Forget hiking the Appalachian Trail, the path up Mount Hua should get your heart rate up and provide all the exercise you’ll ever need

Located about 120 kilometers outside of the city of Huayin, Shaanxi province, Mount Hua is one of China’s Five Great Mountains. Certainly beautiful, the mountain has historically been a religious retreat for “strong-willed” monks able to find “the way” to the top on narrow pathways alongside gut-churning drops.

With tourism now booming in a more affluent China, the government has worked to improve access to the top of the mountain by widening the trail, adding railings and safety chains, and in general working to prevent hikers from experiencing a quick, unplanned descent to the bottom. Let’s find out what the dizzying location has to offer!

Safety improvements aside, with China experiencing collapsing bridges and streets oozing unknown substances due to faulty workmanship, one might be forgiven for questioning their reliability. The climb is definitely not for the faint of heart.