Huangshi Travel Guide

Located in the east of Huangshi City, Xisai Mountain has been always regarded as the gateway to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Surrounded by waters on three sides and only having one ridge connecting to Chushan Mountain, Xisai Mountain occupies a position of strategic importance which is difficult to access.
 
Xisai Mountain is not as high as other mountains but it does boast an abundance of cultural relics. Hidden in the thick forest ancient architecture adds a piece of mystery to the mountain. Taohua Gudong (Peach blossom Ancient Cave) lies in the cliffs facing the river on the northern side of Xisai Mountain. Its gate looks like a temple gate measuring 9.9 feet tall. Legend says that the cave was once the place where Zhang Zhihe (an ancient poet living during the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907)) rested and sheltered from the rain. Longku Temple lying on the eastern side of Xisai Mountain was built in the Tang Dynasty and repaired in 1986. Beiwang Pavilion is located in the northern peak. It was built by imitating ancient architecture from where visitors can look down the splendid sight of water surging to the east.
 
In ancient times, Xisai Mountain was a battlefield where over a hundred battles took place. Moreover, due to its fine scenery, many scholars and men of letters have been moved to write poems and prose to praise its beauty. The most famous one is the poem “In Front of Xisai Mountain” written by Zhang Zhihe which describes a fabulous fairyland from which the poet was reluctant to leave.
 Like a watery, luminescent pearl, Cihu Lake is embedded in the center of Huangshi. The lake covers an area of 3.9 square miles, and is much larger than the famous West Lake. "Ci" means magnet. The lake got this name because of the abundant magnetic material around it. Cihu Lake is the pride of local people, due to its picturesque landscape. In the pristine clear lake, fish swim delightedly in the water, where small islets dot in the lake, adding radiance to its already natural beauty. Next to the lake, there are dainty gardens along with a stele forest which houses the scripts of many famous writers from home and abroad. The famous tourist landscapes include Yiqu Garden, Yequ Garden, Chengyue Islet and Hangzhou Road.
 
Cihu bears witness to the glory and history of Huangshi. Together with the nearby Yangtze River, the chains of mountains and the modern buildings, it is a grand environmental resource, adding to the wealth of the local people.

Transportation around Huangshi is convenient. By expressway, visitors can reach Wuhan and Jiujiang in about one hour. It is an eight-hour ride from the city to Shanghai. In addition, passenger ships from Chongqing to Jiujiang, Shanghai and Nanjing make stops in the Port of Huangshi.
 
It will take one hour and a half from Huangshi to Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, which operates fights to major cities of China and other countries.

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