Snail Creek Fishing Boat

Snail Creek Fishing Boat

Snail Creek Fishing Boat is located about 10 kilometers northeast of Tiantai County, at the foot of Gaoming Mountain, and is one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Tiantai. Here, the mountains are high and the valleys deep. A spectacular peak, about a hundred feet tall, thrusts dramatically into the sky. Viewed from the south looking north, it vividly resembles a giant snail standing upright against the heavens. Gazing up at the hidden waterfall by the deep pool beneath the snail-shaped peak, the water twists and turns, cascading down like a broad white cloth that wraps around the snail’s body, appearing and disappearing intermittently, breaking and reconnecting before finally dropping into the pool — this is Snail Shell Pool. Xu Xiake described it as: “The upper cliffs stand sheer, while the lower pool runs deep. To climb the cliffs, one must grasp hanging vines; perched on rocks, one gazes into the pool from afar. The stone walls above the pool split into four forks, resembling a crossroads. The pool’s water is too deep to see its bottom. On the innermost two cliffs, a rock juts out horizontally, resembling a stone bridge. Behind the bridge, a waterfall plunges from above into the pool, its height matching that of the stone bridge. Towering cliffs on all sides reflect in the water — visible but beyond reach, not to be compared with the Stone Bridge (Shiliang) itself.” The Snail Creek Stone Bamboo, often referred to as the “Hidden Shiliang,” features a massive horizontally embedded rock. Viewed from the side, it strikingly resembles a small boat, with the winding waterfall flowing beneath it. In ancient times, vines hung down from the “boat” and extended into the pool — hence the name “Snail Creek Fishing Boat.”