Visitors to Yibin in Sichuan province may, sometimes, be caught by surprise to see a large and tranquil mountain in the city's downtown.

Taxi drivers tell them that it's Cuiping Mountain, the second-largest man-made forest scenic area in China, next to the Purple Mountain in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

Locals love to walk on the mountain all year round to keep fit, they say.

Tourists who climb Cuiping out of curiosity find themselves in a green sea in all four seasons. The mountain abounds in different flowers and squirrels and egrets jump gleefully on branches.

Cuiping is rich in vegetation, with about 350 species, including rare trees such as the Chinese parasol, Chinese yew, Phoebe zhennan (golden-thread nanmu) and Metasequoia (commonly known as the dawn redwood), said Zhou Yaqiu, an information official in Yibin.

Cuiping not only has the simple and colorful cycle of nature's four seasons but also attracts tourists with a memorial hall for Zhao Yiman, a household national heroine, along with its time-honored Buddhist culture and ancient architecture.

The former Cuiping Academy, built on Cuiping Mountain in 1482 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), is the site of the Zhao Yiman Memorial Hall established in 1960.