Roaming Shanxi: An Encounter with Autumn Hues (South-Eastern Shanxi)

十月过半，山西迎来了一年之中最为绚烂的季节。太行山麓在秋风的轻抚下，橙黄橘绿交织，宛若一幅幅浓墨重彩又温暖和谐的金秋画卷。让我们跟随这份秋色指南，一同走进晋东南，感受这片土地上的斑斓秋意。

October is already halfway through, and the magnificent land of Shanxi has welcomed its most colorful season. The foothills of the Taihang Mountains, brushed by the autumn wind, are woven with shades of orange, yellow, and green, resembling vibrant and warmly harmonious golden autumn paintings. Let’s follow this autumn scenery guide into South-Eastern Shanxi and experience the dazzling autumn beauty of this land.

长治八泉峡

Changzhi:BaquanGorge

八泉峡的秋天，景色如诗如画。站在观景台上，秋风拂过，漫山红叶随风起舞，黄栌、枫树、栎树层层叠叠，色彩斑斓。山涧碧水倒映着绚烂的树影，仿佛杜牧笔下“停车坐爱枫林晚，霜叶红于二月花”的意境。乘坐208米高的观光电梯垂直攀升，脚下是刀削斧劈般的峭壁，身旁是簌簌飘落的红叶，令人恍惚间分不清是人在画中游，还是画在秋意中生长。

Autumn in Baquan Gorge (Eight Springs Gorge) is as beautiful as a poem or painting. Standing on the viewing platform, the autumn breeze stirs the red leaves covering the mountainsides, with smoke trees, maple trees, and oak trees layering the slopes in brilliant colors. The clear water of the mountain streams reflects the dazzling tree shadows, evoking the scene from Du Mu’s poem: “I stop my carriage to admire the maple grove at nightfall; The frosty leaves are redder than the flowers of early spring.” Taking the 208-meter sightseeing elevator for a vertical ascent, one sees sheer cliffs carved as if by axes below, while red leaves rustle and fall beside. It’s a blur whether one is traveling within a painting, or if the painting is coming to life with the autumn atmosphere.

晋城王莽岭

Jincheng: Wangmang Mountain

王莽岭位于晋城市陵川县，是南太行山风光的典型代表。这里的秋色，如同一首壮阔的山水诗篇。秋日登临，夏日的云雾渐渐散去，漫山松柏苍翠依旧，而黄栌与枫树则点缀其间，红黄交织，从山脚蔓延至山顶，宛如大自然挥洒的油画。静坐于岩石之上，看云海翻涌，听秋风穿林而过，不禁让人心生“寄情山水间，自在天地宽”的豁达与宁静。

Wangmang Mountain, located in Lingchuan County, Jincheng City, is a classic representative of the South Taihang Mountain scenery. Its autumn colors are like a majestic landscape poem. Ascending in autumn, the summer clouds and mist recede, revealing the enduring green of pines and cypresses across the mountains, dotted with the fiery reds and yellows of smoke trees and maples. This tapestry progresses layer by layer from the foot to the summit, like an oil painting rendered by nature. Sitting on a rock, watching the sea of clouds swirl and listening to the autumn wind whisper through the forest, one truly understands the feeling of “immersing one’s spirit amidst mountains and waters, finding freedom between heaven and earth.”