Mt.Cangshan

Mt.Cangshan

Have you ever heard about Mt. Cangshan in Dali City in Yunnan Province? Flower enthusiasts or ’green thumbs’ may be familiar with this mountain because of the beautiful azalea flowers grown here. Mt. Cangshan, also called Diancang Mountain, was once named Xiongcang Mountain and in ancient times was called Lingjiu Mountain. Mt. Cangshan is made of 19 peaks and make up the highest peaks of the Yunling Mountain Range. All are 3,500 meters (11,483 feet) above the sea level and at 4,122-meter (13,524-feet), Malong Peak is the highest. In between every two peaks are streams, and water rushes down the mountain and pours into Erhai Lake.  These streams originate from spring water or thawing snow and irrigate the farmlands around. Cangshan Mountain enjoys great reputation for its snow, clouds, springs and marble.

The unmelted snow on Mt. Cangshan is top of the Four Famous Scenes (wind, flowers, snow and moon) in Dali. The snow is so dazzling and splendent when the sun rises, especially in March. On a moonlight night, the snow reflecting off the mountain makes one feel that they are in a crystal world. The Bai People have many beautiful stories about the snowcapped mountains. One story goes that a plague god intruded the city of Dali and the local people suffered from endless plagues. In order to save them, a brother and sister went to a place named Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva to learn magic. With their magic skills, the twosome beat the plague god and forced him to stay at the top of Cangshan Mountain. There he was frozen stiff. The sister became the god of snow at Xueren Peak in order to keep the plague god under control. Since then the mountain has been adorned by shiny and amazing snow.