Towering some 15 kilometers to the west of the Pingliang City, the Kongtong Mountain, part of the Liupan Mountain Ranges has Guan Mountain by the north and Taitong to the south with Cock’s Head at its back and the Jing River in front. Known as a “picturesque scene for controlling the west” and “landscape at Kongtong, the prettiest under heaven” since ancient times the place has been one of the famous Taoist mountains of the country. The name of the mountain was derived from a Taoist expression, real emptiness and vacancy, a natural seclusion in quietness.

With an elevation of 2,123 meters the Kongtong Mountain covers an area of over 30 square kilometers. Having dozens of towering peaks they all look very magnificent as if wrought by superlative workmanship with a sea of forest roaring like billowing waves from the sky. Strange peaks, picturesque caves, weird rocks and scudding clouds contend one another with greenness, elegance and towering magnificence. The Kongtong Mountain, with the Jing River in front and Yanzhi River at the back, boasts a unique geographical environment, a magnificent of crouching tiger and curling dragon.

Cited from:(Han Rongliang & Han Zhiyu (2006). Guide to Gansu [M].Beijing: China Travel and Tourism Press)