Moon Hill
Moon Hill (Chinese: 月亮山; pinyin: Yuèliàng Shān; literally: "Moon Mountain") is a hill with a natural arch through it a few kilometers outside Yangshuo in southern China's Guangxi autonomous region. 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.
It takes roughly 20 minutes to climb (about 800 steps) to the arch, or considerably longer for those who mean to reach the hill's summit. Access is not free and visitors must pay an entrance fee to be allowed to climb the hill. Souvenirs 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, the first of which was climbed by Todd Skinner in the 1990s. It has also been used for abseils in several adventure races.
Moon Hill offers some 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.[1]
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See also
- Elephant Trunk Hill, in Guilin
- Torghatten, in Norway
References
External links
Media related to Moon Hill at Wikimedia Commons
Coordinates: 24°43′42″N 110°28′2″E / 24.72833°N 110.46722°E