Abstract
Sanqingshan and Huangshan, two areas of granite mountains in eastern China with World Heritage status, form iconic landscapes. Granites were intruded within a Palaeozoic orogenic zone during the Mesozoic and have been repeatedly uplifted to form striking mountain scenery. At Sanqingshan, a triangular pattern of faults delimits an area of towering rock pillars that rise above vertical cliffs of granite. These landscapes have strongly influenced Chinese classical painters and philosophers, and formerly held mystic importance in the Taoist religion. The so-called peak forests appear to reflect the chemical and erosive action of heavy monsoon rainfall acting on the dissected granite massif in a subtropical environment. The combination of rock type, tectonic history, and warm moist climate has created a spectacular relief rarely seen elsewhere.
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Acknowledgments
My visit to Huangshan and Sanqingshan in 2007 was at the invitation of the Directors of the Management Committee of Sanqingshan National Park, Mr Liu Shuzong and Mr Yang Shaou. I would also like to thank Ms He Jian, who acted as translator and guide, and Dr Yin Guosheng, Senior Geologist and Deputy Director of Jiangxi Province Geological Survey, who provided much of the background geological mapping and interpretation. I am grateful to Professor Piotr Migoń, whose prior contacts with Sanqingshan made my visit possible and who jointly contributed to the fieldwork.
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Thomas, M.F. (2009). Sanqingshan: The Incredible Granite Peaks of Eastern China. In: Migon, P. (eds) Geomorphological Landscapes of the World. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3055-9_29
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3055-9_29
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