Lushan County is located in the central part of Henan Province and at the eastern foot of Funiu Mountain. Even though it is only a county in the administrative level， it has good connections to the established cities in Henan. It lies on the north of Luoyang， borders Nanyang in the south and shares the borderline with Pingdingshan in the east.

The name Lushan came from a mountain standing 9 kilometers northeast from the county in the Tang Dynasty. But the history of Lushan County is much longer than this. In the Xia and Shang Dynasties， there were people living and setting up an administrative bodies there. Then， different dynasties set up offices there to govern this place.

The long history of Lushan County， as well as its close connections to the wonderful cities in Henan， led to the beautiful scenes in and around this county. It sports several 4A or 5A scenic spots.

I. Mount Yao Scenic Spot

The Mount Yao Scenic Spot lies in the west of Lushan County. It is a 5A scenic spot and national nature reserves. Carrying the titles as the “one of the Top 10 scenic spots in Henan” and “the best tourism destinations in Henan”， this place is among the worthiest places for tourists coming to Henan.

The name of Yaoshan comes from the ancestry temple established by Liu Lei to memorize his ancestor Emperor Yao. Yet the charm of Mount Yao comes from more than the temple. The weird peaks， numerous waterfalls， dense forests and wonderful hot springs there are accompanied and complemented by the great manmade scenic spots， combining the grandness， steepness， gracefulness， weirdness and silence together. The tourism experts view it as a collection of the steepness of Mount Huashan， the precipice of Mount Emei， the beauty of Zhangjiajie and the grace of the Yellow Mountain.

The towering big mountain， the peaks like being sculptured and weird rocks form the biggest feature of Mount Yao. There are about 100 peaks with the height of over 2000 meters. Its highest peak is called the Jade Emperor Peak. Stand-ing on the peak and looking down， people will be greeted with the combo of mountains and valleys， which offer the scenes that vary to the altitude and breadth. Mu Qing， a modern poet in China， was once mesmerized by the beautiful scenes of Mount Yao and called it “the unique beauty of Central Plain of China”.

Mount Yao sports a lot of rocks in the shape of mankind and thusly it is also called Stone Man Mountain. The rocks are the rhythms of the mountain. The granite， which constitutes the mountain， turned into different shapes as a result of the crest movement and the erosion of wind and water. There are 240 named scenic spots in this area and nearly all of them were collectively seen on 40 peaks. The rocks are mostly given their names according to the shapes. There are Stone Man Rock， Old Immortal Rock and others like the gods ascending to the heaven. The Phoenix Platform looks a like giant bird looking at the distance. The Golden Turtle Rock has its head raised toward the moon. The Blue Dragon Rock is like a giant serpent flying in the clouds. There are also rocks similar to the toad， elephant nose and rooster.

The rocks are not enough to build up a famous scenic area. Like most of the mountains in China， Mount Yao also has waters as its “cleaner” and “ornament”. The waters here share the same features with the rocks – they are in different shapes， offering various kinds of scenes and thusly gaining different names： the Nine-Bend Waterfall， the Black Dragon Pond， the White Dragon Pond and so on.

The Nine-Bend Waterfall is the most impressive one among all water-related scenic spots in Mount Yao. The waterfall is one to six meters wide in different seasons. In the ancient time， the crest movement cut the mountain into half and sunk one part underground， forming the current base of the waterfall. The abrasion of waterfall “drilled” holes with different depths – a result of the rocks endurance – in the base， causing the nine bends of the waterfall. The green trees and vines are growing on both sides of the waterfall， decorated by wild flowers taking on different colors. Together they make a colorful picture. In addition， the abundant rain in this area sheds enough water into the waterfall， which furiously flows into the Black Dragon Pond at its foot， with the thunder-like sounds heard half a mile away.

There is a manmade slide along mountain. With the total length of more than 2000 meters， the twisted slide flows in the dense forests from the top to the bottom. It is said to be the longest and maybe the most exciting slide in the world. Tourists could enjoy the slide at their own will to re-experience their childhood.

II. Dragon Pond Gorge

The Dragon Pond Gorge Scenic Spot lies at the southern foot of Mount Yao. It is 66 kilometers away from Lushan County and enjoys an easy-to-get access. The entire scenic area covers about 30 square kilometers. 90% of scenic area is covered by trees， yet it gives priority to the water. There are two gorges in this scenic area – the Dragon Pond River and the Stone Cave River.

In spite of their geographical proximity， the two gorges are different each other. The Stone Cave River have both of its two banks covered by green willows， while the Dragon Pond River is known for the weird rocks and swift waterfalls. The latter is 2-2.5 kilometers long， flowing through the valley like a twisted dragon. It is said that the river has a drop of about 1000 meters from the start to the end and could meet several cliffs in its flowing course， each of which leads to a waterfall.

Among them， the Dragon Pond Waterfall is the most impressive one. It falls from a cliff that is one hundred feet tall. The water flies down to the pond with roars， raising the bubbles from the bond water and sending ripples all over the pond.

The Dragon Pond was previously called the Pond of East Dragon. In the legend， a dragon lingering in the east of the heaven offended Jade Emperor， the ruler of heaven， who punished the dragon by forcing him to stay in the pond and protect citizens around there. A bridge stands across the pond and is said to be blessed by the dragon. It is not only a good spot to have a full view of the waterfall， but also a place where local people offered incenses and sacrifices to the “dragon”.

The Dragon Pond beneath the waterfall is a sight to behold as well. Since it was where the punished dragon was jailed， this pond also bears the name as the Dragon Jailing Pond. The walls of the pond are made up of granite whose surface is smooth and slippery thanks to the erosion of water. The cliff where the waterfall flows down also shares the same feature. The smooth and grassless surface is a sharp contrast to the part on its both sides with green trees or vines. It is said that the cliff was established by the Jade Emperor for the jailed dragon to ponder over his mistakes.

III. The Good Luck Valley

The Good Luck Valley is located south of Mount Yao. It moves from northwest to southeast. In the legend the valley was also called Li Qiao Valley， with the name after a man called Li Qiao in the ancient time. Li Qiao was haunted by sheer bad luck since he could even lose his stone pot when he was picking up medical herbs in the valley. However， when he tried to find the pot in the lake which it had fallen into， he unexpectedly found jewels there. From then on was always greeted with good luck.

The two sides of the valley are occupied by the greenness.The hills and peaks are contending with each other in both the height and sight. The crest movement has cut several hills in half， leaving the steep and un-mountable cliffs. This place was unoccupied by mankind for a long time， but this feat led to the dense forests， fragrant flowers and a great variety of animals.

The trees， flowers， hills and others could only pale in front of the water-related scenes in the valley. There are numerous streams， waterfalls and ponds in this area. They vary to each other in length， width， depth and height， creating a multicolored picture and composing a well-versed melody. The entire valley is about 10 kilometers long， but in a lessthan-two-kilometer extension at the bottom of the valley， there are a dozen of waterfalls with drop ranging from 10 to 70 meters. These waterfalls have ponds at the their feet which constitute a complete picture of landscape. These waterfalls and their ponds have different names， as well as different features. Some are grand with thunder-like sounds and wildspreading ripples. Some are gentle featuring tickling melodies and tender， silver streams of water. The varied yet harmonious sights make the entire valley look like a miniascape， with the waterfalls connected on a silver thread like a pearl necklace， eliciting the radiance fervently.

No miniascape could be called perfect without the stones or rocks. The Good Luck Valley is no exception either. The valley itself was a result of the crest movement which has sculpted many rocks in weird shapes. The ancient men， based on their imaginations， named these rocks creatively. Each rock bears a beautiful story that is either inspiring or saddening， adding more myths into this scenic area.

This place possesses more than legends and natural beauty. It is also a revolutionary base during the Anti-Japanese War. The soldiers of CPC once hid in that place away from the attacks of Japanese invaders and the Kuomintang army that did not trust them. Nowadays， tourists could still hear local people talk about the heroic stories happening there about 70 years ago.

IV. The Other Worthy Places

There are a lot of other scenic spots around Lushan County. They might not be as majestic as the aforementioned three places， but still worthy of a visit.

The Eighteen Hay Primary Forest Scenic Area is one of them. It is 60 kilometers away from the county and covers about 60 square kilometers. It is located in the area with the altitude of between 1200 and 1800 meters. The combination of the climatic features of temperate zone and subtropical zone brings about the multi-typed weather here. The flora is well protected there and change their features based on the altitude.

This scenic area gives priority to the mountain-born scenic areas and is known for the valleys and primary forests. The Taolin River flows into and through the 3-kilometerlong valley and disperses into several streams. Some of them are flowing mildly above the rock-based bed while some are swiftly running， forming the waterfall when they meet the falls. There is a pond called Black Dragon Pond there with unfathomed depth and the area of about 600 square meters. The White Dragon Pond， in comparison， wins the attention with the height instead of the depth. The waterfall which sheds water into the pond is about 80 meters high. The howling water drastically hits the white stones in the pond – the origination of the ponds name – and sends tiny， numerous sprays all over the pond.

This scenic area sports many scenic spots. Most of them are based on rocks， hills and water， sharing the same charm and features with the other places.

Lushan County also sports the largest water park in the central plain area of China. It is right built at the foot of Mount Yao. This manmade changed the simplicity of Lushan Countys tourism which was previously solely based on the natural or historical sites. The water park beside the dense forests provides a unique and incomparable experience for tourists.

There is a Buddha statue in this county. It is the largest standing Buddha statue in the world and offers a good place for those pious Buddhist followers.