Mt. Qingcheng Hiking
Mt. Qingcheng is called Qingcheng Shan in Chinese. It is a world heritage place located 60km northwest to the city of Chengdu. Mt. Qingcheng is one of the main Taoist Shrines in China and believed to be the origin of Chinese Taoism as a religion. It situates by the verge of Chengdu Plain close to the higher mountains of Minshan Range by the riverside of Minjiang River. Many Taoist tradition are carried out in the surrounding areas and it is known in China as a very good place for Taoism culture. The hiking to Mt. Qingcheng goes into the park walking from the base to the summit at Laojun Pavilion through well-preserved stairs. It is an easy walking through shedded forest and Taoist Temples in this famous tourist park.
Mt Chengdu Hiking Yuecheng Lake
Mt Qingcheng Hiking
Mt Qingcheng Hiking
Mt Chengdu Hiking Yuecheng Lake
Location/Getting there
Mt. Qingcheng is located 60km northwest to Chengdu City. There are public transfers can get you to the base of Mt. Qingcheng easily. There are several scheduled buses leaving Chengdu Xinnanmen Bus Station for Mt. Qingcheng every morning that take 1.5 hours to get to the base of Mt. Qingcheng. There are fast trains available everyday that leaves Chengdu at Xipu Station for Mt. Qingcheng as well, it takes about 1 hour. After the train and bus, there is still a 4km distance to the entrance of Mt. Qingcheng where you start your hiking. This 4km you can use a local taxi or shuttle bus to cover. Mt. Qingcheng is not a difficult place to find.
Map of Mt. Qingcheng Hiking
Mt. Qingcheng is not a big place. To walk from the base to the summit and then from summit down on another trail
About the Hiking Trail
Mt Qingcheng is a well-managed tourist park. The hiking trail is stairs and steps all the way without any part being wild trails. Most of the trails are well-shedded in the forest. The hiking to the summit of Mt. Qingcheng is considered to be a short one with 6km going up and 4km coming down doing a loop hike on the mountain. The altitude gain is from 800m at the base to the summit at 1200m. Usually the walking up takes about 2 hours and the walking down takes about 1.5 hours only. The hiking is on gradual stairs with some sections steep and narrow but manageable. The trails are well-marked in four different languages and very easy to understand.
Mt. Qingcheng is a tourist park and a world heritage. You will see visitors all the time. You will see more crowded places at the entrance, the Yuecheng Lake, at Shangqing Palace and at the summit where are the usual touristy routes as most of the visitors will use cable car.
Hiking Season/Weather
This hiking is available all year round. Weather pattern is similar to the weather of Chengdu as they are very close to each other only that Mt. Qingcheng usually has better weather and much cleaner air. Spring is warm and sometimes wet. Summer is hot but cool and sometimes misty and rainy. Fall is dry and warm. Winter is misty, bit cold but dry. Temperature at daytime is around 10C to 15C in winter and drops below 5C or sometimes below 0C at night. At summer it reaches over 25C during daytime and at night around 20C. Misty weather is common in Mt. Qingcheng due to its many forest and rivers, only difference is thick mist and light mist although the mist weather was the main reason that the Taoist immortals chose this place as their shrine at the beginning.
Planning Ideas/Time Required
TTo do a Mt. Qingcheng Hiking one only requires only 1 day starting and ending in Chengdu. Although sometimes people often combine a visit to the nearby Dujiangyan Irrigation System Park or to do a Panda Volunteer Project. To have a night either at Dujiangyan Old City or in one of the Taoist Temples at Qingcheng are good ideas.
To do Mt. Qingcheng in 1 day one starts from Chengdu in the early morning and drive or ride a train to the base of Mt. Qingcheng, walking up the trail on the south (to your left when you go in) and walk by Quanzhen Temple, Tianshi Celestial Cave and then all the way to the summit at Laojun Pavilion before come down through Shangqing Palace and Yuecheng Lake where it joins the trail you started. The total walking plus visiting time at all the main temples is in total about 4-5 hours. After worth go back to Chengdu the same way.
Please note there is now a Tourist Shuttle Bus available running between the main tourist attractions in and around Chengdu. Using this yellow shuttle buses they can get you to places like Jinli street, Kuanzhai Alley, etc such main attractions inside the city of Chendgu and are also usually where lots of hotels are located.
You can do this hiking by yourself if you do proper homework and know how to navigate yourself.
Ticket Information
Please read details of Mt. Qingcheng Ticket Information here.
About Accommodations/Food of Hiking Mt. Qingcheng
There are food shops selling snacks and bottled water along the hiking trails every 1-2km at every temple. There are no big restaurants along the way except at some big temples where they serve vegetarian food. Guesthouses are available at big temples at Tianshi Celestial Cave and Shangqing Palace.
Tianshi Celestial Cave
There is 2-sharing rooms with attached bathroom cost 320 yuan per night. The other rooms are 2-shring to 6-shring with per person at 80 yuan per night using public toilet. Vegetarian food available but need extra cost. They usually have rooms available and can be booked upon arrival of the temple.
Shangqing Palace
Shangqing Palace is the biggest temple at Qingcheng. There are 2-sharing rooms with attached bathroom at two different classes with 180 yuan and 280 yuan per night per room. There are also 2-sharing and 3-sharing without private bathroom at 40 yuan per person. Note the toilets are Chinese toilets not western toilets. Vegetarian food available. Phone number of Shangqing Palace is +86-28-87296692
Names of locations/places of Mt. Qingcheng in Chinese and English
Chengdu Xipu Fast Train Station: 成都犀浦动车站
Mt. Qingcheng Fast Train Station: 青城山站
Dujiangyan Fast Train Station: 都江堰站
Mt. Qingcheng: 青城山
Yuecheng Lake: 月城湖
Quanzhen Temple: 全真观
Tianshi Celestial Cave: 天师洞
Shangqing Palace:上清宫
Laojun Pavilion:老君阁
Dujiangyan: 都江堰
There is only one entrance of Mt. Qingcheng. If you use public transport, the taxi from train station will usually drop you off at Qingcheng Car Park, where you need to walk for another 2km to the actual entrance of Mt. Qingcheng where you buy ticket to go in. There is shuttle car service available between Car Park and the Entrance that costs 10 yuan single way.