Huangshan, known as Yishan in ancient times, is located within Huangshan City, Anhui Province. It lies in the southern part of Anhui Province and the northern part of Huangshan City, spanning She County, Xiuning County, Yi County, Huangshan District, and Huizhou District. It extends from Huangshi Ridge in the east to Xiaolingjiao in the west, and from Erlong Bridge in the north to Tangkou Town in the south. It spans longitudes 118°01′ to 118°17′ east and latitudes 30°01′ to 30°18′ north. The mountain area is about 40 kilometers long from north to south and about 30 kilometers wide from east to west, with a total area of about 1,200 square kilometers. It has a subtropical monsoon climate. It is renowned worldwide for its "Five Wonders" of strange pines, grotesque rocks, sea of clouds, hot springs, and winter snow, as well as its "Five Excellences" of historical relics, calligraphy and painting, literature, legends, and famous figures. It is known as "the Number One Strange Mountain Under Heaven," "a Picture Opened by Heaven," and "a Sea of Pines and Clouds."
Within Huangshan, there are nine management zones: Wenquan, Yungu, Yuping, Beihai, Songgu, Diaoqiao, Fuxi, Yanghu, and Fugu. There are 88 peaks over 1,000 meters above sea level, among which "Lianhua," "Guangmingding," and "Tiandu" are the three main peaks of Huangshan, all exceeding 1,800 meters in elevation. Huangshan contains a large number of cultural relics, such as ancient stone steps, ancient couplets, ancient bridges, ancient pavilions, ancient temples, and ancient pagodas. In addition, more than 300 existing cliff inscriptions have been preserved, nurturing the "Huangshan School" of Chinese landscape painting. Huangshan is rich in animal and plant resources. The scenic area has a forest coverage rate of 98.29%, and a tree greening rate of 98.53%. More than 300 species of vertebrates and more than 170 species of birds are known to exist there. It has the reputation that "having returned from the Five Great Mountains, one need not look at other mountains; having returned from Huangshan, one need not look at the Five Great Mountains."
In 1982, the Huangshan Scenic Area was announced by the State Council as one of the first batch of national key scenic and historic interest areas. In 1985, the Huangshan Scenic Area was listed by China Tourism News as one of China's Top Ten Scenic and Historic Interest Areas. In December 1990, Huangshan was inscribed by UNESCO on the World Cultural and Natural Heritage List. In February 2004, Huangshan was designated by UNESCO as a Global Geopark.