Cangshan Mountain - amazing natural beauty in Dali
Last Update: 19th October 2020
Located around 10 kilometers south of the Old Town of Dali, Cangshan Mountain includes 19 peaks. The average altitude of the peaks is more than 3,500 meters above sea level. The highest peak, Malong Peak is 4,122 meters above sea level. The top of these peaks is covered with snow around the year even in summer. Shapes of the sea of clouds there are changing all the time, creating the most stunning shapes of Jade Belt and Wife Expecting the Husband’s Returning.
Cangshan Mountain Fast Facts
- Chinese Name: Cangshan (苍山)
- Highest Peak: 4,122 x meters
- Things to do there: Photography, Nature, Hiking, Plants
- Who visits: Photographers, Adventure Enthusiasts, Botanists
- Time required: 6 – 8 x hours
Wendy Wei Tours offers a variety of different packaged tours as well as custom tours including Cangshan Mountain , among other attractions and destinations. To find out more, please visit our Tours page or Contact Us directly to find out more.
With the high elevation, Cangshan Mountain offers several ecospheres. Therefore, you will find a variety of plants, and experience different weather conditions from the foot to the top of the mountain. The mountain is home to 10 species of endangered plants, such as yellow azalea, Gochnatia, Rhododendron cyanocarpum, Rhododendron sulfureum Franch, Trillium tschonoskii, etc. It is also home to more than 170 species of birds.
Usually, the milk-white Jade Belt Cloud appears in front of the middle part of Cangshan Mountain after the rain when the sky is sapphire-blue. Wife Expecting the Husband’s Returning Cloud rises at Washing Horses Lake with crystal-clear water on the Yuju Peak. In addition, you will also be amazed at other shapes of the clouds after the rain.
Washing Horses Lake covers an area of 4,500 square meters. The bottom and the bank of the lake are decorated with thin black slabstones. Azalea at the hillside is in blossom between the middle April and the middle May around the lake. The lake is situated 20 meters from the top of the peak. On the top, you will see a stone forest overlooking Dali.
18 streams run their own way through Cangshan Mountain. Qingbi Stream, the most famous passes by Jade Belt Road. If you enjoy hiking, you may encounter deer, blue sheep, wild boar or other wildlife on the way with good luck. You could take a cable car up to the mountain as well. If interested, you could also visit the studio city of The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils in the area.
As it always takes several hours to explore the mountain, it is suggested to visit the mountain in the morning especially in the peak season.
The best months to visit are from April to October.
There is no direct bus to Cangshan Mountain from Dali. The only option is to rent a vehicle.
- Opening hours for the mountain: 08:30 – 15:40 (November – March); 08:30 – 16:10 (April – October)
- Opening hour for the cable car: 08:30 – 17:00
- There are two cableways around the mountain. One is called Gantong Cableway and the other one is Cangshan Cableway.
- Gangtong Cableway just takes visitors to the halfway of the mountain from Gantong Temple. It ends at Qingbi Stream.
- Cangshan Cableway ends at Washing Horses Lake.
- From the entrance of Cangshan Mountain, it is around 2 kilometers uphill road to the Lower Station of the cableway.
- As at 19th October 2020, the entrance ticket to Cangshan Mountain is 40 CNY per person.
- The entrance ticket to round-trip Gantong Cableway is 80 CNY per person; the entrance ticket to one-way Cangshan Cableway (including the entrance to Cangshan Mountain and the entrance to one-way Cangshan Cableway) is 182 CNY per person; the entrance ticket to the round-trip Cangshan Cableway (including the entrance to Cangshan Mountain, the entrance to the studio city of The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, the entrance to the shuttle bus in the studio city and the entrance to round-trip Cangshan Cableway) is 282 CNY per person. Children under 1.2m tall (1.2m tall not included) are free of charge.
- For the latest pricing information, please contact us via email (info@wendyweitours.com)
- It is not recommended to explore the mountain in winter and on windy days.
- Visitors are suggested to wear long trousers and shirts on the mountain and take more warm clothes as the temperature on the mountain is much lower than that at the foot of the mountain.
- Please take an umbrella or a raincoat as the weather on the mountain is changing.
- Some visitors who explored the mountain thought the views from the cable car were more gorgeous than those on the top of the mountain.