Xiandu Mountain
By admin on 2015-01-07

Xiandu Mountain (xiān dū shān 仙都山) is located in Jinyun County (jìn yún xiàn 缙云县), Lishui City (lì shuǐ shì 丽水市), Zhejiang Province (zhè jiāng shěng 浙江省). In ancient times, it was called Jinyun Mountain (jìn yún shān 缙云山). It is famous for its grotesque rocks and beautiful scenery, which is combined with the cultural relics. It is regarded as one of the palace of Yellow Emperor (huáng dì 黄帝), together with Mountain Huang (huáng shān 黄山) in Anhui Province (ān huī shěng 安徽省) and Lushan Mountain (lú shān 庐山) in Jiangxi Province (jiāng xī shěng 江西省).

Dinghu Peak (dǐng hú fēng 鼎湖峰) is the core scenic spot in Xiandu. It is like a bamboo shoot, towering into the sky. It is 170.8 meters high, with a flat at the top of the peak, which is 710 square meters. The Dinghu Peak is regarded as the No. 1 Peak and No. 1 Bamboo Shoot in China. There are pools among the forests, which are never dry all year round. It is said that the peak is the place where Yellow Emperor became an immortal.

Next to the Dinghu Peak, there is the Tongzi Peak (tóng zǐ fēng 童子峰), which is 40.7 meters high. People always called it little stone bamboo shoot because of its shape. Half way up the peak, there is a round cave, which is like a navel. The Tongzi Peak is just at the same level of the cave, and seems as a child leaning close to a mother, hence the name of Tongzi, which means small child.

The best place for tourists to appreciate the scenery of Dinghu Peak is Yangzhi Pavilion (yǎng zhǐ tíng 仰止亭). It is constructed during the Ming Dynasty (míng cháo 明朝) and rebuilt later. The pavilion at present is with skirt roof and 12 pillars, which is of primitive simplicity and elegant.

Besides the natural scenery, there are Yuxu Palace (yù xū gōng 玉虚宫), Yellow Dragon Temple (huáng lóng sì 黄龙寺), Qizhen Temple (qī zhēn sì 栖真寺) and Nangong Temple (nán gōng sì 南宫寺), etc. Among them the Yuxu Palace is the largest in scale, and it is the holy place for the Chinese people to worship the ancestors.