The western of China's five sacred mountains, 120 km east of Xi'an: five granite peaks around 2,000 m, chain-railed ridge paths, the plank walk on the South Peak cliff, and a Taoist history going back two millennia. For a visitor the mountain is a ticketing problem before it is a hike: the entry ticket (¥160 in season, ¥100 in winter, cut to ¥80 in the 2026 summer and holiday promotions) is sold only online, real-name, in timed slots (the scenic area publishes that it has no regular ticket window at peak times). The two cable cars and the two shuttle buses are separate purchases on top.
AdmissionTicketed¥160 Mar-Nov; ¥100 Dec-Feb; cables extra; see tipsVerified · source published 2026-10Source ↗
HoursCable entry 7:00-16:00, hiking 24 h; seasonal — see tipsVerified · source published 2026-10Source ↗
ClosedNone; weather closes cables, plank walk and paths any dayVerified · source published 2026-10Source ↗
ReservationRequired · Timed entry
IDReal-name entry; passport handling is unconfirmed.Verified · source published 2026-10Details ↓Source ↗
AddressHuashan scenic area, Huayin City, Weinan — visitor centre (游客中心) on the north side of the mountain; hiking gate (华山门) at Yuquan Temple, Huayin
EntranceHigh-speed train to Huashan North (华山北), then the free shuttle or Huayin bus 1/2 to the visitor centre; shuttles from the centre to the cable-car bases
Last verified 2026-10-12
How to book
Real-name timed booking on the scenic area's official channels (WeChat official accounts 华山景区 / 华山旅游服务平台 — both official names in the notices) and authorised platforms; the on-site window only handles special-category (concession) tickets — no walk-up sale of ordinary tickets (notice); refund on unscanned tickets via the purchase channel. Info 0913-8376888 / 8375999Verified · source published 2026-10Source ↗
ID details
Real-name entry; passport handling is unconfirmed. Real-name; enter in the booked time slot with the ID used to book — the notices name 'valid ID'; passport use is not addressed. Concessions: the 65+ cable-car half price runs on a Chinese ID or senior card; the half-price entry ticket's nationality rule is not written — see the city tips note on concessions.
Paying on site
WeChat 华山景区 → entry ticket (门票) → date and slot → real-name → pay; then separately the shuttle (景区交通车) and cable-car (索道) tickets for the route you plan; scan at the visitor centre within the slot.
Beat the crowds
Book the 7:00 slot and the West Peak cable car; on a summer weekend the West Peak cable-car queue reaches two hours by mid-morning, and the last uplift is 16:00.
Language
Bilingual signage on the main routes and at the visitor centre; the notices are Chinese; the hotline is Chinese.