Mianshan Mountain
Mianshan lies southeast of Jiexiu, 20 km from the urban centre. It is the birthplace of the Cold Food Festival (寒食节) because Jie Zitui (介子推), a famous minister of the Jin state,…
Mianshan Mountain, Pingyao · severin.stalder · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Key facts
- Admission
- ¥160 (admission + shuttle ticket)
- Opening hours
- 8:00–19:00 (peak season) 8:00–17:00 (off-season)
- Time needed
- 1 day
- Getting there
- Take a train or bus from Pingyao to Jiexiu, then transfer to a bus to reach the mountain
- Guidebook rating
- 4 / 5
From China Self Guided Travel 2025, page 1823. Open in Google Maps
About Mianshan Mountain
Mianshan lies southeast of Jiexiu, 20 km from the urban centre. It is the birthplace of the Cold Food Festival (寒食节) because Jie Zitui (介子推), a famous minister of the Jin state, hid here and died in a fire. The scenic area combines mountain scenery, cultural relics, Buddhist and Taoist temples and revolutionary sites.
Two sights should not be missed. The first is Baofu Temple (抱腹寺), a breathtakingly precipitous spot where more than 20 halls are tucked beneath Baofu Cliff, sheltered from wind, rain and snow. The second is Shuitao Gully (水涛沟), considered the spirit of Mianshan. Legend says it was formed by the hoofprints of General Yuchi Gong (尉迟恭) when his horse stumbled. The air here is exceptionally fresh, with more than 15,000 negative ions per square metre, earning it the name "natural oxygen bar." Its most striking feature is the spectacular "Ten-Li Gallery of Cascades" (十里画廊，叠瀑大观): a ten-li (about 5 km) water system with nearly a hundred waterfalls, the largest dropping more than 80 metres and the smallest just 0.5 metres.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Mianshan Mountain cost?
Admission to Mianshan Mountain is ¥160 (admission + shuttle ticket), as listed in the 2025 guidebook. Prices can change; check the official channel before you go.
What are the opening hours of Mianshan Mountain?
Mianshan Mountain is open 8:00–19:00 (peak season) 8:00–17:00 (off-season).
How do I get to Mianshan Mountain?
Take a train or bus from Pingyao to Jiexiu, then transfer to a bus to reach the mountain
How long should I spend at Mianshan Mountain?
Plan on 1 day for Mianshan Mountain.
Where is Mianshan Mountain?
Mianshan Mountain is in Pingyao, Shanxi Province, in the North China of China. 20 km southeast of Jiexiu city centre
More places in Pingyao
Chang Family Manor
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Wang Family Compound
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Shuanglin Temple
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Pingyao Ancient City Wall
The Pingyao Ancient City Wall is one of the few complete ancient county-level city walls still standing in China. The earliest rammed-earth walls are said to have been built by Yin Jifu, a great general of the Western Zhou dynasty. During the Hongwu era of the Ming dynasty, the wall was expanded on the old foundation into the brick-and-stone structure seen today. The city’s overall layout is shaped like a tortoise, giving rise to the saying “the tortoise plays in the water, mountains face the sun,” which is why Pingyao is also commonly called “Tortoise City.” The old town has six gates, each with its own symbolism: the South Gate is the tortoise’s head, facing the Zhongdu River; outside the city there were originally two wells, likened to the tortoise’s eyes; the North Gate is the tortoise’s tail and the lowest point of the town, so all the city’s rainwater drains out through it; the four gates and barbicans in the east and west are like the tortoise’s paws stretched forward. Only the outer gate of the barbican at the East Lower Gate opens straight to the east. Legend has it that the builders feared the tortoise would crawl away, so they straightened its left leg and tied it to the Lutai Pagoda in Cisi Temple outside the city. The city wall is said to have 3,000 crenellations and 72 small watchtowers, symbolizing Confucius’s 3,000 disciples and 72 sages, so that this bustling commercial city would never lack literary refinement.
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