Ancient city's heritage, scenery draw visitors
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An ancient guest-welcoming ritual is performed at the former residence of Chen Tingjing to entertain tourists. |
Natural scenery
Jincheng is at the northern end of the Taihang Mountains and has alluring natural scenery. It has 39 percent forest coverage and average annual precipitation of 650 mm.
The city's pleasant environment and climate won it the top prize for the International Award for Livable Communities in 2012.
Wangmangling National Geographic Park is a popular place to enjoy Jincheng's natural beauty.
The scenery is attractive in all seasons. Spring offers colorful flowers, summer is cool, in the autumn the mountain is tinted with red and yellow leaves and in winter the area is transformed into a fairytale scene covered by snow.
Visitors who take in the sunrise from the mountaintop, which stands at 1,700 m above sea level, find themselves surrounded by clouds that glow with the first light.
The park has a canyon called Xiyagou, which is said to be as spectacular as the Grand Canyon of Colorado. At its widest point the canyon is more than 200 meters, while the narrowest part is only a few meters. A photo of the canyon was featured on the cover of the Chinese National Geographic magazine in 2011.
A precarious 7.5 km road in the middle of the canyon was among 60 outstanding Chinese landmarks selected by 32 mainstream domestic media in 2009.
Jincheng's Manghe Natural Reserve is home to nearly 300 animal species and nearly 900 plants.
