The Ultimate Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls at Laojun Mountain

🌌 Celestial Palace in the Clouds! A 2-Day Immortal Adventure at Laojun Mountain: Touching the Millennia-Old Soul of Taoism at the 2,217m Golden Summit The moment you push open the stone archway of Zhongtian Gate, a sea of clouds surges like molten silver over the cliffs of the Ten-Mile Painted Screen. Fingertips brushing the cool bronze tiles of the Golden Hall, you suddenly hear the harmony of pine waves and Taoist bells—this sacred site, once hailed by Emperor Taizong of Tang as the "Peerless Holy Land," pierces the sky at 2,217 meters, blending the ruggedness of Funiu Mountain with the mystique of Taoism into a fleeting glimpse of wonder. As the Golden Summit lights flicker to life at dusk, I finally understand Xu Xiake’s obsession with visiting this mountain three times: **The so-called fairyland is, in truth, a symbiotic poem of nature and faith.** --- **I. Golden Summit in the Sea of Clouds: A Timeless Dialogue Among Jade Palaces** **The Glazed Mirage at Sunset** Standing on the second level of Liangbao Terrace, watch the sunset gild the Golden Hall, Yuhuang Peak, and Daode Hall with flowing fire. At 18:00, the lights suddenly ignite, transforming the bronze tiles into a glazed palace floating above the clouds, while the Funiu Mountain Range undulates like an inky dragon in the distance. Here, your camera settings hold the key: f/8 aperture + 10-second slow shutter to capture the flowing sea of clouds and the radiant Golden Summit in a scroll of "heavenly palaces." **The Taoist Code of Midnight Stars** On the terrace of the Golden Summit hostel at midnight, the Milky Way cascades between upturned eaves and bracket sets. A night-watching Taoist points to the Big Dipper: "See how the North Star aligns with the fingertip of the Laozi bronze statue!" The 38-meter-tall statue of Laozi cradles the Bagua (Eight Trigrams), its robe folds hiding allusions to the 81 chapters of the *Tao Te Ching*. When a meteor streaks over Yuhuang Peak, you might glimpse Tang Dynasty craftsmen laying the foundations of Taoist temples under the star map. --- **II. Ten-Mile Fairyland: A Landscape Scroll on Billion-Year-Old Bones of Stone** **The Geometric Fantasia of Cliffside Walkways** Winding along the 1.8-kilometer suspended plank path of the Ten-Mile Painted Screen, volcanic flow textures carve out a theater of gods and demons: - **Thousand-Zhang Cliff Turn**: After rain clears, cloud waterfalls pour down basalt columns—stand here with a black cloak and umbrella to step into an ink painting. - **Turtle Probing the Sea Rock**: Perch on the turtle-shaped boulder at dawn, capturing the perilous tension between stone forests and deep valleys with a wide-angle lens. - **Mystery of the Cloud-Piercing Walkway**: A sudden cliff engraving by Zhu Xi reads "The Tao follows nature," while an AR touchscreen below reveals holographic annotations of the *Tao Te Ching*. **The Enchanted Green of Dream-Chasing Valley** Detour into this 18°C paradise on your descent: a 1,800-meter glass water slide coils like a silver dragon through primal forests, sending rubber rafts splashing into emerald pools and startling egrets. Deep in the oak groves, villagers gather leaves for zongzi, the steam of sticky rice mingling with mossy freshness—like the mountain’s own breath. --- **III. Extreme Encounters: Touching the Pulse of the Land in the Clouds** **The Immortal Trial of Via Ferrata** Clip into your harness and leap from the Tengyun Plank Path, with a 2,200-meter abyss below. Fingers grip billion-year-old flowstone protrusions as rock swallows dart past your knees. At the suspended bridge, the coach signals you to lean back and spread your arms—wind billows your Hanfu like crane wings, and the drone captures your silhouette dancing with clouds. **Time Travel in the Underground River Rafting** Paddle into Dream-Chasing Valley’s subterranean river, headlamps illuminating stalactite domes. Suddenly, a fluorescent *Laozi’s Journey Beyond the Pass* appears on the walls, and rapids plunge you into a Taoist "grotto-heaven" illusion. At the exit, a stall serves acorn jelly, its spicy-sour broth and mountain spring chill jolting your senses. --- **IV. Mountain Wisdom: From Starlit Lodges to the Philosophy of Tofu** **Stargazing Rituals at Cliffside Inns** Spend the night at 1866 Cloudscape Star Lodge, where floor heating wards off alpine chills. Slide open the smart frosted glass to find the rooftop telescope trained on the Orion Nebula. The host whispers, "In winter, you can watch molten iron fireworks here—when sparks meet the cosmos, it’s like celestial blossoms falling to earth." **The Natural Covenant in a Tofu Feast** At Junshan Yijing Restaurant’s hearth, iron-pot tofu bubbles like molten jade. Luanchuan spring water curdles it to a texture like mutton fat, paired with wild fern and bacon. The owner reveals the secret: "The grinding water must be 58°C—one degree hotter makes it tough, one degree cooler makes it crumble. This is Taoist yin-yang balance." --- **【Temporal Keys】** **Transport Tips** - ✈️ Fly to Luoyang Beijiao Airport, take a 2.5-hour scenic shuttle (¥56/one-way) - 🚄 High-speed rail to Luoyang Longmen Station, transfer to Luanchuan bus (¥35) → scenic shuttle (¥10) - 🚗 Drive to "Laojun Mountain Ticket Center," exit at Luanchuan on Zheng-Luan Expressway (parking ¥10/day) **2-Day Immortal Itinerary** ``` Day 1: Cloudscape Cableway → Ten-Mile Painted Screen cliff photography → Golden Summit sunset + lights → Overnight at 1866 Cloudscape Day 2: Liangbao Terrace sunrise → Via Ferrata challenge → Dream-Chasing Valley rafting → Oak-leaf zongzi workshop ``` **Pitfall Avoidance** - Cableway trap: Last ascent at 15:30 ⏰, enter by 7:30 to avoid crowds - Dressing code: Summer requires windbreakers (night temps drop to 15°C), winter needs crampons - Food hacks: Summit instant noodles cost ¥12 (hot water included), bring a thermos to save --- At dawn on Liangbao Terrace, Taoists sweep frost from the Golden Hall. The broom’s whisper startles crows as drones buzz past the 2,217m elevation marker. Suddenly, I grasp **Laojun Mountain’s divinity lies not in gilded temples, but in the humility of symbiosis**—where climbers’ grip marks on flowstone and rafts shattering star reflections in underground rivers are all recorded in the growth rings of ancient cypresses before Daode Hall. As clouds veil Laozi’s statue, the mountains murmur: **"The Great Tao is formless, yet it births heaven and earth; the Great Sound is silent, yet it echoes through time."** > Leaving, I pocket half an oak-leaf zongzi, > its fragrance steeped in dew and starlight. > Dream-Chasing Valley’s whispers fade, > only the Golden Summit’s bronze bells remain, > swinging through mist to wake another dawn. --- **Note**: This article strictly follows *Trip.com Community Guidelines* with no commercial intent. Activities like via ferrata and rafting require on-site health assessments. Golden Summit lighting times vary by season; check updates via "Laojun Mountain Scenic Area" official WeChat.