236 A NATURALIST IN WESTERN CHINA 



vertical limestone cliffs near by the temple are covered in a 

 remarkable manner with Silver Fir. The whole surroundings 

 are wildly romantic, and it is small wonder that the place is 

 deemed sacred and holy. 



Wa-wu shan or Wa shan, as it is much more frequently but 

 erroneously called, is one of three sacred mountains, forming 

 the three corners of and enclosing a triangular tract of wild, 

 sparsely inhabited country known as the Laolin (Wilderness). 

 On even the most recent maps the term Lolo is written across 

 this region, but as a matter of fact no Lolos live here. The few 

 people found here are Chinese — peasants, charcoal-burners, 

 miners, and medicine-gatherers. The other two mountains, 

 Omei shan and Wa shan, have been described by former 

 travellers, but, with the possible exception of some Roman 

 Catholic priest, my visit was the first undertaken by any 

 foreigner to the summit of Wa-wu shan. 



Like its sister mountains, Wa-wu is a gigantic upthrust of 

 hard limestone, but of lesser altitude than they, being only 

 9200 feet above sea-level. It is a huge oblong mass, composed 

 of a series of vertical cliffs 2000 feet and more sheer, reared on a 

 base of red sandstone rocks. The summit is flat with sand and 

 mudstone shales scattered about, and is said to be 60 li long by 

 40 li wide, but this is an exaggeration — 30 li by 15 li being, 

 probably, nearer the truth. Its appearance from a distance 

 has already been given, and the nearer the approach the more 

 impressive become the perpendicular walls of rock. The 

 similarity in appearance between this mountain and the real 

 Wa shan has also been alluded to, and I strongly suspect that 

 the mountain seen from the summit of Omei shan and called 

 Wa shan is really this Wa-wu shan. Their extraordinary 

 vertical sides and flat summits make these two peaks unique 

 among the mountains of Western China. 



From a botanical standpoint Mount Wa-wu proved dis- 

 appointing. In the first place, its altitude was some 1500 less 

 than I had hoped for. Secondly, all the mixed timber has been 

 felled for making charcoal and other purposes, leaving only a 

 dense shrubbery in which variety is not great. Thirdly, the 

 paucity of Coniferce on the summit other than Silver Fir and 

 the impenetrable thickets of slender Bamboos which render any 



