2. Mount Songshan
Mount Song (SongShan) is a culturally significant mountain in China. It is the
"Central Great Mountain" among the Five Great Mountains and located in Henan
province on the south bank of the Yellow River. Its summit is 1,500 meters above
sea level.
Three major orogenies formed the area: the Songyang Orogeny of 2.5 billion years
ago, the Zhongyue Orogeny of 1.85 billion years ago, and the Shaolin Orogeny of
570 million years ago. They were named after local attractions in the area. The
Songshan Geopark is also called “the textbook of geological history”. The Shaolin
Monastery is located within the geopark.
Songshan is made up of several mountains that rise to 1500 m in the Dengfeng district of
Henan Province. The seven peaks of Song Shan stretch for 64km between the cities of
Luoyang and Zhengzhou. The slopes rise steeply from the valley and are thickly clad with
trees, giving them an impressive appearance, but the highest peak (Junji) reaches only
1500m in altitude.[2]
The landscape is so unique that it has been given the title of 'International
Geological Park' by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO).