1. Mt. Fanjingshan, the forever Pure Land, is located in an area comprising parts of the three counties of Jiangkou, Yinjiang and Songtao in the northeast section of Guizhou Province. With its highest peak with an altitude of 2572 meters, Mt. Fanjingshan is not only the highest mountain in Guizhou but also is the highest peak in all of the Wuling Mountain Range.
Established in 1978, the reserve covers a total area of 567 square kilometers. In 1986, it was classified as a national reserve and in the same year, joined the"Man and Biosphere" nature reserve network of UNESCO.
Mt. Fanjingshan is believed to include the best preserved virgin forest of any area at this latitude on earth.
The reserve contains many floral elements and is rich in plant resources, of which many are unique and grow only in this area of the world. With diversified vegetation and clearly distinguished vertical zones, the reserve is a special conservation spot for typical primitive vegetation within the mid sub-tropic alpine region of western China. There are more than 2000 species of plants in the region, of which more than 1000 are high altitude plants. Twenty one kinds of high altitude plants, including the dove tree, are listed as national protected plants.
Favorable nature conditions also provide an ideal habitation area for wild animals. Over 382 species of vertebrae animals were identified here of which 14 including the Guizhou golden monkeys and South China Tiger are national protected animals.
Fanjingshan is not only abundant in rare bio-resources, but also is one of the most famous mountains for worshippers of Buddhism. Its status of being a sacred Buddhist mountain was established in the 16th century. In the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), there were 48 Buddhist temples here. From the many remains of temples and precious stone tablets left, one can imagine the celestial atmosphere of that time.
The tops of most Buddhist mountains are called "golden summits." Different from other Buddhist mountains, Mt. Fanjingshan has three "gold summits." The first is on Mt. Fenghuang, the main peak of Mt. Fanjingshan, 2,572 meters above sea level, which once had temples where pilgrims would pray. The second is on Mt. Laoshan, 2,493 meters above sea level, which also had temples for Buddhist followers. The third, called Fanjing Golden Summit, a 94-meter-high huge rock, is 2,336 meters above sea level between Fenghuang Golden Summit and Laoshan Gold Summit. Its top is often shrouded in colorful clouds, hence its name Hongyun (Red Cloud) Summit.
Also interesting is that a rainbow "Buddhist Halo" often appears near the Hongyun Summit. In it, people can find enlarged shadows of people and objects. People regard it as an auspicious sign.
In recent years Mt. Fanjingshan has become a scenic spot famous at home and abroad.
2.The Nine-Dragon Cave Scenic Spot is located about 17 kilometers southeast of Tongren City, Guizhou Province. It has convenient transportation. There are roads crossing the whole scenic area, which is 450 kilometers from Guiyang, the capital city of Guizhou Province. It is 60 kilometers to Mt.Fanjingshan and 310 kilometers to Zhangjiajie Scenic Spot, a famous scenic spot in Hunan Province.
This scenic spot has a pleasant climate. The area is filled with many interesting natural and cultural sights It includes attractions such as Guanyin Hill, Lianhua Temple, Shishan Cave and Jinjiang River.
Nine-Dragon Cave is the most important part of this scenic spot. It is considered one of the top ten attractions of Guizhou Province. It is located in the middle Guanyin Hill beside Malong Brook (Scolding Dragon Brook). The legend is that there were six yellow dragons on Liulong Hill (Six-Dragon Hill), which is behind Nine-Dragon Cave. They invited three black dragons living in Jinjiang River, which faces the Cave, to come to the cave to get together. When the nine dragons entered the cave, they saw it as a wonderful cave mansion. They all wanted to live in the cave, so they quarreled without stop. When dawn came, none of the dragons was able to go back home, and the only thing they could do was to climb along with a huge colorful post deep inside of the cave. Finally, they could not escape. As the nine dragons kept quarrelling, people could not get peace, so they scolded them in front of a brook at the foot of the hill. Thus Scolding Dragon Brook got its name. From this legend, the Nine-Dragon Cave also got its name.
Nine-Dragon Cave has a width of more than 70 meters. The widest place is about 100 meters. It is 30 to 70 meters high. It was proved that the cave is 2258 meters long with a total area of about 70,000 square meters. There are 7 big halls inside the Cave. Three big halls have been opened to tourists with 12 scenic spots. There are hundreds of stone posts and stone bamboos. There are 8 stone posts with a height of over 30 meters; 6 with a height of over 20 meters; 18 with a height of over 10 meters. In addition, there are Tian Hall shaped like a silo and a subterranean river. Caves are inside caves in every hall. Halls connect to halls inside the caves. Stone bamboos, stone posts, stone flowers and stone curtains cover each hall and each cave. Each of them has special features. They present us various kinds of appearances and visions.
The first hall is a slightly inclined cave with flat top. Stone posts are on the right side and stone flowerson the left side. Many special types of scenery are inside the cave. Especially remarkable are the standing tall and upright "pagoda" and "long sword", which directly points to the sky.
The second hall is a flat head cave. Stone curtains hang below the cave head, exquisite and delicate. Together with white stalactites and black stone posts, this cave lets the tourist conjure up his own scenes.
The third hall is a round head cave. This cavern is so big that it can permit ten thousand people to sit in it. It is the heart of Nine Dragons Cave and is the most spectacular part. On both sides of the hall, three huge thick posts connect to the cave head. Each of them is more than 30 meters high. One of them has a height of 39.88 meters with a circumference of 16.4 meters. It is the highest stone post in current opened caves in China. It is the second highest in the world.
Stone flowers cover fully the body of the post so as to make the three halls colorful and majestic. Furthermore, at the foot of the stone posts, small pictorial formations are plentiful. There is an underground river in the Cave. It is clear; it is warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It traverses the bottom of the Cave, passes by the cliff in front of the Cave and then rushes down as a flying waterfall. On the right side of the underground river, there again is a small cave. Layers of "terraces" are inside the cave. Although it is small, it has boundless charm.
The more amazing thing is that there are two natural
small caves approximately 1.5 kilometers outside of "The Nine-Dragon
Cave"; One of them blows out cold wind, and another blows out heated
wind. It got the name of "Cold and Heated Wind Cave". It is
rare to see two caves so close together with heated wind and cold wind!
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