Huaguo Mountain is a national key scenic spot and a national 5A-class scenic attraction. It has received the “Exemplary civilized scenic site”, “Excellent cooperation in civilized scenic site”, “Nationwide cultured youth collectives”, “Advanced cooperation in the comprehensive improvement of national key scenic”, “China’s top ten scenic spots” and the gold awards for “The most recommended places for tourists overseas”. It’s also appointed as the May Day holidays tourists’ feedback station and the national air quality forecasting station.

The city of Lianyungang where Huaguo scenic spot locates is in middle of China’s territorial waters. Located in the northeast of Jiangsu province, Huaguo scenic spot is near the Yellow Sea to the south, connecting the Cental Plains in the west, Qilu in the north and the Yangtze River and Huai River in the south and facing Japan and the Korean peninsula across the sea. It covers an area of 84.3 square kilometers with 136 peaks among which the Yunu Peak of Huoguo Mountain is the highest point in Jiangsu Province rising 624.4 meters above the sea level. What a spectacular view!

Huaguo Mountain is widely known as the hometown of the Monkey King in the classic The Journey to the West and is famous both home and abroad for the handsome Monkey King’s fairy tale. Since the ancient times, Huaguo Mountain enjoys the reputation as the number one fairyland in the East China Sea and one of the four celestial mountain within the four seas. The towering old trees, the rumbling water, fragrant flowers and fruits, the frolicking monkeys, peculiar peaks and caves, grotesque rocks, oceans of clouds form peculiar magnificent mountain scenery. There are abundant (more than 1700 species) wild plant resources in Huaguo Mountain, of which medicinal herbs account for 1190 types including the rarely seen Bambusa vulgaris Schrad, ancient ginkgo trees and many other rare tree species. There are also many sites closely related to The Journey to the West like the birth stone of Wukong, the Water Curtain Cave, 72 caves, Monk Tang stone, Zhu Bajie stone, Monk Sha stone which easily remind us of the original characters. 

Huaguo Mountain has a long history and profound cultural heritage. In 1602, the Ming Emperor Zhu Yijun conferred the chief temple Sanyuan Palace the title “The national famous temple”. The Qing Emperor Kangxi wrote “The Distant Town’s Torrent” and had them inscribed on the Yunu Peak to show respect to the immortals in the Huaguo Mountain. Chairman Mao has made an intensive research on the Journey to the West. The stone on which “the monkey Sun’s hometown is in the Yuntai Mountain of Xinhailian (today’s Lianyungang)” is inscribed is now called Maogong stela.

The magnificent natural scenery, splendid historical heritage, grotesque landscape, various myths and legends as well as the superb depictions in The Journey to the West all contributes to the glamour of Huaguo Mountain.