On November 11, the International Conference of Mountain Tourism and Outdoor Sports 2025 announced the second batch of "World Famous Tourism Mountains." Eight renowned peaks were selected: China's Huangshan Mountain, Argentina's Mount Fitz Roy, Saudi Arabia's Soudah Mountain, China's Danxiashan Mountain, China's Wawu Mountain, Russia's Belokurikhinsky Mountain Range, China's Xuefeng Mountain, and China's Zhangshiyan.

Xuefeng Mountain National Forest Park. (Photo/Zhang Xiwen)

Xuefeng Mountain spans four cities and ten counties, forming the longest and largest mountain range within Hunan Province. Xuefeng is revered as Hunan's "Father Mountain." The selected section of Xuefeng Mountain includes the Hunan Xuefeng Mountain National Forest Park in Hongjiang City; the Chuanyan Mountain, the Shanbei Huayao Terraced Fields, and the Yangquepo Ancient Village in Xupu County; and, the Huxing Mountain Dahuayao Scenic Area in Longhui County.

Xuefeng Mountain is also a global biodiversity hotspot and a model for biodiversity conservation, recognized as a "biological gene bank" and a "paradise of mysterious species diversity." The mountain ranks among the global 200 ecoregions of international importance. The pristine landscape here remains largely untouched, featuring diverse topography including alpine plateaus and abundant mountain forests. With over 85% forest coverage, the area has a negative oxygen ion concentration exceeding 12,000 per cubic centimeter. The climate is ever-changing, offering beautiful rime frost scenery in winter with lush alpine meadows in summer. The mountain presents distinct landscapes across the seasons. 

Shanbei Huayuan Terraced Fields. (Photo provided by the Huaihua Municipal Bureau of Culture, Tourism, Radio, Television, and Sports)

Xuefeng Mountain is also known as Hunan's "Mountain of Heroes." Chinese and Japanese forces engaged in a decisive battle here, marking the final major confrontation on the center stage battlefield during the Chinese people's war of resistance against Japanese aggression. The area boasts unique cultural heritage, with its ethnic culture, revolutionary or "red" culture, rice cultivation culture, tea culture, Gaomiao ethnic culture, as well as the iconic figure of Qu Yuan, renowned both domestically and internationally.

In recent years, Xuefeng Mountain has received an average of over one million tourist visits annually. During the 2025 National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, the Xuefeng Mountain Cableway, hailed as the world's longest alpine cableway, officially commenced operations. The cableway has elevated travel experience from "climbing the mountain" to "soaring over the mountain." During the eight-day holiday, the cableway handled more than 100,000 visits, emerging as a "phenomenal" attraction in Hunan's tourism market. This boosted a surge of visits to the Shanbei Huayao Terraced Fields and the Chuanyan Mountain by 48% year-on-year, with surrounding hotels and homestays reaching full occupancy. The number of visitors to Hunan Xuefeng Mountain National Forest Park continues to grow, resulting in maximum booking for accommodations during peak seasons.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: Voice of Hunan