Vines of Huayang Mountain

Vines constitute a signature landscape of Huayang Mountain Scenic Area. Reputed as "China’s Vine Garden", the mountain boasts more than 100 varieties of vines falling into five major categories: woody vines, ribbon vines, climbing vines, twining vines and others.

Step into the scenic zone, and vines crowd every corner of your sight. Red vines, yellow vines, kudzu vines, chicken-tendon vines, tripterygium vines and many more grow in abundance. They either climb and interweave among trees or twist and coil across the ground, weaving exquisite vine nets everywhere.

The most famous vine formation in the garden is the "Chinese Knot", which twists tightly around tree trunks to form a stunning sight. The most marvelous one is the multicolored vine, whose hues shift with the changing seasons. The most valuable for medicinal use is spatholobus suberectus (milletttia vine), an excellent herbal remedy for rheumatism and sequelae of stroke.

There is a touching folk legend about spatholobus suberectus. In ancient times, an elderly physician in the county was highly skilled and could cure all kinds of stubborn illnesses, drawing an endless stream of patients. One year, his wife suffered a stroke, yet none of his treatments worked, forcing him to close his clinic and turn away visitors.

Later, upon someone’s recommendation, the old doctor traveled to Huayang Mountain to consult an elderly She ethnic woman surnamed Lan. When he saw the herbal prescription she gave, he found it mostly matched his own, containing herbs such as astragalus and salvia miltiorrhiza. The only extra ingredient was a section of spatholobus suberectus vine.

To his great surprise, after taking the herbal decoction from the woman’s prescription, his wife’s condition improved dramatically. He hastened to visit her to express his sincere gratitude.