtan Waterfall”, one of the eight scenic spots of Baishui. Due to the narrowness of the cliffs on both sides, there is a large stone about one zhang high blocking the flow of water, forming a large waterfall. When the water flows here, it becomes turbulent and rushes down, making a deafening roar. There are many poems written by tourists about this throughout the ages. The inscription on the cliff that has been preserved to this day from the Yuanfu period of the Song Dynasty, “The sound of water heard in the cracks of stones, the cold clouds and the scenery show green mountains”, is one of them.

Ticket Price: Off-season 60 yuan, peak season 90 yuan (subject to actual prices at the scenic spot)

Location: Shaohua Mountain National Forest Park is located 5 kilometers southeast of Huayin County, Shaanxi Province, at the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains, 85 kilometers west of Xi’an and 30 kilometers east of Mount Hua, located on the Shaanxi East Line Tourism Golden Line.