Located in southeast Jiexiu city of Shanxi province, Mianshan Mountain covers 295 square kilometers. Its highest altitude is 2,566 meters, and the annual average temperature is 10 degrees Celsius, It has a 98 percent forest coverage, resulting in a cozy climate featuring mild winters and cool summers.
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| Daluo Palace in Mianshan Mountain,Jiexiu city, Shanxi province.(Photo/China Daily Shanxi Office) |
Mianshan Mountain is the birthplace of Hanshi Festival (or Cold Food Festival), which is the oldest festival in China, and has a history of more than 2,640 years, occurring around 350 years before Dragon Boat Festival. Each year on Qingming and Cold Food Day, Chinese people will engage in various activities: go hiking, tomb-sweeping, planting willow twigs under the roof, playing Cuju (an ancient form of football), and playing on a swing. Cold foods will also be prepared, including Zitui steamed cake, baked wheat cake, Qingming swallow (swallow-like dim sum made of wheat), steamed dough shaped like a snake coiling around a rabbit, and pastry with sugar filling. These traditions have been maintained over 2,000 years.
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| Water Billow Gully in Mianshan Mountain,Jiexiu city, Shanxi province.(Photo/China Daily? Shanxi Office) |
Mianshan Mountain was honored as the "Birthplace of Cold Food Day and Qingming Festival" in 2008 by the Chinese Folk Literature and Art Society, and was awarded the National AAAAA Class Tourist Attraction. It also features a Buddhist culture, as well as an enchanting landscape and natural heritage.
Traveling through Mianshan Mountain, you can enjoy the experience of walking in the clouds, having a great meal while taking a nap on the cliff. Mianshan Mountain now has eight cliff hotels built on the model of relics: Qiong Cliff, Jade Peek Mountain Villa, Hidden Dragon and Cloud Peek Villa, which can accommodate 3,800 people. The restaurants now offer a dozen traditional cold dishes that our ancestors once made to honor Jie Zitui from history, including various herbal dishes made from the herbs growing in the mountain, as well as the Qin Feast that Emperor Li Shimin (548 AD-649 AD) prepared to celebrate his great military victories in 618 AD. Tourists can enjoy the cuisine, while getting a taste of the food culture in Mianshan Mountain.
