Mówéi shān shàng yī piàn lín, jiǔchéng yī piàn; yāndǐ yī sìbǎi, yúndǐng sì yī zuò. — One forest up on Mowei, ninety-one percent of it; some thirteen hundred metres, and one cloud-top temple.
Mowei Mountain (摩围山, Mówéi Shān) is a 4A-rated (graded November 2017), 50-yuan-a-head forest mountain — 91 percent forest cover at an average elevation of about 1,300 metres, with the Yunding Temple (云顶寺) near the summit, stone-forest and cave formations (石林溶洞) along the slopes, and forest cabins (森林木屋) for the night. It is the county’s cool-weather escape, and the elevation is the product.
The mountain’s literary history is a punishment’s side effect: Huang Tingjian, the Song-dynasty poet, was banished to Qianzhou — the old name of this county — in the 1090s, and left poems on Mowei’s clouds and pines. A mountain that a court sent its poets to for its remoteness now sells its air; the stone forest and the temple are the visit’s stops, and the forest is the amenity.
The mountain is the summer answer — the seat’s heat sends the county up the road, and the cabins book out in season ⚠️ verify cabin rates and seasonal availability before publishing. The temple and the stone forest are the two walking stops; the 50-yuan ticket is the forest’s door fee. The road up is part of the visit, and cloud level is the lottery.
flowcloud would say that the mountain that once received a banished poet now sells its forest by the night — and that the remoteness that punished him is what the county charges for.
Practicalities
- Rating: 4A (graded November 2017)
- Tickets: 50 yuan (peak) / 50 yuan (off-peak)
- Address: the forest mountain east of the county seat
- Getting there: the mountain road from the seat ⚠️ (checked October 2026, subject to change)
- Time needed: a half-day; the cabins make it an overnight
Words and Names
摩围山 Mówéi Shān — Mowei Mountain · 云顶寺 Yúndǐng Sì — the Cloud-Top Temple · 石林溶洞 shílín róngdòng — the stone-forest and cave formations · 森林木屋 sēnlín mùwū — the forest cabins · 黄庭坚 Huáng Tíngjiān — Huang Tingjian, the Song poet banished to this county · 黔州 Qiánzhōu — Qianzhou, the county’s old name