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Huangshan National Park

There are mountain ranges all over the world, but few have such concentrated scenic beauty as the Huangshan Mountains in Huangshan National Park in the southern part of China's Anhui province. (Huangshan literally means Yellow.)

These granite mountains were formed about 100 million years ago when the area was uplifted during the Mesozoic Period. Glaciers gave them their distinctive shapes during relatively recent ice ages.

The area is home to oddly shaped pines, spectacular rock formations, hot springs, and seas of misty clouds. This 800 year old pine tree is one of the most photographed in the world.

People have been drawn to the area in large numbers since at least the 8th century when it got its current name. To make its inner reaches more accessible, steps have been installed; around 60,000 of them. The oldest are believed to be at least 1,500 years old.

Some of the steps are clearly not for the faint hearted.

Here is another photo of mountain scenery.

These mountains have inspired artists for many centuries. The picture below was done by Dai Jin (1388 - 1462), the Chinese founder of the Zhe school of painting during the Ming Dynasty.

Japanese painter Sesshū Tōyō (1420 - 1506) spent time in China and clearly came under some of the same influences as Dai Jin. In fact, judging from these two paintings, the two might have worked nearly side by side.

The painting below is by an unknown Kano school artist.

The following is by another unknown Kano school artist. Chinese style paintings strongly influenced Kano school painters, not to mention China's Huangshan Mountains.