Mount Sanqing, granite mountain and UNESCO World Heritage site in Jiangxi, China

Mount Sanqing is the highest peak of the Huaiyu Mountains, a granite massif of three summits — Yujing, Yushui and Yuhua — named for the Taoist Three Pure Ones; Yujing reaches 1,816.9 m. Its granite, about 98 km² in extent, was faulted and eroded into cone-shaped ridges and dense clusters of vertical pillars, the type called "Sanqing-style" granite landscape. Trees and shrubs grow in the fissures of the brown-grey spires, and a multi-storey building with a dark tiled roof and a vertical Chinese sign stands among the greenery on the lower slope.

Taoist hermits Ge Yun and Ge Hong came to the mountain in the Jin dynasty, and by the Tang dynasty (873–888) Wang Jian, prefect of Xinzhou, retired to its northern foot with his family. His Song-dynasty descendant Wang Lin funded a Taoist temple, and between 1450 and 1456 Wang Hu rebuilt the Sanqing Palace, adding over 200 halls, pavilions, carvings and bridges. UNESCO listed the mountain as a World Natural Heritage Site on 8 July 2008.

The name Sanqing means "Three Pure Ones", after the three summits Yujing, Yushui and Yuhua that stand for the Taoist trinity. From the Tang dynasty (873–888) the descendants of Wang Jian built shrines here, and under the Ming (1450–1456) Wang Hu rebuilt the Sanqing Palace; over 200 halls, pavilions, carvings and bridges made the mountain known as an open-air Taoist museum.

The best time to explore is early morning when mist wraps the mountain and views are most dramatic. Wear comfortable shoes with good grip, as paths can be steep and wet.

In April 2017 three climbers drilled 26 steel bolts into the forbidden pillar known as the Giant Python Emerging from the Mountain to reach its top for drone selfies. A court in Shangrao sentenced them in December 2019 to prison terms and fines and ordered 6 million yuan in compensation for damage to the site; the Jiangxi High People's Court upheld the ruling in May 2020.