Meteorologists say the rimes in the mountain come every December when the sudden drop in temperature freezes droplets of water into various shapes which hang from tree branches.

Mount Heng is over 1,000 meters above sea level, and it and the Yellow Mountain in Anhui Province are the only two places south of the Yangtze River which have a hoar frost, a typical winter sight in northeast China.

Despite its location in subtropical Hunan Province, Mount Heng has a wide variation in temperature, meteorologists say.

Although its current temperature at the foot of the mountain is 10-15 degrees Celsius, on the mountain top it is as low as minus one or two degrees Celsius.

As rimes may last for 15 days, local people believe that if snow falls during that time, the mountain's beauty will be doubled by the interwoven rimes and icefalls shaped from melting snow.

Regarding rimes as a wonder, people living in southern China where snow seldom falls often travel to the mountain to see a different winter scene.

Every year over ten thousands of tourists go there from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Guangdong Province.

Known as "Natural Dust Collectors", soft rimes can purify air by absorbing impurities and letting them fall onto tree branches.

The most typical rimes in China are in the northeast China's Jilin Province, and are ranked among the country's four greatest natural wonders.

The other three include the Three Gorges of the Yangtse River, the mountains and water in Guilin city of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the Stone Forest of Yunnan Province.

(People’s Daily December 18, 2001)