Moon Hill

Moon Hill (Chinese: 月亮山; pinyin: Yuèliàng Shān; lit. 'Moonlight Mountain') is a hill with a natural arch through it a few kilometers outside Yangshuo in southern China's Guangxi autonomous region. Moon Hill is part of the Guilin Mountains. It is so named for a wide, semicircular hole through the hill, all that remains of what was once a limestone cave formed in the phreatic zone. Like most formations in the region, it is karst. It is also a popular tourist attraction. [1]

For the hill in New York, see Moon Hill (New York).
Moon Hill seen from below
A view from the top of Moon Hill

It takes roughly 20 minutes to climb up to the arch (about 800 steps), or considerably longer for those who wish to reach the summit. Visitors must pay an entrance fee in order to climb the hill. Souvenir and refreshment vendors often follow climbers up and down the path.

In addition to a concrete tourist path which passes through the arch, and a somewhat rougher, steeper path leading to the summit above the arch, Moon Hill has several rock climbing routes and it has also been used for abseils in several adventure races.

Moon Hill offers broad panoramic views of the surrounding countryside which is characterized by the knobby karst hills found throughout the region.

Geography

The Moon Hill is located to the south of Yangshuo across the Jingbao river along China National Highway 321. It has an elevation of 380 m (1,250 ft), while the hill is 230 m (750 ft) in relative height and 410 m (1,350 ft) in length. The arch is about 50 meters in height.[2]

Climbing Ban

Moon hill had a two year climbing ban recently lifted. [3] The climbing ban, which went into effect in the first half of 2017, was in place due to a security guard on the viewing deck nearly being hit on the head with a piece of falling debris. [4] In the end of the year 2019 the climbing ban was removed under conditions. Those conditions want a yearly inspection of the climbing routes, financed through the for climbers mandatory climbing insurance.[5]

See also

References
  1. "Moon Hill". travelchinaguide.com. 2019-10-03.
  2. Cultural China website. 'Natural Scenery' Archived 2013-05-12 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Tan, Kelvin (2019-09-06). "Yangshuo's Moon Hill reopens after two-year sport climbing ban". sportbusiness.com.
  4. Hedesh, Andrew (2017). Yangshuo Rock: A China Climbing Guide. Amazon.com: Books. ISBN 9780998728605.
  5. "Yangshuo's Moon Hill reopens after two-year sport climbing ban". SportBusiness. 2019-09-06. Retrieved 2020-06-12.

Media related to Moon Hill at Wikimedia Commons

A rock climber on the Moon Hill arch
Moon Hill from a nearby parking lot

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