Moganshan is a green mountain of bamboo forest and old stone villas, about 40 kilometers northwest of Hangzhou. It has been the place where Shanghai residents go to escape the summer heat for more than a century, and it’s an easy weekend away from either city.
| Main peak | Tashan, 720 m |
|---|---|
| Area | 20 km² |
| Distance | more than 40 km northwest of Hangzhou |
| First European-style villa | 1898 |
| Visitors | over 200,000 a year, 60 to 70% from Shanghai |
The mountain
Moganshan is a spur of the Tianmu range, rising from the flat Hangzhou-Jiaxing-Huzhou plain in Deqing county. It covers about 20 square kilometers, and its main peak, Tashan, is 720 meters high. It’s known in Chinese as a “cool world,” for its clear, quiet, cool and green air and its sea of bamboo, and it ranks among China’s four famous summer retreats, along with Lushan, Beidaihe and Jigongshan. More than 200,000 people visit each year, and six or seven in ten come from Shanghai.
The foreign villas
In the early 1890s an American Baptist missionary, E. N. Fletcher, came up from Hangzhou along the Grand Canal and found it ideal for summer. Other missionaries followed. In 1898 the missionary George Hudson built the first European-style villa, and foreign residents of Shanghai and the surrounding area soon bought land and built their own. Many of the stone villas still stand among the bamboo, and some now take guests.
The legend of the swords
The name Moganshan is taken from the legend of Ganjiang and Moye, the swordsmiths who forged swords for the King of Wu. The mountain has a Sword Pool and a Sharpening Stone that are tied to the story, but Chinese sources note that the earliest written record, in a Ming-dynasty gazetteer, only says that people said the swords were forged here. It’s a good story to tell on a walk, but treat it as a legend.
When to go and how long to stay
Summer is the traditional season, when it’s cooler than the plain below. Spring and autumn are good for walking in the bamboo. Two nights are plenty. See our guides to Hangzhou and Shanghai, and our China tours.
Planning Moganshan with Absolute Asia Tours
Absolute Asia Tours has planned private trips in Asia since 1989. For Moganshan that means a driver from Shanghai or Hangzhou, a guesthouse in a restored villa, and a bamboo-forest walk that suits you. We’re rated 4.8 out of 5 across about 900 traveler reviews. Tell us your dates and we’ll plan from there.
Sources (read in Chinese, Chinese Wikipedia): 莫干山. Last checked November 2026.
Moganshan: FAQ
Where is Moganshan?
In Deqing county, Zhejiang, more than 40 kilometers northwest of Hangzhou.
How high is Moganshan?
The main peak, Tashan, is 720 meters.
Why is Moganshan famous?
For its bamboo forests, cool summers and old villas. It’s one of China’s four summer retreats.
Who built the first villas?
Foreign missionaries, starting with the first European-style villa in 1898.
How long do you need in Moganshan?
Two nights.
Where do most visitors come from?
Mostly from Shanghai, about six or seven in ten.
Photo: Walter Grassroot, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
