Mount Heng, the Southern Sacred Mountain of China's five Taoist peaks, spreads across a range of 72 named summits in central Hunan, with Zhurong Peak at 1,300 metres as the highest. It has been a site of religious practice since at least the Han dynasty: Taoism arrived first, Buddhism followed around 421 AD, and the two traditions have coexisted on the mountain ever since, which is unusual enough to be worth noting. The Buddhist Tiantai school that originated here spread to Japan and across Southeast Asia; the mountain effectively exported a significant portion of East Asian Buddhism.
Nanyue Damiao (the Grand Temple of Mount Heng), a massive complex dating to 725 AD, sits at the base of the mountain in Nanyue town, before the main park entrance. It is one of the largest surviving temple complexes in southern China — comparable in scale to the Forbidden City, though nothing like it in style — with 98 separate structures across a formal axis. Entry costs around ¥35. Higher on the mountain, the Xuandu Temple is the main Taoist centre, while Fuyan Temple marks the founding place of Tiantai Buddhism. Shangfeng Temple occupies the summit itself.
Climbing to Zhurong Peak takes a full day on foot, or a half-day combining cable car with a 4-5 kilometre ridge walk. The upper cable car deposits visitors near the summit; the walking route between the lower and upper sections passes through nine primitive forests and more than a thousand plant species, some of them extremely old. A Ming-dynasty temple at the summit itself is still an active place of worship. The mountain has a large population of resident pilgrims and monks, and the trails are busy on weekends and during the spring flower season.
The mountain is in Hengyang prefecture, reachable from Hengshan West railway station (high-speed trains from Changsha take about 30 minutes, from Guangzhou about two hours). Nanyue town at the base has ample accommodation ranging from budget guesthouses to mid-range hotels; guesthouses inside the park allow early-morning starts. Park entry is ¥80 in the off-season and ¥120 in summer.