Mount Hua: West Peak Cableway and Walking Routes

Mount Hua, also known as Huashan, is in Huayin, Shaanxi. Two approaches to compare are the West Peak cableway and a longer walking route across the mountain. Those plans involve different starting points and effort, so check the route you want before setting your day around a timetable.

What the West Peak cableway connects

The cableway company’s profile describes the West Peak line with a lower station at Donggoukou in Wengyu, a middle station at Baique Temple in Xianyu, and an upper station below the cliffs south of West Peak. The company says the line entered operation in April 2013. A report carried by China Chang’an Net and credited to West China Legal Daily calls the Taihua Ropeway another name for the Huashan West Peak Ropeway and describes it as one route visitors use to travel up and down the mountain. Neither page gives a schedule or fare for your visit date.

A 2023 report from Shaanxi Tourism Group describes the West Peak ropeway’s tenth-anniversary event and names Taihua Ropeway Company among the participating organizations. That anniversary report describes the line's history, not its current operating conditions.

Use the walking guide as a dated route example

In an article dated July 27, 2024, the ropeway company mapped a walking approach from Yuquan Courtyard through Huashan Gate, First Gate, Thousand-Foot Gorge and Hundred-Foot Gorge to North Peak. It estimated that segment at about four hours and 12.5 kilometers, then described a North Peak to East Peak leg of about three hours and 6 kilometers before continuing across named peaks toward a West Peak cableway descent. Treat these as the article’s dated route estimates, not current opening information or guaranteed walking times.

Keep exposed side routes separate

The same 2024 guide lists Yaozi Fanshen and the South Peak Plank Road as separate stops. Do not treat them as one attraction or assume either is open on your date. If one is central to your visit, confirm its current access and any separate requirements before you set your route.

Plan the day around what you can confirm

If you want to reduce the amount of uphill walking, compare the West Peak cableway option with the dated walking approach. If you prefer the longer climb, use the guide’s route sequence to understand its scale, then allow time for your own pace. Do not treat its estimates as queue, transfer or return-travel times.

The reviewed pages do not establish current mountain admission, ropeway or shuttle fares, operating hours, train connections, reservation rules, weather closures or access to the named exposed routes. Check those details with the current Huashan visitor channel and the ropeway company for your date before choosing a route. For more trip ideas in China, see our China travel guide.