Southern Suburbs Scenic Area

Southern Suburbs Scenic Area

Nanshan refers collectively to a range of mountains including Zhaoyin Mountain, Yellow Crane Mountain, Jia Mountain, and Jiuhua Mountain, covering an area of

18

square kilometers (approximately 1,800 hectares), with a forest coverage rate of

73%

, featuring more than

60

species of trees and over

70

types of birds.

The Nanshan Scenic Area is located

2.5

kilometers

from the city center and is composed of the Zhaoyin Scenic Area, Bamboo Grove Scenic Area, Crane Grove Scenic Area, and Wenyuan (Literary Garden).

The area is home to three ancient temples dating back to the Eastern Jin Dynasty—Zhaoyin Temple, Bamboo Grove Temple, and Crane Grove Temple—as well as three famous springs: Tiger Running Spring, Deer Running Spring, and Pearl Spring.

The scenic area features undulating mountains and lush greenery, where cultural and natural landscapes complement each other. It is both a national forest park and a renowned provincial-level tourist attraction. Mi Fu referred to it as a "mountain forest within the city."

Since the Southern Dynasties, it has been favored by literati throughout the ages: Xiao Tong, the Crown Prince Zhaoming of the Liang Dynasty who compiled the *Literary Selections of Zhaoming*, Liu Xie, author of *The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons*, the renowned artist Dai?

, the great poet Su Dongpo, and the father-and-son duo Mi Fu and Mi Youren, who founded the "Mi Family Cloudy Mountains" painting school, all wrote and lingered here in succession.

Liu Yu, the founding emperor of the Liu Song Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties, often came here in his youth to chop wood, fish, and sell straw sandals. This place is undoubtedly a feng shui treasure. Hundreds of literati, artists, emperors, and generals—including Luo Binwang, Wang Changling, Emperor Kangxi, and Emperor Qianlong—have all left behind poetic masterpieces praising Nanshan.