Dragon Waterfall in Tianhuangping Scenic Area

5 min read

Hidden Dragon Waterfalls is situated in southeast of Anji. It is about68 kilometers from Hangzhou and only one kilometer from the Tianhuangping Power Station. It boasts springs, valleys, rocks, waterfalls, plants, animals, and natural ecological landscapes. Especially, it is well-known for its natural wonders such as the group of waterfalls, the dense forest, and thesheer cliff. The whole scenic area covers more than 30 square kilometers. Tourists who come into the site would be lost in admiration of the steeppeaks, dense woods, gurgling streams and cascading waterfalls as they hike up along those rugged mountain paths.

Hidden Dragon Waterfalls is the largest group of waterfalls in Zhejiang Province with the peculiarity of one waterfall on the top of another. The famous”Flying Waterfall of Long Dragon”has a drop of more than 60 meters. As the sunlight is reflected from the splashes,a long rainbow often appears brightly in the sky. The local inhabitants call it”Rainbow Arching over Dragon Gate”. The waterfall that is given the name of “Immortal Tortoise Listening to the Waterfall”makes an incredible thundering roar when the water hits the rocks below, which is alike not only in appearance but also in spirit. It is no wonder people describe the place as “one waterfall upon another, one sight after another”. Except for its great number of waterfalls, this scenic spot is also famous for a giant rock about millions oftons in weight which spans two cliffs in the air. It has been existed for more than 70,000,000 years. Because the giant stone that bridges the two high cliffs, people call it “Fairy Bridge”. Many bizarre rocks with different shapes such as”Rock for Watching Celestials”,”Old Hawk Stone”, “Suspension Rock”make up wonderful sights. They are all vivid and pleasing to one’s eyes.

The weather there is cold in winter, but relatively cool in summer. In the coldest days tourists can enjoy the icy waterfalls of the south China, which is really the masterpiece of nature. In summer, if tourists stay in the valleys they may not be annoyed by mosquitos as they suffered in other mountains. The species of wild nimals and plants are rich in the deep mountain. Many of them are under the national protection.

There are two popular legends related with this scenic site. One is about a fortified village in the mountain area. The village has approximately 300 inhabitants with the history of 200 years only. Among the inhabitants, the first three major surnames are Li, Weng, and Shi. The location of the village is the juncture of Huzhou and Linan. Due to its geographical feature, it had been a military fortress since the ancient times. Because of the landform which looks like a funnel easy to defend but difficult to attack, many troops in history chose this place to station. According to the historical records, Li Xiucheng, the head of Taiping Troop of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in Chinese history, led his men to resist the hard attacks from the imperial army of the Qing Dynasty on the Changlong Mountain (Long Dragon Mountain), and held the place for more than 4 years. It is saidthe ancestors of the villagers had close relations with the Taiping Troop.

Now tourists can still find some remains and traces of the battles in those years. Taiping Cave used to be the place for making weapons. The Lampstand on the top of the mountain used to be the observation post. They all represent the intelligence and bravery of Taiping military officials and fighters. They are the most telling witnesses. In order to commemorate those heroes full of hatred for the corruption and incompetency of the Qing Government, Long Dragon Mountain has been usually called Xiaoliang Mountain by the local people.

The area of Hidden Dragon Waterfalls is abundant in natural products, especially noted for its four fairy products. The first is the fairy tea. Rumour has it that a young lady called Mrs. White Snake lived by the side of West Lake in Hangzhou and her husband fell in evil case. In order to save her husband’s life, Mrs. White went to a fairyland in the South and intended to steal a kind of fairy grass to cure him. Unfortunately, when she just got it she was found by the watch boy named”White Crane””. The lady had to fight against him and retreated at that time. As she passed over the place of Hidden Dragon Waterfalls, she dropped one blade of the fairy grass to the ground in a great rush, and it grew up in wild field. The local people calledit”fairy grass tea”, and took it for a holy spirit. Owing to the white tea on this mountain out of the fairy grass, it gives off a strong smell of fragrance.

The soil in this area is very fertile for white tea, so that white tea grows luxuriantly and has a nice flavour. White tea, to be sure, is cultivated from a wild tea, but it was found accidentally by an agronomist few years agowhen he made a scientific survey of plants on the mountain. The second famous product is the fairy water. There are many springs in the area of Hidden Dragon and Hundred Waterfalls. They have been flowing continuously for ages. On the top of the mountain, there is a special spring named Hidden Dragon Spring, which is not only the source of energy for Tianhaungping Power Station, but also the source of water for the Huangpu River. The third famous product is the fairy hickory nut. The field ofhickory trees on the mountain covers an area of more than 10,000 mu.

According to the historical records of the County, the hickory nut was selected as one of tributes to the Emperor during the early years of Jiaqing Period. The hickory nut produced in the area of Hidden Dragon Waterfalls was ranked the top-grade.”Yamen”(feudal officials) collected the best nuts before others and delivered them to the court as the tribute. The fourth famous product is the fairy herbs. There are more than 100 species ofvaluable herbs on this mountain. Among these herbs, the best-known are sarcandra glabra, pseudo-ginseng, and honeysuckle. It is said Li Shizhen,a famous doctor of traditional Chinese medicine in the Ming Dynasty, once picked and gathered herbs in this area, he found that the herbs produced on this mountain had the unique and particular curative effects.

With the development of rustic tourism, inns are easily found in local families. Tourists can play by mountain brooks or take a bamboo raft downstream. After enjoying rustic sceneries, tourists can have a meal with a peasant family to taste the delicious in farmhouse. The mixture of the original ecology and the historical culture makes the tour so rich and colourful. This kind of leisurely life also makes tourists reluctant to leave.