Mountain cities, as the most important carrier of human settlements, are widely distributed in China. As a kind of special city type, mountain cities have signifi cant strengths in natural resources, ecological environment, and multi-nationality culture; there are still existing problems such as the fragility of ecosystem, high frequency of natural disasters, and increasing difficulty of construction and development. Urban planning and construction in mountain cities should progress according to local conditions, and attach great importance to mountain characteristics rather than simply imitate or directly apply the planning methods of plain cities. It also should take the eco-city as the main objective, and achieve ecologicalization. Meanwhile, it should develop culture, education, medical care, public services, telecommunications, technology, and other social undertakings in order to ensure the sustainability of mountain cities.