West Cave

West Cave

West Cave, also known as "Fairy Maiden Cave," is one of the main scenic areas of Nan Yandang Mountain. At the entrance stands a massive rock, 33 meters high, 50 meters wide, and about 4 meters thick, inscribed with the four large characters "Southeast Screen" — referred to as the "Stone Sky Window." West Cave is dedicated to Goddess Zhu. The goddess, named Chan Yuan, was a native of Nao Village during the Southern Song Dynasty. She became a Taoist nun at the age of sixteen, retreating into this stone cave where she "practiced fasting for twenty years." She often gathered herbs to treat people’s illnesses, her remedies working instantly, but later she disappeared without a trace. People built a Taoist temple at the cave entrance in her memory. The cave is 18 meters high, 44 meters wide, and 29 meters deep, with a seven-room, three-story pavilion built mostly against the cave walls. The inner cave’s third floor forms the front section, labeled “Great Luo Treasure Hall.” A small square pool collects waterfall droplets, filled with crystal-clear, sweet-tasting water. The cave also contains attractions such as the Eighteen Scholars Cave and the Linked Caves. The Dripping Rock continuously sheds water year-round, never drying up even in drought. The “Side Moon Window,” commonly called the Sky-Viewing Hole, is 4 meters high — peek through it to see the blue sky. Outside the cave, there are additional sights such as Pearl Spring, Stone Axe Rock, Jade Liquid Pool, Joyful Heart Courtyard, Three-Terrace Taoist Temple, and Facing-Sky Carp. Looking out from in front of West Cave, the Twelve Peaks are the most spectacular, stretching from north to south in undulating, layered beauty. Each is named after its shape: Bat Peak, Scholar’s Brush Peak, Jade Maiden Peak, Elderly Man Peak, Three-Terrace Peak, Immortals’ Gathering Peak, Beauty’s Dressing Peak, Toad Peak, and others.