Mogan Shan
Encyclopedia
Mount Mogan is a mountain located in Deqing County
, Huzhou
, Zhejiang
Province, China
. It is sixty kilometers away from the city of Hangzhou
and 200 km from Shanghai
.
It is part of the Moganshan National Park and at its base is the small village of Moganshan.
Known for its cool temperatures during the scorching summers, it has long been the playground of the Shanghai elite in the past. Today, Moganshan mixes a country lifestyle with a mix of local inns and old villas built early in the 20th century.
The crisp refreshing breezes of Mogan Mountain first enchanted foreigners in the 1880’s, where rooms and houses were rented from locals. This ideal summer retreat soon attracted the foreign community in Shanghai who came together, dug deep into their pockets and bought the mountain top for 50 dollars.
Large European style villas, houses, churches and public halls were built for missionaries, businessmen, customs officials and their families. Many of these villas and houses are still standing, with some being turned into hotels and guesthouses operating today.
By 1910 approximately 300 foreigners, mostly Americans and British, had set up summer homes on the hill. The foreigners left the mountain top with the rise of the Communist party in 1949, where the villas were handed out to different work units or “danwei’s” from Hangzhou and Shanghai.
Moganshan is a major bamboo
area, with lush bamboo forests on its slopes and surrounding areas.
Moganshan receives a variety of Chinese and foreign visitors for relaxation, hiking, and visiting a variety of scenic and historical spots, including the post-World War II
villa of Chiang Kai-shek
.
Deqing County
Deqing County is a county in the prefecture-level city of Huzhou One of its most popular tourist areas is Moganshan - a scenic mountain an hour from Hangzhou with many pre-WWII villas built by foreigners, along with one of Chiang_Kai-shek's Guomindang compounds....
, Huzhou
Huzhou
Huzhou is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province of Eastern China. Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzhou to the south, and the provinces of Anhui and Jiangsu to the west and north respectively.-Administration:...
, Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
Province, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. It is sixty kilometers away from the city of Hangzhou
Hangzhou
Hangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...
and 200 km from Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
.
It is part of the Moganshan National Park and at its base is the small village of Moganshan.
Known for its cool temperatures during the scorching summers, it has long been the playground of the Shanghai elite in the past. Today, Moganshan mixes a country lifestyle with a mix of local inns and old villas built early in the 20th century.
History
According to Chinese legend, in the Spring and Autumn Period of 770- 476 BC, China’s most talented swordsmith Ganjiang, arrived in the mountains. It was here that he cast and forged a pair of special swords on the demand of the Emperor of Wu. Gan’s wife was called Moye, hence the name Mogan Mountains and the main tourist attraction Sword Pond.The crisp refreshing breezes of Mogan Mountain first enchanted foreigners in the 1880’s, where rooms and houses were rented from locals. This ideal summer retreat soon attracted the foreign community in Shanghai who came together, dug deep into their pockets and bought the mountain top for 50 dollars.
Large European style villas, houses, churches and public halls were built for missionaries, businessmen, customs officials and their families. Many of these villas and houses are still standing, with some being turned into hotels and guesthouses operating today.
By 1910 approximately 300 foreigners, mostly Americans and British, had set up summer homes on the hill. The foreigners left the mountain top with the rise of the Communist party in 1949, where the villas were handed out to different work units or “danwei’s” from Hangzhou and Shanghai.
Geography
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
area, with lush bamboo forests on its slopes and surrounding areas.
Tourism Today
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
villa of Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
.