Longtan Mountain

Longtan Mountain

Longtan Mountain Park is located in the eastern part of Jilin City and is one of the city’s four famous mountains. It is also a well-known urban forest park in China.

The mountain features steep and majestic terrain, presenting a grand and spectacular sight. Towering ancient trees, lush grass, and serene landscapes make it an ideal tourist destination. Its highest peak, commonly known as "Nantianmen" (South Heaven Gate), stands at an elevation of 388.3 meters. From the summit, the entire riverfront city is visible. On the mountain lies the ruins of an ancient city dating back to the Bohai Kingdom period, including remnants of the mountain fortress walls, the “Water Prison,” and the “Dry Prison.” The fortress walls were built along the mountain ridges using rammed earth and crushed stones, adapting to the terrain. The tallest sections reach up to 10 meters, while the shortest are just over 1 meter. The walls are 1 to 2 meters wide at the top and about 10 meters wide at the base, stretching a total circumference of 2,396 meters. There is a gate at both the southern and northern ends of the mountain fortress, with watchtowers on all four sides—east, west, south, and north.

The pond is enclosed by granite slabs and is rectangular in shape, measuring 52.8 meters from east to west and 25.7 meters from north to south. With a depth of about 10 meters, the water is deep and clear, neither rising nor receding throughout the year, and never drying up. The "Dragon Pond Reflecting the Moon," one of the Eight Scenic Views of Jilin, refers to this spot. About 250 meters away from the Water Prison lies a circular stone pit, commonly called the Dry Prison, which was used during the Goguryeo period as a cellar for storing military supplies. At the mountaintop, commonly known as "Nantianmen," visitors can enjoy a full view of the riverfront city. Situated in the eastern part of the city on the eastern bank of the Songhua River, the park is named after the ancient Dragon Pond on the mountain and is primarily a forested landscape. Longtan Mountain has steep and continuous slopes and is one of Jilin City’s four famous mountains. It is home to millions of trees, including more than 130 ancient trees over a hundred years old. Additionally, the mountaintop still preserves Goguryeo ruins dating back over 1,500 years.

The "Water Prison," also known as the "Dragon Pond," is located at the lowest point in the northwest corner of the mountain fortress. It is rectangular, measuring 22.8 meters from east to west and 125.75 meters from north to south, with a depth of over 9 meters. The surrounding walls are built with granite blocks. This "Water Prison" served as a reservoir for the mountain fortress at that time. The "Dry Prison" is located at a higher point in the southwest corner of the mountain fortress and is perfectly circular. It has a diameter of 10.6 meters and is about 3 meters deep. It functioned either as a storage cellar for provisions or as a prison for detaining criminals. The mountain also houses structures built during the Qing Dynasty under Emperor Qianlong, such as the Guanyin Hall, Dragon King Temple, and Guan Yu Temple, collectively referred to as the Dragon-Phoenix Temple. On the ninth day of the eighth lunar month in the 19th year of Qianlong’s reign (1754 AD), Emperor Aisin-Gioro Hongli, while on his eastern inspection tour to Jilin, visited the Dragon-Phoenix Temple, paid homage at the Dragon Pond, and inscribed the plaque “Fuyou Dadong” (Blessing the Great East) for the main hall of the Guanyin Temple. He also designated a straight, branch-pruned, 28-meter-tall yellow bodhi tree as a “Sacred Tree.” Since then, every spring and autumn, civil and military officials stationed in Jilin, led by the Jilin General, would visit Longtan Mountain to pay tribute to the "Dragon Pond" and the "Sacred Tree." During the Republican era, the "Sacred Tree" withered and died. The mountain also contains ancient city ruins dating back to the 4th–5th centuries, as well as the Water Prison and Dry Prison. There are also historical architectural complexes from the Qing Dynasty, such as the Dragon-Phoenix Temple, Dragon King Temple, and Guan Yu Temple, which are now provincial-level cultural heritage protection sites.

Longtan Mountain is one of Jilin City’s four famous mountains. Longtan Mountain Park is built against the mountain and is the largest urban scenic park in Jilin, as well as one of China’s better-preserved urban forest parks in terms of natural ecology. It holds significant value for conservation, utilization, and development.