Yuntai Mountain in Xiuwu County, Jiaozuo, is a section of the southern Taihang Mountains in northern Henan, where streams have cut narrow gorges of red quartz sandstone and fall over tall cliffs. It was among the first UNESCO Global Geoparks in 2004, and its hills are linked with the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove and with Wang Wei's poem on the Double Ninth festival.
- UNESCO Global Geopark · 2004
- National scenic area
Key facts
Overview
Along the southern edge of the Taihang, the mountains end in a wall of cliffs above the North China Plain. At Yuntai, streams descending from the plateau have cut this wall into gorges: the Red Stone Gorge, only a few metres wide between walls of red rock; the Pool and Waterfall Gorge with its chain of green pools; and the high cliffs where the Yuntai Waterfall falls more than 300 metres in the rainy season.
The area's highest point, Zhuyu Peak (茱萸峰), carries a Daoist temple and gives its name to the dogwood (zhuyu) that people wore on the Double Ninth festival — a link to Wang Wei's famous poem that local tradition treasures. In the third century the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove are said to have gathered in the bamboo groves at the foot of the mountain.
How the landscape formed
The cliffs of Yuntai show a classic Taihang profile: flat-lying Mesoproterozoic quartz sandstones, stained red by iron, at the base; above them thick Cambrian and Ordovician limestones. Uplift along faults on the southern edge of the Taihang lifted this layer cake high above the plain, and streams cut down through it, forming the “Yuntai landform” of narrow slot gorges, stepped cliffs and waterfalls. The hard sandstone keeps the gorge walls vertical, while the limestone above forms long escarpments. The water in the pools is clear and green from the dissolved lime.
Highlights
Red Stone Gorge
红石峡
A narrow slot canyon in red quartz sandstone, walked on a path cut into the wall above the stream.
Pool and Waterfall Gorge
潭瀑峡
A gorge of successive pools and small falls, crossed by stepping stones.
Yuntai Waterfall
云台天瀑
A waterfall of more than 300 metres over the Taihang cliffs, often little more than a thread outside the summer rains.
Zhuyu Peak
茱萸峰
The highest point, reached by long flights of steps, with the Daoist Zhenwu temple on the summit.
Spring and Waterfall Gorge
泉瀑峡
The gorge leading to the foot of the Yuntai Waterfall.
Baijia Cliff
百家岩
Cliffs and a terrace linked by tradition with the gatherings of the Seven Sages.
Plants and wildlife
The gorges shelter a humid microclimate with ferns, mosses and deciduous forest, in contrast to the dry limestone plateau above. Wild dogwood grows on the slopes of Zhuyu Peak.
Plants
Asiatic cornel
山茱萸
Cornus officinalis, whose red fruits are a traditional medicine; its presence gave the peak its name.
Bamboo groves
竹林
Grow at the foot of the mountain, rare this far north, and evoke the Seven Sages.
Wildlife
Taihang macaque
太行猕猴
The northernmost population of rhesus macaques, living in the southern Taihang.
Culture and legend
In the third century, the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove — Xi Kang, Ruan Ji, Shan Tao and their companions — withdrew from the politics of the Wei court to drink, play music and talk philosophy; Xi Kang lived at Shanyang, in today's Xiuwu County, and local tradition places their gatherings at the foot of Yuntai. Zhuyu Peak is associated with Wang Wei's poem written on the Double Ninth festival, when people climbed hills wearing sprigs of dogwood to ward off misfortune.
遥知兄弟登高处，遍插茱萸少一人。Yáo zhī xiōngdì dēnggāo chù, biàn chā zhūyú shǎo yì rén.
“Far away, I know, my brothers have climbed the heights, all wearing dogwood — and one is missing.”
— Wang Wei, “Remembering My Brothers East of the Mountains on the Ninth Day of the Ninth Month” (九月九日忆山东兄弟), c. 717
Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove
竹林七贤
Third-century poets and thinkers who embodied the Neo-Daoist ideal of freedom from convention.
Double Ninth Festival
重阳节
The festival on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, when people climb heights and wear dogwood.
History
3rd century
The Seven Sages at Shanyang
Xi Kang and his circle make the Xiuwu area a byword for recluse culture.
c. 717
Wang Wei's Double Ninth poem
Local tradition connects the poem's dogwood-wearing climb with Zhuyu Peak.
2004
UNESCO Global Geopark
Among the first group of global geoparks, for its Taihang gorges.
Through the seasons
Spring
Blossom in the valleys; the waterfalls are low before the rains.
Summer
July and August bring the rains and the waterfalls at full power; the gorges are cool but crowded.
Autumn
Red leaves on the cliffs in October, clear pools and the Double Ninth tradition of climbing heights.
Winter
Ice falls form on the cliffs; paths can be icy and closed.
Routes and ways in
Red Stone Gorge and Pool and Waterfall Gorge
The two classic gorge walks, each an hour or two on narrow paths and steps.
Zhuyu Peak
Shuttle buses climb to the upper area, from which a long stairway leads to the summit temple.
Spring and Waterfall Gorge
A walk up the valley to the foot of the Yuntai Waterfall.
Practical notes
- Yuntai is in Xiuwu County, Jiaozuo prefecture, about 100 km north-west of Zhengzhou; a high-speed station serves Xiuwu.
- Gorge paths are narrow and wet; avoid them during heavy rain because of flash floods and rockfall.
- Holidays and summer weekends bring very large crowds; weekdays and early mornings are calmer.
Cities to start from
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Yuntaishan UNESCO Global Geopark — UNESCO (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Jiaozuo Municipal People's Government — Jiaozuo Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Henan Provincial People's Government — Henan Provincial People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
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