Self-driving Tour - Exploring the Magnificent Mangshan

Mangshan National Forest Park Depart from Guangzhou at 9 am, take the Guangzhou-G4 Jingzhu-Shaoguan-Yizhang-Lechang City Pingshi Exit-G107 Ligen Town-Tiantang Township-Mangshan National Forest Park, and enter from the west gate around 1 pm. Stay at Xiaobai's Family Guesthouse in Mangshan Linchang, with three bedrooms and a living room, plus a kitchen. If there is a chef among the companions, you can catch chickens that roam freely and pick the abundant green vegetables. The skyward chili peppers are needless to say, the greenery is as lush as a tea garden covering the hills and fields. In Hunan, along the way, you can see the production of red paper for firecrackers, with large rooms neatly hanging with sheets of red paper, quite peculiar and spectacular. Tiantai Temple is located at about 1600 meters on Tiantai Mountain, surrounded by peaks and lush forests When reaching Wanshou Pagoda, heading east to the Great Tiantai, looking at the high stone steps stretching endlessly, everyone stops, their pleas falling on deaf ears. Helplessly, I alone climb the steep cliffs of Yazi Stone... The mountain is high and the wind is fierce, but beside the path, the reeds undulate like waves, and apart from the heavy breathing, not a single bird's chirp is heard. Just as a hint of regret from the hardship arises, suddenly a peak emerges, standing proudly alone, with the mist in the winter ravine growing thicker, the closer I get, the less clear the view. The sunlight comes from behind, casting long shadows of the mountain, quite peculiar. Looking down, the mist covers the dark pines and steep cliffs, all around is silence. Looking back the way I came, the sun sets in the west, and the mountain path appears steeper. The winter in the south is not cold yet, it's like the autumn in the north Yazi Stone Peak Forest, viewed from the aerial walkway, looks like spears and forks piercing the blue sky. Tiantai Temple in the sunset already shows the majestic atmosphere of a king's long peace. Due to the upstream hydropower station, the stone bridge below is exposed with layers of pebbles, without clear springs passing by, the gray-white and round stones are silent like the eyes of dead fish, staring at the sky. As the early sun rises, the sharp light and shadows, the rugged mountain roads, the vehicles seem like a huge musical note striking the strings, with the flying dust like lingering sounds Around 8 am, driving over the gravel mountain roads, passing through Xiangsi Pit into Xiangyue Peak, this is a peculiar territory, the highest peak belongs to Guangdong, called Shikengkong by Nanling National Forest Park, regarded as the first peak of Lingnan, but the management rights are within Mangshan Linchang. So, you will see a huge stone carved with 'Guangdong's First Peak' in Mangshan Forest Park of Hunan. At the summit, the wind is fierce and the clouds are swirling, it's unbearably cold. The 'Shikengkong' inscription on the cliff wall is fluttering down, barely visible due to the merciless wind and rain. Then there are the nine twists and eighteen bends that can only be seen in Yunnan or Tibet, with a strange peak called Stone Frog Gazing at the Moon. At this moment, the sky is bright, the stone frog has no moon to gaze at, but the undulating mountains and the vast sea of clouds can be seen. The Guizi Fort scenic area is about four kilometers, it is recommended to enter from the right and exit from the left. At the beginning, you only walk among the pine and bamboo forests, the wooden walkway and the rocky path are not too hard, but as the walkway undulates, you gradually enter deeper into the forest, the scenery becomes better, with strange pines and bizarre cypresses, and the clouds and mist are vast. When reaching the Natural Gate, suddenly in the place where the sunlight is shining, a white waterfall flies down, like the Milky Way hanging upside down, the rumbling sound is incessant. The General Stone with its helmet and armor looks vivid, hence it is also called General Fort. The Monkey King Fort is said to be named after the wild Mangshan macaques, but the walkway is currently under repair, with sand being carried and wood being laid, and asphalt being paved, making it difficult to pass. Apart from the maintenance workers, there are hardly any tourists. The cliffs on both sides of the walkway are towering, and the dark places are bone-chillingly cold. Along the way, multi-level waterfalls cascade down, the rapids are turbulent, like a silver bottle suddenly broken. When reaching Jiudie Spring, it abruptly ends. Looking up at the Milky Way hanging upside down, there is no way to go... Finally, at the foot of the mountain, a few small monkeys are seen imprisoned in iron cages. On the way back, passing through Leping Stone Liantang in Lechang City, suddenly an ancient house appears, with huge hemp stones as the foundation, surrounded by blue brick walls, and towering eaves. I enter alone and meet an old man surnamed Zhong who says this is his ancestral home, with children and grandchildren all having gone out to work or moved elsewhere to live. The setting sun slants on the dark wooden table, under the dirty round stools covered with spider webs, behind the hall is the old man's room, and further back is a huge room, dimly visible filled with miscellaneous items, the surrounding old houses have also half-collapsed, with the remaining half of the carved door lintel displaying the broken splendor. ⛰️Location: Mangshan Yao Township, Yizhang County, Chenzhou 🚗Transportation: Self-driving, about seventy kilometers from the county town, approximately three hundred and thirty kilometers from Guangzhou 🎫Ticket: Old scenic area at the west gate 80, Wuzhishan scenic area at the east gate 280 (including round-trip cable car and shuttle bus) 👣Tour: Mangshan is the largest national forest park in Hunan. The west gate tour route first goes to Monkey King Fort, with multi-level waterfalls cascading down along the way, the rapids are turbulent, like a silver bottle suddenly broken. It takes about three hours to walk slowly. Then to General Fort, as the wooden walkway undulates, you gradually enter deeper into the forest, the scenery becomes better, with strange pines and bizarre cypresses, and the clouds and mist are vast. The journey takes about two hours. The next day, watch the sunrise at Tiantai Mountain The Wuzhishan scenic area at the east gate is the core essence of the scenic area, and the ticket is really expensive