Tiger's Mouth Ridge

Tiger's Mouth Ridge

Tiger's Mouth Ridge

In ancient times, the eastern part of Suicheng was blocked by the sea, and access to the outside world depended entirely on Tiger's Mouth Ridge, which served as the only connection. Towering mountains on both sides resembled a half-closed gate, and the not-so-high Tiger's Mouth Ridge was just like the threshold of that gate. Facing Wuyang Lake, the ridge may have been a mispronunciation of "Hukou Ridge" (Lake Mouth Ridge). In the 15th year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1835), Tao Shu, Governor-General of Liangjiang and Minister of War, visited the area and remarked that Suicheng closely resembled the Peach Blossom Spring. He then built a memorial shrine there dedicated to his ancestor, Tao Yuanming. Feeling that being in the "Tiger's Mouth" was inauspicious, he renamed the place to Liuyun Ridge (Retaining Cloud Ridge). Though more elegant, the new name was not accepted by the local people, who continued to call it by its original name to this day.

On the rocks at the ridge top of Tiger's Mouth Ridge, three large characters in clerical script read "Liuxian Spring" (Immortal's Spring). Beside them are two lines of smaller text: "The spot where the Han Dynasty monk Zen Master Hui drank from the spring. An old plaque once existed here, but its inscriptions had become blurred over thousands of years. In the 13th year of the Republic of China (1924), Zhenya restored the inscription." The ridge also features the Ziwo Pavilion, designed and built by Monk Zhenya. The pavilion is entirely made of stone, with a unique design, and is the last remaining structure from Faxi Temple.

Source: Party History Research Office of the CPC Lianyungang Municipal Committee