National Parks of ChinaOverview
| Designation | National Park of China (third batch) |
| Province | Zhejiang |
| Location | 8 km north-west of Xikou, Fenghua, Zhejiang, eastern edge of the Siming Mountains |
| Latitude, longitude | 29.7, 121.2 Google Maps |
| Highlights | Old temple on the Shan River, home of the Chiang family, waterfalls in deep valleys |
| Top sights | The Qianzhangyan waterfall, the Miaogao Terrace |
| Area | 85 km² |
| Highest point | 800 m |
| Nearby cities | Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou |
| Nearby sites | Mount Putuo, West Lake, Hangzhou, Mount Yandang, Classical Gardens of Suzhou, The Grand Canal |
| Themes | Mountains, Streams, Cascades, Reservoirs |
About
The Mount Xuedou national park lies 8 km north-west of Xikou, Fenghua, Zhejiang, 85 km² in three parts: Xikou town, the mountain and Tingxia Lake, famous for its old temple, the home of the Chiang family and its waterfalls.
Xuedou, 800 m, is the highest peak of the Siming spur, “the first mountain of Siming”; its name, “snow cave”, comes from a milk-white spring issuing from a hollow in the peak. Its sights are Xufu Rock, the Three Hidden Pools, the Miaogao Terrace, the Qianzhangyan waterfall, the Imperial Calligraphy Pavilion and the old China Travel Service lodge. Xuedou Temple, founded in the Jin, is counted among the “ten great Chan monasteries under heaven” with the Tianning Wanshou Yongzuo Temple of Hangzhou and the Taiping Xingguo Temple of Nanjing.
Before the temple the Qianzhangyan waterfall carries the Milk Spring through Jinjing Pool and under Guanshan Bridge to plunge 186 m from the cliff into a deep pool. The Miaogao Terrace west of it, about 270 m by 500 m, is ringed by cliffs; Chiang Kai-shek built a villa there.
Xikou is a thousand-year-old town with the Fenggao House, the Western Villa, the Yutai salt shop, the Wenchang Pavilion, the Wuling Gate and Chiang Kai-shek’s family home. Tingxia Lake is a large reservoir on the Shan River with seven times the area of Hangzhou’s West Lake.