Seeing the Strange Stone Formations of Mount Hua
See the rock formations at Mount Hua!
Mount Hua is actually a stone mountain. The Hua Shan mountain range is composed of granite intrusions, which are huge boulders formed by the granite. According to radiometric dating, the granite has an absolute age of about 1.3 billion years; while the surrounding main peak granite of Hua Shan is composed of phyllite formed by ancient metamorphic rock system, its absolute age is about 20 billion years. This is the overall geological composition of the Hua Shan area.
The current Hua Shan has huge boulders standing on the mountain, with trees seemingly absent except within the Huayang Palace. It is said that before the 'Great Flood of Hua Shan,' the surrounding area was covered in forests, and after the flood, the forests disappeared. Today, you can still see a rock formation along the Shanxi border, which is said to be the remnants of the former forests.
According to folklore, the scenery of Mount Hua was beautiful long ago, and the Dragon King of the East Sea secretly issued orders, causing a flood. While inspecting, the Lu Ancestor used his magic to stop the surging flood at the mountain waist. The Dragon Prince transformed into a bartender and used wine to make the Lu Ancestor drunk. The Lu Ancestor, in a drunken state, used excessive magic to move the trees in front of the mountain to Hua Yang Palace, and when he tried to move other trees to the mountain, he became even more drunk, causing a large area of forests to turn into rock formations, and the forests surrounding the mountain disappeared. After waking up, the Lu Ancestor turned a stubborn stone into the shape of the Dragon Prince and knelt down to admit his mistakes, so people would curse him when climbing Hua Shan, and thus Hua Shan gained the 'Dragon Stone'.
The villagers living in Mount Hua, during the 'Great Flood of Hua Shan,' were panicked and moved to new locations, resulting in the existence of today's Zhibaqiang and Shan Gen Zhibaqiang; after that, the villagers built the Huayang Palace and Lu Zu Temple to worship and pray for the protection of divine beings.
The 'rock formations' in the north and south corners of Mount Hua are formed by the special weathering of gray long rock along the vertical joints, causing the formation of various shapes, inspiring imagination.
