Guangzhou White Cloud Mountain (Baiyun Mountain) lies in the northern outskirts of the city. The mountain range is about 7.5 kilometers (4.7 miles) north of Guangzhou and is made up of 30 odd peaks, with an area of 28 square meters (33.5 square yards). The Mountain was called White Cloud because of the forming of a white cloud over its range. Its highest peak is Moxing Peak standing in the center of the mountain, 380 meters (1,246.7 feet) above sea level. It is also called 'the First Peak under the Southern Sky'.
The mountain was already a famous scenic spot in Guangzhou in history. As one of the oldest mountains in Guangdong, it has gorgeous scenery and abundant historical relics. Among the past and present Eight Sights of Guangzhou, besides 'Wind Soughing in the Pines on White Cloud Mountain', there are 'Pujian Spring', 'Looking afar in the evening from White Cloud Mountain', 'The Returned Monk at Jingtai', 'the Splendid Mountain of Cloud', which depict all the beautiful scenery of White Cloud Mountain. Renowned poets and scholars of past dynasties, such as Su Shi (a famous scholar in the Northern Song Dynasty, 960 - 1127), Yang Wanli (poet in Southern Song Dyansty, 1127 - 1279), Wang Shizhen (historian in Ming Dynasty, 1368 - 1644) and others once came here and left poems and words after the visit.
The mountain is actually a park with natural hills and waters. Really an ideal sightseeing place and summer resorts. So far six sightseeing zones have been developed: Mingzhu Tower, Moxing Ridge, Santai Ridge, Mingchun Valley, Fei'e Ridge and Luhu Lake. Apart from the existing scenes Moxing Ridge, Looking afar in the morning from White Cloud Mountain, Looking afar in the evening from White Cloud Mountain, the First Peak under the Southern Sky, Wind Soughing in the Pines on White Cloud Mountain, Village Hostel, Songtao Villa, Mingzhu Tower, Luming Restaurant and White Cloud Immortal's House, there have been added for the past ten-odd years such scenic spots as White Cloud Cableway, Mingchun Valley - the largest birdcage in Asia, the Forest of Steles in Guangzhou, Nengren Temple, a golf course, Xinghai Garden, Yuntai Garden, the Sculpture Park and White Cloud Chute.
As for the cable car, the White Cloud Cableway is the first cable cars for sightseeing in the country to adopt the homemade movable cable-holding device with dual clamping, single-cable cycle with large carrying capacity. There are 80 cars, each can sit six people. The lower station is set up east of Yuntai Garden and the upper station at the Peak Park, a difference of 198 meters (650 feet) in altitude and a horizontal distance of 1,672 meters (1,829 yards) from each other. The cable cars of White Cloud Cableway pass by such scenic spots as 'Initial Probe into the Cloudy Valley', 'Pu Valley', barbecue zone, 'Nengren Temple' and so on, and the limitless scenery of the Goat City is right before your eyes when gazing into the distance.
Tickets:
CNY 5 for Baiyun Mountain; CNY 5 for Nengren Temple
CNY 10 for Mingchun Valley; CNY 5 for Forest of Steles
CNY 5 for Moxing Ridge; CNY 5 for Peach Ravine
CNY 10 for Yuntai Garden; CNY 3 for Jufang Park
CNY 3 for Xinghai Park; CNY 10 for Sculpture Park
CNY 25 for Cable Car; CNY 10 for Electric car
Opening Hours: 06:00 - 17:00
Transportation:
A. Take Bus No. 24, 63, 240, 285 or Tourism Bus No. 3 and get off at Yuntai Garden stop;
B. Take Bus No. 46, 60, 127, 175, 199, 223, 241, 257, 540, B18 (891) or Tourism Bus No. 1 and get off at Baiyun Cable Car stop;
C. Take Bus No. 36, 76, 76A, 127, 223, 265 or B18 (891) and get off at the West Gate of Baiyun Mountain.
More Top Tourist Attractons in Guangzhou:
Yuexiu Park Guangxiao Temple
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Temple of Six Bayan Trees
Ancestral Temple of Chen Family