月亮山

Moon Hill


Useful Information

Location: Gui Lin Shi, Yang Shuo Xian, 541907.
(24.727918, 110.467886)
Open: All year daily 8-17:30.
[2022]
Fee: Adults CNY 15, Children (1-1.4 m) CNY 7.50, Children (<1 m) free.
[2022]
Classification: GeologyNatural Bridge
Light: n/a
Dimension: W=50 m, H=50 m.
Guided tours: self guided, D=2 h.
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:
Address: Moon Hill, Gui Lin Shi, Yang Shuo Xian, 541907.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
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History

1972 US President Nixon and his wife climbed the Moon Hill.
1981 Appreciating Moon Path built to the cave.
1990s American climber Todd Skinner creates climbing routes to the summit.
2017 climbing ban due to a security guard on the viewing deck nearly being hit on the head with a piece of falling debris.
2019 ban remove under the condition that the climbing routes be inspected annually.

Description

photography
Moon Hill, Guangxi, China. Public Domain.

月亮山 (Yuèliàng shān, Moon Hill) or to avoid mix-ups also 阳朔月亮山 (Yangshuo Moon Mountain) is a karst tower with a huge through cave. The cave is located quite spectacular high above the plain, and the huge opening allows to see the sky on the other side. Obviously the moon shines through this huge opening and if you are at the right spot in the plain below you may see the moon though a hole in a massive limestone mountain, hence the name. Others say the huge hole looks like a bright moon hanging in the sky, white and bright, hence the name. They also say that the view changes depending on where you are, so when you drive on the road below you can see a gradual change from a curved first quarter moon to a half moon, then a full moon, and finally a last quarter moon.

We are not sure if this name is actually common, but in general such descriptive names are widely used and so it is difficult to keep them apart. There is a Chinese tradition to put the location, typically the name of the city or county in front of the name to separate them. In this case they use Yangshuo, the name of the county.

The natural bridge is a sort of landmark for the whole area. There is also a trail to the cave from the foot of the karst tower. The walk is a little strenuous, as the plain is about 120 m asl and the cave around 300 m asl. There are 800 steps to the cave, but the view on the landscape is great. The summit of Moon Mountain is 380 m asl.