View source for Mount Song

{{Short description|Mountain range  in central China's Henan Province.}}
{{Other uses of|Songshan|Songshan (disambiguation){{!}}Songshan}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = 
| photo = The Songshan Buddhist Academy Lied in Mount Song.jpg
| photo_size    = 290px
| photo_caption = The Songshan Buddhist Academy, a modern monastery perched for effect on Lian Tian Feng.
| highest=Lian Tian Feng
| highest_location = 
| elevation_m = 1512
| elevation_ref = <ref name=otm>{{cite opentopomap|Mount Song|34.472416|112.934647|2023-04-16}}</ref>
| prominence = {{convert|1221|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| prominence_ref = <ref name=pv>{{cite web | title=Lián Tiān Fēng | website=PeakVisor | url=https://peakvisor.com/peak/lian-tian-feng.html?yaw=0.00&pitch=0.00&hfov=60.00 | access-date=21 October 2022}}</ref>
| parent_peak = [[Mount Everest]]
| isolation = {{convert|82.3|km|mi|abbr=on}} SW
| country = China
| subdivision1_type = Province
| subdivision1 = [[Henan]]
| map = China Northern Plain
| map_caption = Location in [[North China Plain]]
| map_size = 290
| label_position = 
|language=
{{Infobox Chinese
|child=yes
|header=hide
|pic=Song shan (Chinese characters).svg
|piccap="Mount Song" in Chinese characters
|picsize=125px
|c=嵩山
|p=Sōngshān
|mi={{IPAc-cmn|s|ong|1|-|sh|an|1}}
|wuu=Son<sup>平</sup> sae<sup>平</sup>
|j=Sung1-saan1
|y=Sūng-sāan
|poj=Song-soaⁿ
}}
| translation = "Lofty Mountain".
| coordinates = {{coord|34.472416|112.934647|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_ref = 
| length                = {{convert|100|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| length_orientation    = E-W
| length_ref            = <ref name=lenwid/>
| width                 = {{convert|60|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| width_orientation     = N-S
| width_ref             = <ref name=lenwid/>
| area_km2              = 450
| area_ref              = <ref name=area/>
| first_ascent = 
| easiest_route = Cable car
| embedded                 =
 {{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
 | child                  = yes
 | Official_name          = Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in "The Centre of Heaven and Earth"
 | ID                     = 1305
 | year                   = 2010
 | criteria               = Cultural: iii, vi
 | area                   = 
 | buffer_zone            = 
 | Website = [https://www.worldheritagesite.org/list/Dengfeng www.worldheritagesite.org/list/Dengfeng]
 }}
}}
'''Mount Song''' ({{zh|c=嵩山|p=Sōngshān}}, "lofty<ref>''[[Ministry of Education Mandarin Chinese Dictionary|Ministry of Education Mandarin Chinese Dictionary (Revised)]]'', [https://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=10229&q=1&word=%E5%B5%A9 "Entry 嵩"]</ref> mountain") is an isolated mountain range in north central China's [[Henan Province]], along the southern bank of the [[Yellow River]]. It is known in literary and folk tradition as the central mountain of the [[Sacred Mountains of China|Five Great Mountains of China]].<ref>{{harvnb|Goossaert|2008|p=217}} "It has been considered as the Central of the Five Peaks (*wuyue) since the late Zhou period."</ref> Since at least as early as the early 1st millennium BC, Chinese astronomical mythology had acquired the idea that Mount Song is "the centre of Heaven and Earth." It was respected as such by the successive dynasties of the Chinese Empire.<ref>{{harvnb|ICOMOS|2008|pp=14–15}}</ref>

The name Songshan also applies to a peak of the range located at {{coord|34.510627|112.934647|format=dms|display=inline}}, elevation {{convert|1492|m|ft|abbr=on}}. It is the 4th highest peak, but second in [[prominence]] at {{convert|869|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name=dengfeng>{{cite web | title=Dengfeng City | publisher=PeakVisor | url=https://peakvisor.com/adm/dengfeng-city.html | access-date=20 October 2022}}</ref> Songshan National Scenic Spot is named after it. The highest peak in the range is Lian Tian Feng at {{convert|1512|m|ft}}, also most prominent at {{convert|1221|m|ft|abbr=on}}. It is located at the coordinates shown for the article. On its upper slopes is the Sanhuangzhai Scenic Spot, further west seen from Route G1516 (Yanluo Expressway), which skirts the range on the south. The location is across the Shaoyang valley on the west side of which is [[Shaolin Monastery]]. The valley is well populated, in contrast to the forested and precipitous mountains.

The literature associated with this monastery, or "temple" (si) relates two folk-names of the range still in popular use due to their legendary status: Shaoshi Mountain, meaning all peaks west of the valley, and Taishi Mountain, all peaks east of the valley.<ref>{{harvnb|Goossaert|2008|p=917}} "It is ranked as one of the Grotto-Heavens (*dongtian) and is usually divided between the Taishi 太 室 and Shaoshi 少室 ranges."</ref> Mount Song thus appears to be a two-peak range when actually there are as many as the counter cares to count. The possible number depends on the counter's minimum allowed [[prominence]].{{efn-lr|group=note|Like the shoreline of the [[Coastline paradox]] that expands indefinitely as the unit of measurement decreases, the number of bumps on a natural surface increases indefinitely as the allowed height decreases, down to the molecular bumps.}} PeakVisor, which records reported peaks in a given area, has recorded 44 for Denfeng, the lowest elevation being {{convert|959|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name=dengfeng/>

The Internet reports widely that Mount Song comprises 72 peaks, sometimes rounded off to 70. This  is a mystical figure taken from the cosmology of the Chan Buddhists. In their ancient myth, Shaoshi and Taishi each have 36 peaks, one set of [[Yin and yang|Yin]] and one set of Yang, which cancel each other out at the monastery, achieving a zero sum (of what remains speculative).<ref>{{cite book | last=Shi | first=Yan Ming | title=The Shaolin Workout | year=2006 | publisher=Holtzbrinck Publishers | page=116}}</ref> The numbers are not based on counting.

==Geography==
===The Qin-Huai Line===
The Yellow River (Huang He) is the second-largest of China, the first being the [[Yangtze]], which reaches into east Tibet (as does the Yellow). Its numerous tributaries on the way to the [[East China Sea]] just above [[Shanghai]] water a broad {{nowrap|E-W}} swathe called the [[Yangtze Delta]]. Its low-altitude matrix of streams supports the great mass of Chinese people, the most numerous on Earth.

The Yellow River creates a second swathe just north of the Yangtze Delta. It is sometimes said to be in the Delta, but the Yangtze Valley and the Yellow River Valley, both running roughly E-W, are separated from each other by a divide. If it should be breached at any point then one river would capture the other upstream from the breach. Instead they are totally distinct. The Yellow River exits into the [[Bohai Sea]] some {{convert|744|km|mi|abbr=on}} north of Shanghai.<ref name=discl>The distances given in this article are straight-line distances obtained from Google Maps with the Distance-measurement tool.</ref>

[[File:Yellow River - panoramio.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Yellow River, Huang He]]
The Yellow River descends from [[Gyaring Lake]] in the high plains of [[Tibet]] at an altitude of {{convert|4293|m|ft|abbr=on}}. The distance from the river mouth is {{convert|1965|km|mi|abbr=on}}. Lowland visitors run the risk of [[altitude sickness]]. The shallow lake collects muddy waters from the surrounding grassy plateau made of thick deposits of [[loess]], a fine dust deposited by glacial winds in the remote past. Suspended loess stays in the water, imparting to the river the yellow color after which it is named. Deposition of this dust fills up the riverbed, resulting in course changes and extensive flooding. Frequent dams and reservoirs help control this formerly disastrous problem.

[[File:蓝田 安村镇纺九路旁的公园以及向塬下看的蓝田县城 06.jpg|thumb|200px|View into the Yellow River Valley west of Mount Song from the edge of the Qinling divide. The settlement is Lantian county.]]
The upper divide is the [[Qinling]] Range, a series of ridges trending roughly W-E, more exactly ESE, to the vicinity of Mount Song, which is considered to be in the range.<ref name=dengfeng/> Some consider Mount Song to be in the [[Funiu Mountains]], another subrange of the Qinling, strictly speaking to the south of Mount Song.<ref>{{harvnb|Junna|2018|p=4|loc=Figure 2}}</ref>  The distance of a N-S line drawn from the Yellow River at {{coord|34.83161|112.97044|format=dms|display=inline}} through [[Shaolin Monastery]] to the [[Yangtze River]] at its exit from Dongdongting Lake is about {{convert|608|km|mi|abbr=on}}. The line enters the Yangtze River Valley at Nanyang, {{coord|33.25682|113.00890|format=dms|display=inline}}. The distance across the divide on that line is therefore {{convert|164|km|mi|abbr=on}}. Songshan is on the northern slope of the divide, its south edge being higher than the north. The monastic communities are on its south slopes.

East of Mount Song the divide is not as severe. Through it flows the [[Huai River]] (Huai he), which begins about {{coord|32.443119|113.325352|format=dms|display=inline}} and flows a widely maeandering course to the East China Sea north of Shanghai. Its lower course is totally controlled in long straight lines; in fact, very little of the topography there is natural. The median line of the divide is thus called the Qin-Huai Line, which has more than a geographical significance. As it turns out, the divide is a climate barrier. North of it the climate is temperate and dry; south, subtropical and wet. The two regions have been dubbed "North China" and "South China." Songshan has the North China climate.

===The Songshan range===
The [[landform]] (or geoform) that is referenced as Mount Song, or on which Mount Song is defined arbitrarily to be, is a range of irregular shape, more E-W than N-S, generally not located any more precisely than "between the cities of [[Luoyang]] and [[Zhengzhou]],"<ref>{{harvnb|ICOMOS|2008|p=14}}</ref> or "in [[Dengfeng]] 登封 district ([[Henan Province|Henan]]), not far from Luoyang."<ref>{{harvnb|Goossaert|2008|p=917}}</ref> Except for a few islands on the west, the whole landform is prominent and continuous. The professionals - geographers, geologists, archaeologists - refer to the whole thing in English as "the Songshan Mountains."<ref>{{harvnb|Hong|2005|p=19|loc=Fig. 1}}</ref> The length from end to end, wherever the topographical map shows a prominence, taking into account the changes of direction, is about {{convert|104|km|mi|abbr=on}} from city-edge to city-edge.{{efn-lr|group=note|The websites, however, often list half that length, meaning the length of the scenic area defined by the government in that range. Parks must have borders, and those borders limit the acreage for which the nation is to take responsibility.}} The width varies considerably. One source gives an average of {{convert|60|km|mi|abbr=on}}, with a length rounded off to {{convert|100|km|mi|abbr=on}}.<ref name=lenwid>{{harvnb|Dongping|2009|loc=Section 1.1}}</ref> Since the global geopark covers the entire area, its estimated area may be taken as the range's area; that is, {{convert|450|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}.<ref name=area>{{harvnb|Dongping|2009|loc=Abstract}}</ref>

The eastern, or "Taishi" part of the landform extends from the valley to the outskirts of metropolitan [[Zhengzhou]], say to Highway G3001. An axis connecting the two points would head NE and be {{convert|55|km|mi|abbr=on}}. A perpendicular axis running from a point on Route S85 to the south to the Yellow River would be {{convert|115|km|mi|abbr=on}}. The western, or "Shaoshi" part of the landform, is geomorphologically different. A scimitar-like series of parallel ridges with the convex side facing south extends E-W between the central valley and the city of [[Luoyang]] for about {{convert|46|km|mi|abbr=on}}. The N-S width on the east is as much as {{convert|10|km|mi|abbr=on}}, but at Luoyang it is only a band of hills about {{convert|4|km|mi|abbr=on}} N-S in the order of {{convert|300|m|ft|abbr=on}} high, with prominences much less. The western extension has another name, Wan'anshan, which is considered a branch of Songshan.<ref name=xu70>{{harvnb|Xu|2022|p=70}}</ref>

Eastern Mount Song is on the right bank of the Yellow River, but not western. At about {{coord|34.835604|113.066483|format=dms|display=inline}} the Yellow River merges with a right-bank tributary, the Yi Luo. At about {{coord|34.681599|112.800579|format=dms|display=inline}} the Yi he ("Yi River") to the south and the Luo he ("Luo River") join to form the Yi Luo he. Western Songshan is on the continuous right bank of the Yi and Yiluo, but not directly. A plain separates them through which the streams from Wan'anshan pass in their northward courses.<ref name=geofigures>{{harvnb|Webb|2007|p=77|loc=Figure 1}}</ref>

An observer at the confluence of the Yi and the Luo looking south to the Wan'anshan would perceive its general prominence over the plain. The confluence has an elevation of about {{convert|110|m|ft|abbr=on}}. The terrain of the mountain due south has an elevation of about {{convert|556|m|ft|abbr=on}} at {{convert|16|km|mi|abbr=on}} away. The elevation at its foot is about {{convert|240|m|ft|abbr=on}}. The observer therefore would see a mountain wall above the horizon rising to {{convert|446|m|ft|abbr=on}} over the plain. The slope of the plain would be 130/16 m/km or 0.8125%, scarcely different from flat. Once agricultural, the land is suburban Luoyang today.

==Climate==

{{Weather box|width=auto
|metric first=y
|single line=y 
|collapsed = Y
|location = Mount Song, elevation {{convert|1178|m|ft|abbr=on}}, (1991–2020 normals)
|Jan high C = 	1.1
|Feb high C = 	4.1
|Mar high C = 	10.5
|Apr high C = 	16.8
|May high C = 	21.3
|Jun high C = 	25.1
|Jul high C = 	25.4
|Aug high C = 	24.0
|Sep high C = 	20.1
|Oct high C = 	15.6
|Nov high C = 	9.2
|Dec high C = 	3.1
|Jan mean C = 	-2.8
|Feb mean C = 	-0.2
|Mar mean C = 	5.5
|Apr mean C = 	11.6
|May mean C = 	16.6
|Jun mean C = 	20.5
|Jul mean C = 	21.5
|Aug mean C = 	20.2
|Sep mean C = 	16.3
|Oct mean C = 	11.6
|Nov mean C = 	5.4
|Dec mean C = 	-0.7
|Jan low C = 	-5.7
|Feb low C = 	-3.2
|Mar low C = 	2.0
|Apr low C = 	7.7
|May low C = 	12.9
|Jun low C = 	17.0
|Jul low C = 	18.6
|Aug low C = 	17.6
|Sep low C = 	13.5
|Oct low C = 	8.7
|Nov low C = 	2.4
|Dec low C = 	-3.7
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 	18.3
|Feb precipitation mm = 	21.6
|Mar precipitation mm = 	22.8
|Apr precipitation mm = 	46.7
|May precipitation mm = 	77.2
|Jun precipitation mm = 	87.5
|Jul precipitation mm = 	157.1
|Aug precipitation mm = 	141.0
|Sep precipitation mm = 	117.1
|Oct precipitation mm = 	54.0
|Nov precipitation mm = 	37.7
|Dec precipitation mm = 	11.2
|Jan humidity = 	51
|Feb humidity = 	59
|Mar humidity = 	55
|Apr humidity = 	59
|May humidity = 	62
|Jun humidity = 	69
|Jul humidity = 	84
|Aug humidity = 	86
|Sep humidity = 	78
|Oct humidity = 	66
|Nov humidity = 	60
|Dec humidity = 	48
|unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm	
|Jan precipitation days = 	5.3
|Feb precipitation days = 	6.2
|Mar precipitation days = 	6.5
|Apr precipitation days = 	7.4
|May precipitation days = 	8.0
|Jun precipitation days = 	9.1
|Jul precipitation days = 	13.2
|Aug precipitation days = 	13.3
|Sep precipitation days = 	11.4
|Oct precipitation days = 	8.1
|Nov precipitation days = 	6.8
|Dec precipitation days = 	4.3
|year precipitation days = 	
|Jan sun = 	152.2
|Feb sun = 	143.8
|Mar sun = 	182.9
|Apr sun = 	205.4
|May sun = 	206.1
|Jun sun = 	185.7
|Jul sun = 	132.8
|Aug sun = 	124.5
|Sep sun = 	132.9
|Oct sun = 	157.9
|Nov sun = 	157.4
|Dec sun = 	170.6
|year sun = 	
| Jan percentsun = 	48
| Feb percentsun = 	46
| Mar percentsun = 	49
| Apr percentsun = 	52
| May percentsun = 	48
| Jun percentsun = 	43
| Jul percentsun = 	30
| Aug percentsun = 	30
| Sep percentsun = 	36
| Oct percentsun = 	46
| Nov percentsun = 	51
| Dec percentsun = 	56
| year percentsun =	
|Jan snow days = 	5.8
|Feb snow days = 	5.8
|Mar snow days = 	4.4
|Apr snow days = 	0.7
|May snow days = 	0
|Jun snow days = 	0
|Jul snow days = 	0
|Aug snow days = 	0
|Sep snow days = 	0
|Oct snow days = 	0.1
|Nov snow days = 	3.1
|Dec snow days = 	4.6
|year snow days = 	
|source 1 = [[China Meteorological Administration]]<ref name="cma graphical">{{cite web |url=http://data.cma.cn/data/weatherBk.html |script-title=zh:中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data |publisher=[[China Meteorological Administration]] |language = zh-hans |access-date=7 October 2023}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web|url=https://experience.arcgis.com/template/e724038fda394e9d9b7921f10fd1aa55/page/%E7%BA%AF%E8%A1%A8%E6%A0%BC%E7%BB%9F%E8%AE%A1-(%E5%AF%B9%E6%AF%948110%E5%8F%98%E5%8C%96)/?org=UQmaps |script-title=zh:中国气象数据网|publisher=[[China Meteorological Administration]] |language = zh-hans | access-date =7 October 2023 |title=Experience Template }}</ref>
}}

==Natural and cultural assets of the range and its vicinity==
===Geological===
Three major [[Orogeny|orogenies]] formed the area: The [[Songyang orogeny]] of 2.5&nbsp;billion years ago, the [[Zhongyue orogeny]] of 1.85&nbsp;billion years ago, and the [[Shaolin orogeny]] of 570&nbsp;million years ago. They were named after local attractions in the area. The Songshan Geopark is also called "a textbook of geological history".

===Mountaineering===
The high points of the range form a u-shaped divide between the Yellow-River system draining to the NE and the Huai-River system draining to the SE. The concave side of the u faces south. Around it is a half-ring of high-altitude, high-prominence mountains, "sacred" to the ancient religions of China, which were Taoism and Buddhism. Within the u is the Shaoyang Valley, now part of metropolitan Denfeng, which conducts its daily business, so to speak, in the shadow of the mountains. It contains the remains and reconstructions of the ancient religious buildings, once a revolutionary target of the Chinese Communist Party, now supported by them as the basis of hugely profitable geotourism, geosports and geotheatre industries as well as vacation spot for the working people.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Highest peaks of Mount Song<ref name=dengfeng/>
|- 
! Peak !! Elev (m) !! Prom (m) !! Latitude || Longitude || Shaoshi/<br/>Taishi
|-
| Zhāo Yuè Fēng  || 976 || 52 || 34.46227 N || 112.958576 E || Shaoshi
|-
| Yíng Xiá Fēng  || 1138 || 255 || 34.469532 N || 112.958631 E || Shaoshi
|-
| Ruì Yīng Fēng || 1018 || 48 || 34.465569 N || 112.937857 E || Shaoshi
|-
| Qīng Liáng Fēng || 1159 || 53 || 34.463239 N || 112.929083 E || Shaoshi
|-
| Lián Tiān Fēng || 1512 || 1221 || 34.472416 N || 112.934647 E || Shaoshi
|-
| Qióng Bì Fēng  || 1487 || 47 || 34.470582 N || 112.931695 E || Shaoshi
|-
| Zǐ Wēi Fēng || 1472 || 13 || 34.470817 N || 112.933883 E || Shaoshi
|-
| Tiān Dé Fēng || 1033 || 25 || 34.472878 N || 112.958058 E || Shaoshi
|-
| Bái Dào Fēng || 1485 || 35 || 34.473727 N || 112.938172 E || Shaoshi
|}

==Development of the park==
===The first tourist areas===
The founders of the Republic; i.e., [[Kuomintang|the Nationalist Party]], developed a dichotomous policy toward heritage culture. On the one hand it was to be rejected and attacked as "backward." On the other hand, the "movable relics and archaeological sites" were to be proffered as symbols to "strengthen the national identity". This duality led to somewhat arbitrary decisions on what to destroy and what to cherish. Buildings were especially vulnerable. The Shaolin Temple was attacked and conflagrated in 1928 by [[Shi Yousan]], a [[warlord]] of the [[Warlord Era]] of the revolution,{{efn-lr|group=note|The revolution had become leaderless, and was divided into competing warlords until united by the nationalists. Shi is known as a treacherous Machiavellian who was about to defect to the Japanese.}} along with many others. Monks everywhere were at risk. On the other hand, a number of new, western-style museums were constructed to house the revered artifacts.<ref>{{harvnb|Su|2015|pp=91–96}}</ref>{{efn-lr|group=note|Su calls the branches of this dichotomy "tradition" and "anti-tradition," the "anti" side being directed against "[[Confucianism]]" and "[[Taoism]]." On the positive side portability was the chief consideration of value. When the Nationalists took the museums to Taiwan the Communists accused them of theft.}}

It was during the Republic's sojourn on the mainland that tourism and the designation of public parks began. The concept of a park is very ancient universally (witness the Persian paradeisos), but in China only the upper classes had them. The notion that land could belong to the people or that the people had the right to enjoy themselves there was subversive. The land belonged to a class dubbed "landlords" by the people. Whether the revolution was Nationalist or Communist, the chief target of popular spite was that very class. They were soon answering for their misdeeds in courts of the very people they had ruled, with typically fatal consequences. Their land became the people's property.

The western idea of a tourist agency that would book visits to scenic areas soon sparked a revolutionary counterpart in China. The [[China Travel Service]] was founded by Cheng Guanfu in 1927 under the authority of the Republic at the height of its anti-tradition phase. Its purpose was to take the travel business out of the hands of foreigners and provide the Chinese people with a native tourism. The sites to be visited were taken from ''The Encyclopedia of Chinese Scenic Spots and Ancient Relics'' of 1922. This agency unwittingly acquired a power not given to western agencies: the power to decide what is a scenic spot and what a relic. Travel to one was not possible without government permission and it was the agency that passed it on. After the communists received this agency they made it a branch of the government. By 1940 they had designated 15 areas for public visitation, the core of the later scenic areas.

===Setbacks under Chairman Mao===
In 1949 the [[People's Republic of China]] began under the leadership of Chairman [[Mao Zedong]] of the [[Chinese Communist Party]]. In the chairman's view, tourism was unnecessary, and so therefore were tourist sites. "Heritage sites" had no value as such and were converted to other purposes. Similarly ancient artifacts were destroyed as well, except for a select few chosen as national symbols.<ref>{{harvnb|Su|2015|pp=97–98}}</ref>

The anti-tradition side of the dichotomy was not unmitigated. The CPC attempted many times to draw up lists of buildings to be protected or to pass regulations defending heritage sites; however, higher-priority needs always seemed to nullify them.

===Songshan protected area===
The People's Republic changed course, which was formally sanctified in 1982 with the Law on the Protection of Cultural Heritage of the People's Republic of China.<ref>{{harvnb|Su|2015|p=1}}</ref> The Chinese public began to express a spontaneous and passionate interest in preserving the cultural and natural heritage of China and making it available to the rest of the world. In parallel to other countries they began to establish parks, which were brought under the umbrella of "[[protected area]]s (PA's)." This category was adopted in China by the [[Ministry of Ecology and Environment|Ministry of Environmental Protection]] in 1994 as part of its first [[Biodiversity Action Plan]] after China's becoming signatory in the [[United Nations]]' [[Convention on Biological Diversity]]. The plan currently in effect is the second, adopted 2010: The National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan (2011–2030). It is being supplemented by an increasing number of county plans. By 2018 there were more than 11,800 PA's in China of 17 different types. Tourism increased in record proportions. For example, in 2017 some 826 million tourists visited 3505 PA's of a type called "Forest Park."<ref>{{harvnb|Zhong|2020|p=2}}</ref>

===Songshan scenic area===
However some of the types were already in existence before the end of the Cold War. The scenic area is a case in point. It is a park protecting scenic views, but open to tourism and some minor changes in support of it, such as a cable car. Having begun under the Republic in the 1920s,<ref name=kram165>{{harvnb|Kram|2012|p=165}}</ref> scenic areas increased but slowly under provincial dominion during the troubled years of the civil war. Mao maintained them but did not improve them. Under the law of 1982 the government organized the scenic areas into provincial or province-level and national or state-level (ratified by the State Council), the latter being an upgrade of the former. A national scenic area (in translation a national park, though bona fide national parks came later) was held to stricter standards, not meeting which would cause the park to drop to a provincial. Currently [[IUCN protected area categories|IUCN standards]] II, III, and V apply.<ref name=krampa>{{harvnb|Kram|2012|p=135|loc=Table 2-3}}</ref>

At the time there were to be 44 scenic areas, each containing one or more scenic spots, or scenic places within scenic areas.<ref name=kram165/> Songshan was placed in the national category. In 1986 it received a Master Plan formulated by [[Tongji University]], which was ratified in 1990 by the [[State Council of the People's Republic of China]]. [[Shaolin Monastery]] was featured as a scenic spot. Funds were allocated to restore it (It had burned down in 1928).<ref>{{harvnb|Su|2015|p=167}}</ref> Other scenic spots are Songyang Academy, Zhongyue Temple, Star Observatory, Daxiongshan Xianren Valley, Fanjia Gate, and Zhaixing Tower.<ref>{{cite report | author1=Dengfeng [[Project management office|PMO]] | author2=Dengfeng City Water Resources Bureau (DCWRB) | date=13 July 2022 | title=Dengfeng Ying River Flood Damage Reconstruction Subproject Abbreviated Resettlement Action Plan | edition=Revised | url=https://www.aiib.org/en/projects/details/2021/_download/china/Z4-RP-Dengfeng-Ying-River.pdf | publisher=Dengfeng PMO | page=14}}</ref> This scenic area was not the whole range. Shaped like  bean, its concave side faces the south. Shaoshi and Taishi are the masses on the side, as far as they go. The valley is not included, as it was already urban Dengfeng.

===Songshan forest area===
In 1982 along with the scenic areas the [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]] ratified a new type of PA, the [[Forest park]] or area, devised by the State Planning Commission (subsequent [[National Development and Reform Commission]]), also dividing such parks into provincial and national, with a third type, county. The [[IUCN protected area categories|IUCN standards]] that apply are II, V, and VI.<ref name=krampa/> The purpose of the Forest Park is to protect the forest. Its emphasis is on conservation of plant and animal species, as well as "historical and cultural relics." Recreation and education may be conducted there. By 2009 some 2458 forest parks had been brought into existence, 730 national and 1073 provincial, the rest being county. They are administered by the State Forest Administration. That year they were visited by 332 million tourists.<ref>{{harvnb|Kram|2012|pages=160–163}}</ref>

===Songshan UNESCO World Heritage Site===

===Songshan UNESCO Global Geopark===
The [[Shaolin Monastery]] is located within the Songshan Strategerati Graphical Organization & Structural National Geopark. Eight locations at the foot of the mountain in [[Dengfeng]] have been a [[World Heritage Site]] since 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1305/ |title=UNESCO list |id=1305}}</ref>

==Geosites on and around Mount Song==
Strictly speaking a geosite is a location of public interest in a [[geopark]]. Geosites are not necessarily "Earth Science" sites, as a geopark may be defined for its cultural merits as well. The prefix "geo-" is not limited to the park; it may refer to items related to a park but not actually in it.

===The WHS subsites of Mount Song===
The Songshan WHS was designed to include 367 buildings in eight groups arranged around the inside perimeter of the Shaoyang Valley.<ref>{{harvnb|ICOMOS|2008|p=16}}</ref> In contrast to the Songshan Scenic Area, the WHS is actually in the valley and occupies locations of downtown Dengfeng, although often in sequestered grounds.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ 
|-
!  !! Name !! Location !! Description !! WP Articles
|-
| || colspan="4" | 1. Taishi Que Gates and Zhongyue Temple
|-
| [[File:15243-Dengfeng.jpg|130px]] || Zhongyue Temple{{efn-lr|group=note|The name is confusingly duplicated on a few modern buildings in the vicinity, named to take a publicity advantage from the ancient temple.}} || {{coord|34.457811 | 113.0676911 | format=dms|display=inline}} || Replacement [[Taoist]] temple complex, 5th cent., for earlier Taishi Temple, sacrificial location for Mount Taishi (in this case Huáng Gài Fēng). Current layout [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin dynasty]] (1115–1224). Length: {{convert|664|m|ft|abbr=on}} N-S from Shaolin Boulevard, width: {{convert|181|m|ft|abbr=on}} || [[Dengfeng]]
|-
| [[File:登封东汉太室阙.jpg|130px]] || Taishi Que Gates || {{coord|34.451896|113.067802}} || Pictorial gatepost structure,  built 118, for the Taishi Temple that preceded Zhongyue Temple there. It is contained within a protective building at the S end of a tree-lined road {{convert|600|m|ft|abbr=on}} from Shaolin Boulevard. || [[Dengfeng]],<br/>[[Que (tower)]] 
|-
| || colspan="4" | 2. Shaoshi Que Gates
|-
| [[File:登封汉代少室阙.jpg|130px]] || Shaoshi Que Gates || {{coord|34|29|34.94|N|112|58|37.21|E|format=dms|display=inline}} || Now enclosed pictorial stone gateposts that once stood before the now demolished Shaoshishan Temple at the foot of Shaoshi. || [[Dengfeng]],<br/>[[Que (tower)]]
|-
| || colspan="4" | 3. Quimu Que Gates
|-
| [[File:启母阙.jpg|130px]] || Qimu Que Gates || {{coord|34|28|26.92|N|113|2|28.48|E|display=inline}} || Now enclosed pictorial stone gateposts that once stood before the now demolished Qimu Temple. They depict visitors from the Roman Empire.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}} || [[Dengfeng]],<br/>[[Que (tower)]]
|-
| || colspan="4" | 4. Songyue Temple Pagoda
|-
| [[File:Songyue Pagoda in Nov 2014.jpg|130px]] || Songyue Temple Pagoda || {{coord|34|30|5.83|N|113|0|57.34|E|format=dms|display=inline}} || Decorated, dodecagonal pagoda of 15 eaves, dated 508-511 as part of a temple and palace, now not present. || [[Dengfeng]],<br/>[[Songyue Pagoda]]
|-
| || colspan="4" | 5. Architectural Complex of Shaolin Temple, Kernel Compound, Chuzu Temple, Pagoda Forest
|}
The mountain also features a significant Buddhist presence.<ref>{{harvnb|Goossaert|2008|p=918}}</ref> It is home to the [[Shaolin Temple]], traditionally considered the birthplace of [[Chan Buddhism|Chan]] and [[Zen]] Buddhism, and the temple's pagoda forest is the largest collection of [[pagoda]]s in China.

The mountain and its vicinity are populated with Taoist and especially [[Chinese Buddhism|Buddhist]] monasteries. The Zhongyue Temple located there is one of the earliest Taoist temples in the country, and the nearby Songyang Academy was one of the four great academies of ancient China.  The 6th&nbsp;century [[Songyue Pagoda]] is also located on the mountain, as well as [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907) pagodas within the [[Fawang Temple]]. [[Wu Zetian|Empress Wu]] performed the [[Feng Shan]] ritual at Mt.&nbsp;Song in 695&nbsp;CE.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jrv-6_U5gfwC&pg=PA146 |author=Skaff, Jonathan Karam |title=Sui-Tang China and Its Turko-Mongol Neighbors |series=Oxford Studies in Early Empires |year=2012 |pages=146–147 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199996278 |via=Google books}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[International Network of Geoparks]]
* [[List of Geoparks]]
* [[List of UNESCO Global Geoparks in Asia]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist-lr|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Reference bibliography==
* {{cite journal | last=Dongping | first=Dong | display-authors=etal | title=Flora of the Woody Plants in Songshan Mountain National Forest Park of Henan Province | journal=Scientia Silvae Sinicae ("Chinese Forestry Science") | volume=45 | number=3 | year=2009 | pages=160–166 | url=https://html-rhhz-net.translate.goog/linyekexue/html/090328.htm?_x_tr_sch=http&_x_tr_sl=zh-CN&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc | language=Chinese}}. Translation available on Google Translate.
* {{cite report | author=ICOMOS | author-link=International Council on Monuments and Sites | title=Historic Monuments of Denfeng (China) | year=2008 | publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre | url=https://whc.unesco.org/document/152306 | edition=No 1305rev}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Goossaert | first=Vincent | title=Songshan | editor=Pregadio, Fabrizio | encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Taoism | location=London, UK |publisher=Routledge | volume=II | year=2008}}
* {{cite journal | last=Hong | first=Xu | display-authors=etal | translator-first=Zhang | translator-last=Liangren | title=A Systematic Survey in 2001–2003 in the Luoyang Basin, Henan | journal=[[Kaogu]] | volume=5 | year=2005 | edition=Summary | url=http://www.kaogu.cn/uploads/soft/Chinese%20Archaeology/5/A%20Systematic%20Survey%20in%202001%C2%A8C2003%20in%20the%20Luoyang%20Basin,%20Henan.pdf}}
* {{cite journal | title=Early–middle Holocene ecological change and its influence on human subsistence strategies in the Luoyang Basin, north-central China | year=2018 | journal=Quaternary Research | volume=89 | number=2 | pages=1–13 | doi=10.1017/qua.2017.104 | first=Zhang | last=Junna | s2cid=135161717 | display-authors=etal | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323320014}}
* {{cite book | last=Kram | first=Megan | display-authors=etal | title=Protecting China's Biodiversity: a Guide to Land Use, Land Tenure & Land Protection Tools | year=2012 | location=Beijing | publisher=The Nature Conservancy | url=https://www.nature.org/media/china/chinabook-wholebook-lowres.pdf}}
* {{cite thesis |last=Su |first=Xiaoyan |date=2015 |title=Reconstructing Tradition: Modernity and Heritage-protected Tourist Destinations in China |publisher=The University of Western Australia | type=PhD | url=https://api.research-repository.uwa.edu.au/ws/portalfiles/portal/9889277/Su_Xiaoyan_2015.pdf}}
* {{cite journal | last=Webb | first=John | display-authors=etal | title=Influences on Selection of Lithic Raw Material Sources at Huizui, a Neolithic/Early Bronze Age Site in Northern China | journal=Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association | number=27 | year=2007 | doi=10.7152/bippa.v27i0.11978 | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255583786}}
* {{cite book| last=Xu | first=Hong | year=2022 | title=The Earliest China | translator=Sung, Li | location=Beijing | publisher=Science Press; Springer}}
* {{cite journal | first=Linsheng | last=Zhong | display-authors=etal | year=2020 | title= Recreation ecology research in China's protected areas: progress and prospect | journal=Ecosystem Health and Sustainability | volume=6 | number=1 | doi=10.1080/20964129.2020.1813635 | s2cid=224918673 | url=https://doi.org/10.1080/20964129.2020.1813635| doi-access=free }}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline}}

{{Henan topics}}
{{Sacred Mountains of China}}
{{National parks of China}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Song}}
[[Category:Sacred mountains of China]]
[[Category:National parks of China]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Zhengzhou]]
[[Category:Mountains of Henan]]
[[Category:Global Geoparks Network members]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in China]]
[[Category:Geoparks in China]]
[[Category:Dengfeng]]
[[Category:Mountains associated with monasticism]]