Geographical Location: Shennong Mountain is located in Zhaozhai Village, Ziling Town, Qinyang City, Henan Province, at the southern foot of Taihang Mountain.
Characteristic Landscapes: It is famous for its strange peaks, deep valleys, green pine trees, peculiar stones and lively monkeys. It has unique natural and cultural landscapes such as the Dragon Ridge Great Wall, white-bark pine trees and Taihang macaques.
Recommended Tour Routes
One-day Tour Routes
Mountaineering and Fitness Route: Visitor Center Yunyang Fort (buy tickets and enter the scenic spot) Shennong Cultural Square Caizu Temple Medical Botanical Garden Macaque Garden Hiking Trail Zhongtian Gate Nantian Gate Zijin Summit Descend the mountain (you can choose to return by the original way or take the cableway and sightseeing bus down the mountain). This route is a full hiking route, which can fully exercise your body and allow you to enjoy the main scenic spots.
Route for Visiting the Essence of the Scenic Spots: Visitor Center take the sightseeing bus to Shennong Cultural Square take the cableway to Zhongtian Gate hike through Nantian Gate to Zijin Summit descend the mountain along the hiking trail and visit the Macaque Garden and other scenic spots on the way. This route is suitable for tourists with average physical strength but who don’t want to miss important scenic spots. It saves physical strength and allows you to enjoy the essence of the landscape.
Two-day Tour Routes
The First Day: Visitor Center Yunyang Fort Shennong Cultural Square Jingying Temple Macaque Garden Stay in the scenic spot or in a nearby homestay. The itinerary of this day is relatively easy. You can feel the cultural heritage of Shennong Mountain and the liveliness of macaques carefully on the way. At night, you can also experience the local rural life.
The Second Day: Get up early to watch the sunrise (you can choose a place near Zijin Summit), and then start from Zijin Summit and play along the Dragon Ridge Great Wall to enjoy the unique geological landscape, and then hike down the mountain. On the way, you can visit some scenic spots that were not deeply visited on the first day again.
Transportation Guide
External Transportation
Airplane: You can first arrive at Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport, and then transfer to the airport bus to Qinyang urban area, and then transfer to the tourist special line bus or local urban-rural passenger shuttle bus to Shennong Mountain Scenic Spot.
Train: After getting off at Qinyang Station, you can take the shuttle bus to Ziling Town or Shennong Mountain Scenic Spot at the bus station near the railway station.
Self-driving: If you choose self-driving, you can directly reach the scenic spot through the expressway. The scenic spot has a parking lot, and parking is relatively convenient.
Internal Transportation
Sightseeing Bus: There are sightseeing buses in the scenic spot, with stops at the visitor center or each main scenic spot. You can choose to take it according to your itinerary to save physical strength.
Cableway: The Zhongtian Gate Cableway can help tourists quickly reach a higher position, reduce the hardship of climbing the mountain, and at the same time, you can overlook part of the beautiful scenery of the scenic spot in the air.
Ticket and Opening Hours
Ticket Price: The full-price ticket is 80 yuan per person, and the half-price ticket is 40 yuan per person (applicable to people who meet the preferential conditions such as students and the elderly). The items such as the sightseeing bus and cableway in the scenic spot need to be purchased separately.
Opening Hours: Peak season (March November) 7:00 18:00; Off-season (December February of the next year) 7:30 17:30.
Food Guide
Specialty Foods
Naotang Donkey Meat
Introduction: Qinyang Naotang Donkey Meat is a traditional famous dish here. The donkey meat is fresh and tender, and the Naotang is made by boiling various spices and old donkey bone soup. It has a mellow taste. Dipping the donkey meat into the Naotang, it tastes delicious and has a unique flavor.
Recommended Store: You can taste the authentic Naotang Donkey Meat in Huaifu Donkey Meat Restaurant in Qinyang urban area.
Huaifu Water Banquet
Introduction: It originated from ancient official banquets, with a main flavor of sour and spicy. There are both meat and vegetarian dishes, both cold and hot dishes, and the order of serving dishes is particular. The dishes include Lian Tang Rou Pian (sliced pork in lotus soup), Hui Za Ban (mixed stew), Xiao Su Rou (small crispy meat), etc. The soup dishes are alternated, and it tastes refreshing and delicious.
Recommended Store: In some time-honored restaurants in Qinyang, such as Huai Fu Ren Jia, you can taste the authentic Huaifu Water Banquet.
Jin Xianshu Sesame Seed Cake
Introduction: This kind of sesame seed cake is made of white flour as the main ingredient, supplemented by sesame seeds, butter, alkaline noodles, etc., and made with a special process. The outer skin is crispy, the inner part is tender, with distinct layers, and it is fragrant, crispy and delicious.
Recommended Store: Jin Xianshu Sesame Seed Cake Store (there are many branches in Qinyang urban area).
Fried Eggs with Mountain Leeks
Introduction: The mountain leeks in Shennong Mountain grow naturally, with a strong flavor. Fried with native eggs, they are yellow and green, with an attractive color, a fresh and tender taste and rich nutrition, full of a wild flavor.
Place to Taste: Basically, this dish is available in some farm restaurants in the scenic spot or nearby farmhouses.
Recommended Food Streets/Stores
Qinyang Urban Area
Snack Street: There is a snack street near the pedestrian street, gathering various local specialty snacks and foreign cuisines. In addition to the above-mentioned special dishes, you can also taste snacks such as cold skin and rou jia mo (Chinese hamburger). The price is affordable, and you can eat while walking around.
Time-honored Restaurants: Such as Huaiqingfu Hotel, etc. The environment is good, and you can taste relatively authentic and rich local cuisine. The Naotang Donkey Meat and Huaifu Water Banquet are all made very authentically, but the price is relatively higher than that of the snack street.
Around the Scenic Spot
Farmhouses: There are many farmhouses around Shennong Mountain Scenic Spot, such as Shennongshan Farmhouse, etc., providing various farm meals. The ingredients are mostly from the local area, fresh and healthy, with a moderate price. You can also experience the rural atmosphere and taste special farm dishes such as stewed native chicken with mountain mushrooms and fried eggs with mountain leeks.
