Mountain · Jiangxi
Jinggang Mountains
井冈山
Forested border mountains where the first rural Red Army base was built
The Jinggang Mountains are a forested section of the Luoxiao range on the border of Jiangxi and Hunan, in Ji'an prefecture. In 1927–1929 Mao Zedong and Zhu De built the first rural base area of the Chinese Communist Party here, and the mountains are now both a national nature reserve protecting subtropical forest and the country's most visited site of revolutionary history.
- National nature reserve · 2000
- National scenic area · 1982
Key facts
Overview
Jinggangshan was, until the twentieth century, a remote highland of scattered villages, bamboo forest and narrow passes on the Jiangxi–Hunan border. The name comes from the five hamlets called Big, Small, Upper, Middle and Lower Well that lay in its high valleys. Its isolation, easy defence and position between two provinces made it a refuge for the defeated forces of the 1927 uprisings.
Today the mountains serve two purposes. Much of the range is protected forest, among the best-preserved subtropical woodland in the Luoxiao Mountains. And the town of Ciping, at the centre of the former base area, is a destination for “red tourism”, with museums, memorials and restored sites of the base-area period visited by large numbers of Party members, students and domestic travellers.
How the landscape formed
The Luoxiao Mountains run north to south along the Jiangxi–Hunan border, built of folded Palaeozoic sandstones and slates with granite intrusions. At Jinggangshan they form a knot of steep ridges between 1,000 and 2,000 metres, cut by deep valleys with waterfalls. The high rainfall and steep relief made the area hard to reach before modern roads and preserved its forests.
Highlights
Ciping
茨坪
The small town at the heart of the mountains, with the main revolutionary museum and memorial.
Huangyangjie
黄洋界
A mountain pass defended by the Red Army in a battle of August 1928, now a memorial and viewpoint.
Dragon Pools
龙潭
A chain of waterfalls and pools in a forested gorge near Ciping.
Five Finger Peak
五指峰
A row of five summits covered in forest, one of the landmarks of the range.
Brush Rack Mountain
笔架山
A ridge whose peaks resemble a writing-brush rest, known for rhododendrons in May.
Plants and wildlife
The national nature reserve protects subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest, bamboo and, on the higher ridges, mixed forest and rhododendron thickets. Forest cover is very high, and the reserve is a refuge for rare trees and pheasants of southern China.
Plants
Rhododendrons
杜鹃
Dense stands on the upper ridges flower in April and May; the azalea is the local emblem.
Chinese yew
南方红豆杉
A protected conifer scattered through the mountain forests.
Moso bamboo
毛竹
Covers large areas of the lower slopes; bamboo was a staple of the base-area economy.
Wildlife
Cabot's tragopan
黄腹角雉
A rare pheasant of the high forests of south-east China.
Elliot's pheasant
白颈长尾雉
A long-tailed pheasant of the evergreen forest.
Culture and legend
In October 1927, after the failure of the Autumn Harvest Uprising, Mao Zedong led the remnants of his force into the mountains and allied with local armed groups led by Yuan Wencai and Wang Zuo. In April 1928 troops under Zhu De and Chen Yi arrived after the Nanchang Uprising and its aftermath, and the combined force became the Fourth Red Army. For a little over a year the mountains were the first rural base area of the Communist movement, where its guerrilla tactics and land policies took early shape. Under Nationalist military pressure and economic blockade, the main force left in January 1929 for southern Jiangxi, where the larger Central Soviet was later established. The base period is commemorated in the official history of the People's Republic, and Mao returned to the mountains in 1965.
Jinggangshan Revolutionary Museum
井冈山革命博物馆
The main museum of the base-area period, in Ciping.
Octagonal Tower
八角楼
A house in Maoping where Mao lived and wrote in 1928.
Longjiang Academy
龙江书院
A Qing-dynasty academy at Longshi where Mao and Zhu De are said to have first met in 1928.
History
October 1927
Mao Zedong's force enters the mountains
The remnants of the Autumn Harvest Uprising establish a base with local allies.
April 1928
Zhu De's troops join Mao's
The meeting at Longshi forms the Fourth Red Army.
August 1928
Battle of Huangyangjie
A small defending force holds the pass against a larger attacking army.
January 1929
The main force leaves
The Red Army moves to southern Jiangxi; the mountains are soon retaken by Nationalist forces.
1982
National scenic area
Listed among the first national key scenic areas.
2000
National nature reserve
The forests of the range are raised to national protection.
Through the seasons
Spring
Rhododendrons and azaleas cover the ridges in April and May; frequent rain and mist.
Summer
Cooler than the lowlands, with heavy afternoon rain and full waterfalls.
Autumn
Dry, clear weather and colour in the mixed forests.
Winter
Cold, with snow and rime ice on the high ridges in some years.
Routes and ways in
Ciping museums and memorials
The museum, the martyrs' memorial and the sites of the base-area period in and around Ciping.
Huangyangjie and the five wells
The pass and the hamlets of the old base area, reached by mountain road with short walks.
Dragon Pools and Five Finger Peak
Forest trails to waterfalls and viewpoints over the range; a cableway serves the Dragon Pools gorge.
Practical notes
- Jinggangshan is a county-level city in Ji'an prefecture, with its own airport and a railway station below the mountains.
- Group tours from schools, workplaces and Party organisations are a large share of visitors; museums can be busy.
- Mountain roads are winding; the core forest reserve is closed to general visitors.
Cities to start from
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Jinggang Mountains — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Ji'an Municipal People's Government — Ji'an Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Jiangxi Provincial People's Government — Jiangxi Provincial People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
More mountains and nature in Jiangxi
- Sacred mountainMount Longhu龙虎山Dragon and Tiger Mountain, home of the Celestial Masters
- Mountain · 1,474 mMount Lu庐山Waterfalls, academies and villas above the Yangtze and Poyang Lake
- LakePoyang Lake鄱阳湖China's largest freshwater lake, a sea in summer and a grassland in winter
- MountainMount Sanqing三清山Granite pillars of the Three Pure Ones, walked on cliff-side paths
- National park · 2,158 mMount Wuyi武夷山Red cliffs of rock tea and a forest wilderness on the Fujian–Jiangxi divide
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