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1 西藏 Tibet
8848m Everest (8848m)
2 新疆 Xinjiang
8611m K2 (8611m)
3 四川 Sichuan
7556m Gonggashan (7556m)
4 青海 Qinghai
6860m Bukadabanfeng
5 云南 Yunnan
6740m Kawagebofeng on Meilixueshan
6 甘肃 Gansu
7 陕西 Shaanxi
8 内蒙古 Inner Mongolia / 9 宁夏 Ningxia
3556m Main peak of Helanshan 贺兰山 is the highest peak in the Helanshan range. I have seen the peak named Erdaogou, possibly 饿博疙, but I can't confirm the name, it is typically just known as Helanshan although this refers to the entire range. This mountain chain lies on the boundary with Inner Mongolia to the west and Ningxia province to the east. The peak is the highest point of both provinces. There is a popular cultural park on the Ningxia side, translated roughly as 'Yinchuan World Rock Art Museum'. The main attraction in the park are neolithic rock carvings (approx 10,000 years old). The park is a logical starting point for treks into the Helanshan since the access road is one of the few that approach the area and there are trails that will take you at least the first several kilometers into the foothills. Otherwise the mountain is not developed for tourism. I have heard that the area is used by the military and there may be bases in the area which could pose problems for access.
I decided to traverse from west to east exiting at the museum. I climbed solo with no foreknowledge of the route except for a few GPS waypoints I found from Google Maps. I started from the town of Alxa in Inner Mongolia. I arranged a car to drive along highway S218 from which I chose a spot to disembark. I started at 11:42am and my starting point was 26.7km to my exit point in Ningxia (all distances, as the crow flies). I encountered about 10km of flat or rolling hills as I navigated more or less directly towards the foothills. When I got to the mouth of one of the canyons, I found a rocky road which I followed for 3.4km at which point I ascended a ridge which I was to follow another 6.6km to the summit. Getting on the ridge was not straight forward and required a bit of scrambling. Once I was on the ridge there were sections that required scrambling or easy climbing but mostly it was no more difficult than I had expected. When it got dark I was still 3.2km from the summit so I bivvied. I got hit by a small snowstorm. In the morning I got to the summit by 9:42am and soon started down. On the descent, my route passed over steep treacherous terrain such that getting to the valley below required great caution. From then on, I followed a dry canyon bed with several sections of rough talus through several amazing slot canyons. I passed some snowbanks and at least one section of frozen falls, eventually reaching a gate that signaled I was entering the back side of the Rock Art Museum. I got to the parking lot by 6pm on Day 2.
I visited the area and climbed the peak in May 2014.
10 湖北 Hubei
3105m Shennongding 神农顶 is the highest peak in the Shennongjia mountain region and highest in Hubei province. The peak is developed for tourism. From the nearest parking area, there is a 2.3km paved walk to the summit which ascends the '2999 steps' locally known as Blue Cloud Ladder 青云梯. The summit has an over-sized cauldron, I estimate 6-8m high. The cauldron has symbolic significance with the folklore of the mountain. The nearest city is Yichang which is also gateway to the world-famous Three Gorges dam and historically one of the best access points for scenic cruises through the Three Gorges canyon.
I visited the area and climbed the peak in July 2017.
11 山西 Shanxi
3058m Wutaishan 五台山 is one of China's 4 sacred Buddhist mountains. For that reason it is a popular mountain and well developed for tourism. There is even a monastery on the top which is serviced by a road. The nearest big city is Taiyuan but it is still at least several hours by train or bus. Despite the infrastructure and high number of visitors during peak season, I was able to feel nature and enjoy solitude. Of course I made a cross country trek from the main ticket gate to the summit and arriving to the summit just before dark and I also visited off-season. In fact, the summit still had snowdrifts nearly 3-4m high. I stayed the night in the monastery which was nice and saved me from bivvying on the summit or hiking down in the dark.
I visited the area and climbed the peak in April 2017.
12 贵州 Guizhou
13 河北 Hebei
2882m Xiaowutaishan 小五台山
I visited the area and climbed the peak in April 2017.
14 吉林 Jilin
2691m Baiyunfeng 白云峰 on Changbaishan 长白山 also known by its Korean name, Mount Paekdu. It is the highest point in China's Jilin province, the mountain also demarcates the border of North Korea and China. The summit area features a beautiful volcanic lake and the highest point in North Korea is also on the rim of the caldera. The area is one of China's more well known national parks, however most of the tourist activity is confined to the north section. The north section has the easiest access to the caldera and views of the lake via road and cable car, however the highest points are on the southwest side of the caldera. Therefore the easiest access to Baiyun Peak is from the west. The West Gate also has a tourist area however the approach trail is accessed outside the ticket area. In fact, besides a small trail the area can be quite pristine. Most tourists stay close to the parking area and nearby hot springs.
I visited the area and climbed the peak in June 2015.
15 河南 Henan
2414m Laoyacha'nao 老鸦岔脑, I made my first attempt to climb this peak late August of 2017. I'd had a knee surgery the previous month and was under instruction not to weight the recovering joint. Without having much information about the peak I thought I might still be able to slowly hop my way to the top. In fact the only information that I had before setting off was the GPS coordinate for the summit and a picture of a group of Chinese hikers at the top that made it look not excessively difficult. After the long train journey from Shanghai to Sanmenxia I got to Han Mountain Scenic Area. At the entrance to the tourist zone I saw a hiking map with Laoyacha'nao indicated just off the map on the far side of the park. After several hours crunching up the hill on a deteriorating road, I concluded that I wasn't on the best track and I wasn't going to finish the climb during this weekend.
On my second trip I was more determined. I was still on crutches but my injured leg was able to take some weight. This greatly increased my speed and endurance. On the first day, I tried approaching from a different direction, somewhat southwest via Zhuyangzhen and Dongjianiancun. I got within about 6-8km before turning around. I went back to Lingbao and back to Han Mountain Scenic Area. This time I hired a motorcycle to take me on a road that parallels and bypasses the main tourist area. The end of the road got me within 1km of the summit. The next morning I set off on an infrequently used trail. After some bushwacking and scrambling, it took me 3hr to finally reach the summit. Going down, I was able to follow a more defined trail due north which was entirely laid with stone. It took one hour to reach the road. I still had to walk a long ways before managing a ride going northwest to Yulingzhen. The most interesting part of the trip was seeing the installations excavated under the mountains on both sides of the road on the way out. It appeared to be a highly secure military site with at least 100 bunkers. I didn't have any problem exiting this way but I doubt it is a viable approach. The southern, and most direct, trailhead may be accessible via more circuitous backcountry roads.
I climbed the peak in October 2017.
I visited the area and climbed the peak in December 2012.
18 广西 Guangxi
2141m Mao'ershan 猫儿山 (translation: Kitten Mountain)
I visited the area and climbed the peak in February 2014.
2126m Shennongfeng 神农峰 is located near Hunan's southwestern border with Jiangxi. Some sources on the internet (including Wikipedia) list Hunan's highest point as Hupingshan (2099m) which I think is inaccurate. I found chinese websites that list Shennongfeng as the highest. Indeed, during my visit I was able to verify that Shennongfeng is higher than Hupingshan. I also observed that other peaks nearby were more grandly decorated with infrastructure, for example, one peak had a dilapidated monument claiming it to be Jiangxi's highest peak! From my research and GPS readings, I am reasonably confident that Shennongfeng will become recognized as Hunan's highest. And while there was no permanent monument on the summit, there was a trail to the summit and even a recently-placed banner claiming it as Hunan's highest.
I visited the area and climbed the peak in February 2014.
I visited the area and climbed the peak in November 2012.
23 安徽 Anhui
1864m Huangshan 黄山
24 山东 Shandong
1545m Taishan 泰山
25 辽宁 Liaoning
1336m Huabozi
I visited the area and climbed the peak in October ~2009.
26 黑龙江 Heilongjiang
1327m Datudingzishan 大秃顶子山
I visited the area in May 2017. I was unsuccessful to make the summit due to large amounts of snow that closed the road.
1 Areas & Ranges