Easy Hiking at Yandang Mountain

Yandang Mountain is located in Wenzhou City and is one of the "Three Mountains and Five Great Mountains" (the three mountains being Lushan, Huangshan, and Yandang Mountain). It is a national 5A-level scenic area formed by volcanic eruptions, accumulation, and uplift. It is a favorite spot for many literati and scholars, and Xu Xiake visited it multiple times. Yandang Mountain has four main attractions: Dalongqiu Waterfall, Lingfeng Peak, Fangdong Cave, and Lingyan Rock. Dalongqiu is mainly for viewing waterfalls, Lingfeng is known for its unique rocks and is suitable for night tours. Fangdong and Lingyan are together and are the most essential scenic spots of Yandang Mountain. Because it hadn’t rained for several days, the water at Dalongqiu Waterfall evaporated before it even reached the ground, like a child peeing, so it was not worth seeing. We gave up on this spot and went to Baizhangji the next day instead. Lingfeng Peak is best visited at night, so we first explored the most essential spots—Fangdong and Lingyan. If you don’t want to climb much, you can go from Fangdong to Lingyan, descending with less climbing. For those who like hiking challenges, going from Lingyan to Fangdong is also not very difficult and much easier than climbing Mount Tai or Huangshan. We chose to start from Lingyan Scenic Area. There is a parking lot at the entrance, but parking spaces are limited. We parked at a local resident’s private lot and promised to visit their farmhouse restaurant on the way down. We entered the scenic area at 11:00. Lingyan has a “Lingyan Flying Crossing” performance, but the timing didn’t work out, so we skipped it. There is also a spot called Broken Heart Cliff, where the Little Dragon Girl supposedly jumped off. We didn’t feel very tired and finished the visit quickly. We seamlessly connected to Fangdong Scenic Area, where we noticed a few college students holding admission notices and said they could enter for free. Fangdong Scenic Area has a glass walkway. Lingyan also has a glass walkway, but it’s not as high or as thrilling as Fangdong’s. Fangdong’s glass walkway is built on a cliff and offers more beautiful scenery. After crossing the glass walkway, you reach the essence of Yandang Mountain’s scenery—a cluster of steep peaks, very beautiful, ethereal, and breathtaking! This is basically the highest point; the path ahead is relatively flat. Further on, there is a suspension bridge, and on the other side is Fangdong Café, built inside a square-shaped cave. They offer coffee, milk tea, cakes, and light meals, but prices are a bit high. After resting at the café, we continued and passed through several caves, which explains why the spot is called Fangdong—there are many caves. Next is the downhill path, and soon we reached the visitor center, where you can take a shuttle bus back to the parking lot. We walked leisurely with stops along the way. We finished descending around 3 p.m., spending about four hours in total. It’s a very relaxing spot, not tiring at all. The next day, our calves were slightly sore but it didn’t affect our visit to Baizhangji. We originally planned to visit Lingfeng Scenic Area, but entry was only allowed after 7 p.m., and we didn’t want to wait. We ate at a farmhouse restaurant at the foot of the mountain, then drove to see the sea. At last, before sunset, we heard the sound of the waves.