The Qinling Mountains

The Qinling Mountain range is famous in China for its beautiful scenery, astonishing peaks and superlative natural beauty. The range itself is enormous, though what most people don't realize is that only 50km SE of Xi'an is a perfect location for swimming in natural pools, hiking through valleys and crests, and sampling the hospitality of the local village people. For many visitors, this is their highlight of their trip to China- simply breathtaking! If you want to travel a little further a field, around 200kms south lies one of the biggest areas of Giant Pandas in their natural habitat in China. The Qinlong Mountain range is also a great place for fruit picking in the autumn. Who would have thought that all this lies on the doorstep of this great and ancient city? Most people think they can "do" Xi'an in a day or two. In reality nothing could be further from the truth. Besides all of the endless cultural artefacts and museums, Xi'an offers some of the most wonderful nature that China has on display. Even many local people are not aware that such diversity exists only a stones throw away. These trips really are off the beaten track, and should be enjoyed while they are still unknown treasures. Your host Frank (pictured hard at work above) is one of our mates, a good guy, speaks great English and knows the mountain like the back of his hand. He can trace his family tree in Xi'an back 2600 years, and he is just waiting to pass some of that knowledge on to you. We offer budget and midrange trips to the mountains. All trips include transport to the mountains, food and accomodation in a local farmer house if required.

Qinling Mountains: From eastern Gansu Province to west Henan Province, the Qinling Mountains have an average elevation of 2000-3000 meters with the highest peak, Taibai Mountain, stretching 3767 meters into the sky. It is an important boundary line between the north and south China.