HUANG MOUNTAINS

Chinese (Wade-Giles and Pinyin) Huang Shan, complex mountain system in southern Anhwei province, China. Some 160 miles (250 km) in length, the range has a generally southwest-to-northeast axis, extending from the area east of P'o-yang Lake to the eastern point of the province near Kuang-te. Its general elevation is about 3,300 feet (1,000 m), but individual peaks reach higher altitudes; Mount Kuang-ming is 6,040 feet (1,841 m) high. A secondary range, somewhat lower in elevation, known as the Chiu-hua Mountains, runs parallel to the main range to the north along the southern bank of the Yangtze River. The range takes its name from its most famous peak, Mount Huang, which is renowned for its magnificent scenery. Known in ancient times as Mount I, Mount Huang received its present name in AD 747. It was the retreat of the Ch'an (Zen) Buddhist master Chih-man, who founded a temple that later became famous as the Hsiang-fu Monastery. From that time onward it became a famous place for sight-seeing, with its great stands of pines, its mountain streams and waterfalls, and its many strangely shaped rocks, caves, grottoes, and hot springs. The Huang Mountains form the watershed between the Yangtze River and the Hsin-an River, which is a tributary of the Fu-ch'un (Ch'ien-t'ang) River. The principal route crosses the range to the west of the peak of Mount Huang itself, running from T'ai-p'ing in the north to She-hsien in the south. Much of the area remains heavily forested with fir and pine, and lumbering is an important local industry, as is the production of tung oil, lacquer, and similar products. The major product of the area is, however, tea.