Mount Moganshan

Mount Moganshan, 719m/2360ft high, lies 50km/31mi northwest of Hangzhou and 200km/124mi southwest of Shanghai. There are bus services from both those cities.

The word ''Mogan'' is formed from two separate names, Mo Xie and Gan Jiang, being those of a married couple who lived in the 5th C BC. Both were very skilled sword smiths who devoted their lives to making two incomparably beautiful swords for the emperor.

Of the many picturesque spots which the countryside around Hangzhou has to offer, special mention should be made of Sword Lake (Jian Chi), on the banks of which - so legend has it - Mo Xie and Gan Jiang would sit and polish the swords they had just forged. An impressive three-stage waterfall feeds water into the lake