The fire broke out on Mount Heng on Saturday in Datong, North China's Shanxi Province. and videos posted by tourists showed plumes of smoke rising from the top of the mountain and tourists walking down it. Photo: People's Daily

A 52-year-old man has been arrested for causing a wildfire on Mount Heng in Datong, North China's Shanxi Province. The fire was put out on Sunday morning without causing any injuries or damage to facilities.

The man surnamed Hou, a local resident living near Mount Heng, confessed to the crime and has been controlled by local police, and the case is under further investigation.

The fire broke out on Mount Heng on Saturday, and videos posted by tourists showed plumes of smoke rising from the top of the mountain and tourists walking down it. "Mount Heng is on fire, with tourists being evacuated from the mountain, and the ropeway is no longer available at the moment," the video captioned.

Several tourists on Mount Heng also confirmed this situation on social media, "My friend and I were notified that there was a fire in the middle of climbing the mountain, and then the staff evacuated us down the mountain in an emergency," a tourist said on the Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo.

According to the official information released by the scenic spot, the uphill passage of Mount Heng was closed on Saturday morning, and the cableway on the mountain was also out of service.

A total of 271 professional rescuers were dispatched to the scene to extinguish the fire. In addition, more than 1,800 people also went to the scene, equipped with 109 pieces of equipment, 2 firefighting aircraft, and 4 drones for rescue. At present, the situation at Mount Heng has entered the stage of preventing the fire from recurring again.

The fire covers an area of about 120 mu (8 hectares), mainly grassland and cliff, and involves about 12 mu (0.8 hectares) of woodland. Following the incident, Mount Heng Scenic Spot issued a notice on Saturday saying that many of its attractions would suspend ticket sales from Sunday.

Mount Heng is located 4 kilometers south of Datong, and it is called the Five Great Mountains of China together with the eastern Mount Tai, Mount Hua, Mount Heng in Central China's Hunan Province and Mount Song.

The five in different directions are known far and wide as the great figure of the Chinese nation, through the combination of worshipping tradition of ancient mount gods, the theory of five Taoist elements and mountain apotheosis from emperors.

Mount Heng has 13 sub-scenic spots with unique scenery and different functions, among which the main scenic spot covers an area of 122.38 square kilometers. There are 7 national key cultural relic protection units, 6 provincial cultural relic protection units and Hengshan National Forest Park. In 2009, Mount Heng was successfully included in the National Natural and Cultural Heritage List and the World Natural and Cultural Heritage Preparatory List.

Global Times