The Five Great Mountains (Wuyue)

For over 4000 years, emperors made pilgrimages to these five peaks, poets composed verses about them, and ordinary people climbed their steps seeking blessing and perspective. They are the spiritual backbone of Chinese civilization.

Five Great Mountains at a Glance

Mount Tai Tai Shan East · Shandong · 1,545m · Moderate 1-2 days · entry CNY 115 Best for: History, Sunrise, Culture
Mount Hua Hua Shan West · Shaanxi · 2,154m · Extreme 1-2 days · entry CNY 160 Best for: Adventure, Cliffs, Plank Walk
Mount Heng (Hunan) Heng Shan (Hunan) South · Hunan · 1,300m · Moderate 2 days · entry CNY 120 Best for: Temples, Serenity, Accessibility
Mount Heng (Shanxi) Heng Shan (Shanxi) North · Shanxi · 2,016m · Moderate 1-2 days · entry CNY 130 Best for: Hanging Temple, Architecture
Mount Song Song Shan Center · Henan · 1,512m · Moderate 2 days · entry CNY 100 Best for: Shaolin Temple, Kung Fu, Zen

Climbing the Five: Which Is the Hardest?

Four of the five — Mount Tai, Mount Heng (Hunan), Mount Heng (Shanxi), and Mount Song — carry the same moderate rating. Mount Hua is the outlier at extreme. Grouped by difficulty, easiest first, with the visit length and entry price each guide uses:

  1. 1

    Mount Tai East · Shandong · 1,545m

    Rated moderate · plan 1-2 days · entry CNY 115 · best months April, May, September, October

  2. 2

    Mount Heng (Hunan) South · Hunan · 1,300m

    Rated moderate · plan 2 days · entry CNY 120 · best months May, June, September, October

  3. 3

    Mount Heng (Shanxi) North · Shanxi · 2,016m

    Rated moderate · plan 1-2 days · entry CNY 130 · best months May, June, September, October

  4. 4

    Mount Song Center · Henan · 1,512m

    Rated moderate · plan 2 days · entry CNY 100 · best months April, May, September, October

  5. 5

    Mount Hua West · Shaanxi · 2,154m

    Rated extreme · plan 1-2 days · entry CNY 160 · best months April, May, September, October

Every elevation, rating, visit length and ticket price here is the same figure that mountain's own guide page uses, so the two can never disagree. Route-by-route climb times are on the individual pages.

Which of the Five Should You Visit?

→First time in China? Choose Mount Tai — the most iconic, 72 emperors climbed it, stunning sunrise.
→Want adrenaline? Choose Mount Hua — cliff plank walk, narrow ridges, extreme hiking.
→Traveling with family? Choose Mount Heng (Hunan) — easy paths, 200+ temples, cable car access.
→Love architecture? Choose Mount Heng (Shanxi) — the 1,500-year-old Hanging Temple suspended from a cliff.
→Into martial arts & Zen? Choose Mount Song — birthplace of Shaolin kung fu and Chan Buddhism.
→Want them all? Follow the ancient emperors' route: Tai → Hua → Heng (S) → Heng (N) → Song.

Meet the Five

Mount Tai stone stairway with ancient inscriptions at dawn

Mount TaiTai Shan

The most sacred mountain — climbed by emperors for 3,000 years

Shandong 1,545m Score 4.3/5
Granite cliffside path of Mount Hua winding up the sheer face

Mount HuaHua Shan

The world's most dangerous hike — plank walks on sheer cliff faces

Shaanxi 2,154m Score 4.5/5
Misty forest temple on Mount Heng Hunan

Mount Heng (Hunan)Heng Shan (Hunan)

The Southern Great Mountain, home to 200+ temples and misty forest trails

Hunan 1,300m Score 4.1/5
The Hanging Temple on Mount Heng Shanxi cliff

Mount Heng (Shanxi)Heng Shan (Shanxi)

Home to the mind-bending Hanging Temple suspended from a sheer cliff

Shanxi 2,016m Score 4/5
Shaolin Temple at the foot of Mount Song

Mount SongSong Shan

Birthplace of Shaolin kung fu and Zen Buddhism, the Central Great Mountain

Henan 1,512m Score 4.2/5

Why These Five? The History

The concept of the Five Great Mountains (Wuyue) dates back to the Warring States period (475-221 BC). Ancient Chinese cosmology assigned each mountain a cardinal direction — east, west, south, north, and center — and believed they were pillars holding up the heavens. Emperors would travel to each mountain to perform the Fengshan sacrifice, the most sacred ritual in Chinese state religion, to legitimize their rule and communicate with heaven.

The Five Mountains by Direction

  • EastMount Tai — The most revered. "If Mount Tai is stable, so is the entire country." 72 emperors climbed its 6,600+ steps. First among equals.
  • WestMount Hua — The most dramatic. Five granite peaks connected by narrow ridges. Famous for the heart-stopping Plank Walk bolted to a vertical cliff face.
  • SouthMount Heng (Hunan) — The most serene. Over 200 temples and shrines scatter its slopes. A center of both Buddhist and Daoist practice for 1,500+ years.
  • NorthMount Heng (Shanxi) — Home to the 1,500-year-old Hanging Temple, a monastery literally suspended from a cliff face. A geological oddity with dramatic horizontal rock strata.
  • CenterMount Song — The birthplace of Shaolin kung fu and Zen (Chan) Buddhism. The Shaolin Temple at its base is one of the world's most famous monasteries.

Five Great Mountains: Common Questions

What are the Five Great Mountains of China? +
The Wuyue (五岳) are the eastern Mount Tai, the western Mount Hua, the southern Mount Heng (Hunan), the northern Mount Heng (Shanxi), and the central Mount Song. Each one holds a direction in early Chinese cosmology. Mount Hua is the tallest at 2,154m; Mount Heng (Hunan) the shortest at 1,300m.
Are the Five Great Mountains the same as the Five Sacred Mountains? +
Yes — both renderings translate the same Chinese name, Wuyue (五岳). It is a separate set from the Buddhist and Daoist sacred mountains, although individual peaks appear on more than one list.
Which of the Five Great Mountains is the hardest to climb? +
Mount Hua in Shaanxi, rated extreme: sheer granite faces, exposed ridges and the plank walk bolted to a vertical cliff. The other four — Mount Tai, Mount Heng (Hunan), Mount Heng (Shanxi), and Mount Song — are all rated moderate, so the real difference between them is what you came to see rather than how hard you have to work.
How many days do you need to visit all five? +
Each peak asks for about a day or two on the hill, so all five come to roughly 7-10 days of walking. They sit in 5 provinces — Shandong, Shaanxi, Hunan, Shanxi, and Henan — with long rail or flight hops between them, so most visitors pick two or three.
What do the entry tickets cost for all Five Great Mountains? +
Standard entry is Mount Tai CNY 115, Mount Hua CNY 160, Mount Heng (Hunan) CNY 120, Mount Heng (Shanxi) CNY 130, and Mount Song CNY 100, which comes to CNY 625 for the set. Every figure is the gate ticket on its own — Taishan, for example, charges its mountain road bus per leg rather than folding it into admission.
Which of the Five Great Mountains are UNESCO World Heritage Sites? +
Mount Tai (inscribed 1987) and Mount Song (inscribed 2010) carry World Heritage listing. The other three are not UNESCO sites, though each is a nationally designated scenic area.

Some of these peaks sit on more than one sacred list: Mount Hua, Mount Heng (Hunan), and Mount Heng (Shanxi) also appear among the Daoist holy mountains, and Mount Heng (Hunan), Mount Heng (Shanxi), and Mount Song among the Buddhist sacred sites.