Introduction to the Ten Main Beauties of Mount Longhu
8 min readGreen and Enchanting Ecological Realm -Mount Tianmen
Five kilometers away from Shangqing Old Town to the southeast is Tianmen Mountain Ecological Resort, which constitutes the major part of Longhu Mountain National Geological and Natural Park. You can appreciate stretching hills, magnificent falls, and flourishing green trees, and you can also enjoy singing of happy wild animals and peaceful environment. In a word, you can feel a full integration with the nature. The semitropical humid monsoon climate brings her not only flourishing plants, but also diversified species, many of which are listed as national level 1 or level 2 and provincial under-protection species. Human life originated in forests, so going back to forests or to nature can be seen as the purest and most enjoyable form of tourism for modern people. As such a green and enchanting ecological realm, Mount Tianmen won’t disappoint you.
A Palace for Immortals -Shangqing Palace
Shangqing Palace is a site where heavenly masters give Taoism lectures, award titles, and cultivate themselves, known as the Headquarter of Taoism, the Palace for Immortals, and the”location where deities get their duties”. Surrounded by streams and hills, this divine place is located in the east of Shangqing Town,a location of excellent geomantic quality where”nine dragons gathered”. It is where the 108 warriors came from in Water Margin,a Chinese classical masterpiece by Shi Nai’ an, and their stories have won universal praise in China. The current Shangqing Palace is grand and solemn, and characterized by its beauty, elegancy, and pureness. Lots ofhistoric spots got revitalized, such as Fudi Gate, Xiama Pavilion, Lingxing Gate, Bell and Drum Tower, Dongyin Compound, Vanquishing Demon Hall, and Subjugating Evil Well. With these, the prosperous Taoism environment full of smoke of incense and religious music reappeared. Now, along with Zhengyi Temple, Heavenly Master’s Residence, Dongyue Palace, and Liuhou Family Temple, Shangqing Palace adds extensive and rich contents to the Taoism Pilgrimage Visit of Longhu Mountain.
Unique Residence for Immortals -Heavenly Master’s Residence The Heavenly Master’s Residence is where they lived and offered sacrifice, covering a total area of over 50 thousand square meters with a floor space of 14 thousand square meters. It is an ancient architectural complex, which is constructedaccording to styles of princes’ residences. Located at the central part of ShangqingOld Town, the residence is a grand and magnificent building surrounded by beautiful hills and the Luxi River, bordering Mount Xihua to the north and facing Mount Pipa to the south. Inside the residence, you can hear sweet sounds of birds, and enjoy apeaceful wonderland while leaves keep you from the excessively hot sunlight. As a private residence of Taoism leaders, it is a unique heritage in china.
Birthplace of Wudoumi Sect of Taoism-Zhengyi Temple A Chinese great writer, Lu Xun ever remarked that:”China roots in Taoism.”
The birthplace of this religion is Zhengyi Temple situated at Mount Longhu. In the middle of Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Daoling, the first Heavenly Master settled down here and began to make Nine-sky Pills of Immortality.”A dragon and a tiger appeared when the Pills are made”, so the Mountain was renamed as Mount Longhu.
Then, the 4th Heavenly Master, Zhang Sheng came back and erected the Temple to commemorate the First Heavenly Master. Whenever in Sanyuan Festival,a forum was erected for lecturing, attracting scholars all over the country and forming a prosperous and busy environment no matter it is daytime or nighttime. However, things changed.
After couples of repairs and name changes, it was finally renamed as Zhengyi Temple in the Jiajing Period of the Ming Dynasty and this name was kept till now. The present Zhengyi Temple is a rebuilt construction at the original site according to styles of buildings in the Song Dynasty while adopting some helpful points and artistic characteristics applied during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. With grey tiles and white walls, the whole building emits an air of divinity from inside while realizing an elegant and grand appearance.
Thousand-year-old Town-the Ancient Shangqing Town The ancient Shangqing Town is a place full of Taoism atmosphere, which can be seen from the town’s name, Shangqing. Shangqing means the Shangqing Paradise of Yuyu Sky where Lingbao God-one of the three highest gods in Taoism lives. The Town was established in the 8th year (625 B.C.) of Emperor Wude of the Tang Dynasty,1300 years ago. Surrounded by hills and established beside water, it has a picturesque environment here. Its rich cultural heritage and proud history manifestedby celebrities who lived here before make it seem to be out of the contemporary era.
Mazu Daoyi,a respectable monk during the Tang Dynasty, built up the Yingtian Temple, realizing a further development of Zen of Buddhism. Lu Jiuyuan,a great confucianist during the Southern Song Dynasty, established the Xiangshan College, which was listed as one of the four biggest colleges in China then. Xiayan,a prime minister of the Ming Dynasty, was born in Guizhou Village, opposite to this town.
Furthermore, tens of Heavenly Masters and their offspring who controlled Taoism affairs lived and multiplied here. The main historic sites include Changqing Mill, Liuhou Family Temple, Heavenly Master’s Residence, Shangqing Palace, Dongyue Palace, Tianyuande Medicine Store, and the Catholicism Church. Especially, the folk houses, stores, houses projecting over water, and old ports remain the styles of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, expressing their historical and cultural charm, which record the temporal prosperity and glory. When you are dining or enjoying tea in houses over water and against wind, you will really comprehend the lines”Talk about mulberry with tasteful wine in hands, in a restaurant beside fields.”by Meng Haoran,a famous Chinese poet.
Attractive Village-No-mosquito Village
Xu No-mosquito Village is located at a position with 3 sides surrounded by hills and only one water way-out left. The only way to go out is by boat and people here cultivate their crops on the opposite bank. It seems like a really ordinary small village except one thing; there are no mosquitoes throughout the year here. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the ancestor of this village, Xiang Yigong arrived here for hunting of animals. He found something interesting here; the bamboo tube rice he left in the morning remained warm till noon. So he believed that this place was full of immortal air and was a perfect position for settling down. After making this decision, he moved here with the whole family, which has lasted for over 40 generations. The tools forproduction and everyday life displayed in the village’s folk museum show ordinary people’s hardship and delight. The traditional wedding custom performance expresses people’s real happiness.A visit to this ordinary yet kind of supernatural village has become a popular option for tourists.
Absolutely Unique Scene -Stone Fairy
There are kinds of wonders in the world. But this one, the natural Stone Fairy in Mount Longhu, is really special and absolutely unique in China and even all over the world. Facing north, this scene is tens-of-zhang(a Chinese unit of length) high and situated at a remote place near the Luxi River. Her image is very vivid, natural, andpeaceful. So the image is also regarded by people as “Mother of Land and All Being” for her grandness. Noble yet amiable, beautiful as well as natural, she stands at this peak, watching and blessing her children below. The resorts become renowned fortheir unique beauties. This image adds charm to Mount Longhu while she becomes more mysterious and nobler for the immortal atmosphere here.
Colorful Red Sandstone Landscape -Mount Trunk Paralleled by the clear Luxi River to the west, Mount Trunk in combination with the river forms a best visiting route with water and hills both involved. At this mount, you can find a lifelike and gigantic natural stone elephant erecting here, with its huge trunk rooting in the ground and falling down from the sky. Since it is remarkably true to life and looks like a living being, this stone elephant is also known as “the No.1 Immortal Elephant in China”. Mount Trunk is an important part of Longhu MountainNational Geopark. There are grand and steep cliffs, rapid flows, flourishing green trees, beautiful wisteria, and splendid falls. With its diverse shapes, the mountain is really unique, amazing, picturesque, beautiful, and peaceful, which can be seen as a perfect place to explore and enjoy red sandstone landscape.
On-peak Paradise to Overlook the Whole Resort-Immortals’ City Immortals’ City is also known as Deity Clif. Facing Luxi River to the east, it is a great peak with all sides quite steep. There are many connected caves and natural stone holes scattered in this mountain. You can find yourself in a foggy and mysterious atmosphere among green trees and straightforward bamboos. Why this mountain is called Immortals’ City? Because in the old days, it is a wonderland where deities live. In the Wei and Jin Period, the fourth Heavenly Master -Zhang Sheng built up a temple, named Doushuai Temple today, on the peak of this mountain to erect a sculpture of Lao-tzu and memorize his achievements. During the Xining Period of the Song Dynasty, Baoyue Monk who was from Pu City established atemple here, which attained wide admiration of people. In April 2002, archeologists discovered an amazing and unprecedented antique，“Ling Han（Soul Letter）”with 7 layers，in which words like”The source of Baoyue Monk’soul is clearance”.In the poem named Watching Immortals’City at Anren Port，Gu Kuang，a great poet in the Tang Dynasty，described a heaven-like and mysterious city for us，and many people are attracted by its unique charm.Now，the Celestial Wind Bridge across the gap between cliffs and the footways for mountain visiting have been completed for tourists.
Once you reach the peak，you will find yourself at a perfect position where you are able to overlook the grand scene involving all of the 99 peaks of Mount Longhu.A classical poem remarked:”Cloud like white lotus blossomed at the thousand-chi（a Chinese unit of length）high peak.Walking at such a point，one can enjoy a magnificent scene，which is even better than Penglai（a famous earthy paradise in China）.”
Unforgettable Paradise on Earth-Fairy Water Cliff Fairy Water Cliff is the core part of the six main sceneries.Natural landscape of green hills and clear water，rare and unique cliff tombs，and the long-history and rustic folk culture of ancient Yue become integrated here，making her a top qualityresort with unique features in China.”A stream stretches itself like colored glaze along with layers of purple and green cloud beyond the mountains.”Here，water makes hills energetic while it appears more beautiful under arms of hills.There are always different scenes in the Resort.In spring，green water and hills show their beauties under lovely sunshine，bright or dark，vivid or peaceful.In summer，clear streams can be likened to emerald，and grass and plants smell fine in the shade of hills.In autumn，mirror-like cliffs have colorful reflections in water，frost falls on red trees，and leaves fly everywhere.In winter，icicles are like silver snakes and rivers all change into white fields.Bitterns soar around cliffs，waiting for a new year along with tourists .
