Purple Mountain - Definition and Overview

Purple Mountain (Pinyin: Zijin Shan; Zi means purple, Jin means golden, and Shan means mountain), also known as Tsuchinshan, Zhongshan Mountain (Pinyin: Zhong Shan, which means Bell mountain), locates in the eastern side of Nanjing, Jiangsu province, N32 5, E118 48, 447.1 m (1467 feet) high, with the lowest point 30 m (98 feet). Its peaks are often found enveloped in mysterious purple clouds at dawn and dusk, hence comes its name "Purple Mountain".

A small mountain with an area about 20 square kilometers (4,900 acres), Purple Mountain is a mountain related to many historical events of both ancient and modern China. More than 200 heritage and scenic tourist sites are located in or around the mountain, among which include 3 national historical sites, 9 provincial historical sites, and 33 prefectural historical sites.

Purple Mountain has 621 species of vascular plants, from 383 genera, 118 families (including 78 cultivated species).

Located in or close to the hillside of Purple Mountain, there are about a dozen national research institutes and universities.

See also

• Purple Mountain Observatory

External links

• Purple Mountain Observatory (http://www.pmo.ac.cn/) the first and largest observatory of China, in Chinese
• Location List of Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (http://whc.unesco.org/sites/1004-loc.htm), one UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Zhongshan Journal  (http://www.winto2.com/index.htm)钟山 in Chinese