Moganshan (莫干山) opened its 2026 red maple season (红枫季) on the morning of Wednesday 11 November. The Shanghai paper Wenhui Daily (文汇报) reported the launch that evening. The Moganshan Management Bureau (莫干山管理局), which runs the scenic area, hosted it with Tide News (潮新闻), the news app of the Zhejiang Daily group.
That is a week earlier than last year, when the season opened on 18 November. The first two opened on 1 November 2023 and 12 November 2024.
An online vote is now open for the mountain’s ten best maple spots (红枫十景). There is also a study route for families, One Mountain, Three Lessons (一山三课), which passes Luhuadang Park (芦花荡公园), the Xiongzhuang villa (雄庄), the old church (大教堂) and the century old swimming pool (百年泳池). Along the mountain road, an exhibition for the fortieth anniversary of Qianjiang Evening News (钱江晚报), a sister title of Tide News, has put a QR code at ten maple and villa spots. Scan one and your phone opens the story of that place.
The report gives no closing date, says nothing about tickets for the season and does not explain how a family joins the study route. Nor does it say whether any of it is in English. The county portal, where the scenic area’s own notice would normally appear, could not be reached from outside China when we checked, so this item rests on the two newspaper reports.
Tide News ran a viewing guide the same morning. It pointed to the maples at Villa 62 (62号枫鹃谷), the view from Xuguang terrace (旭光台) and the avenue of dawn redwoods at Laoling village (劳岭村), which turn brown, not red. For walkers it added the Duihekou reservoir (对河口水库) and the Xiangshuiling path (香水岭步道).
Last year the best colour came in early December and the season ran to the middle of the month. Our red leaves page has the earlier years and where the old trees stand. Anyone who was waiting for an opening date before booking a late November or early December trip now has one.
What this means for a visitor: The colour is out now, and last year it peaked in early December, so a visitor coming for the leaves can plan any time from now to the middle of December.
Sources
- 文汇报 (Wenhui Daily, carried by Sohu), , tier 2, dated regional or trade press. Read the original
- 潮新闻 (Tide News (Zhejiang Daily Press Group), carried by Tencent News), , tier 2, dated regional or trade press. Read the original
Tiers follow the site's source rules: the county portal, the scenic area's own channel and the statistics bureaus are the record; regional and trade press are dated fact; anything promotional is a tip until confirmed.
Last checked 12 November 2026 by Liyan Ye. Prices, timetables and entry rules on this mountain move without notice, so confirm anything you are booking around.
Photographs on this site are representative illustrations, not documentary images of the specific building, property or service described.