Longquan Mountain in Yuyao

Longquan Mountain in Yuyao

In the heart of downtown Yuyao stands a lush, forested hill called Longquan Mountain. With a height of 67.4 meters and a circumference of about 2 kilometers, the Yao River flows along its southern foot, creating beautiful scenery where mountain and water complement each other.

Originally known as Lingsu Mountain, the hill is also called Yushan. Legend has it that in ancient times, this area was submerged under water, and Longquan Mountain was a small island emerging above the surface — hence the origin of the name Yushan, meaning "Island Mountain." On the mountain there is a stone well which remains full and never dries up even during droughts, and because its surface often shows ripples resembling two swimming dragons playing in the water, it is called "Dragon Spring." Starting from the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the hill was renamed Longquan Mountain after this spring.

The Dragon Spring Well gained fame during the Northern Song Dynasty. Su Dongpo once praised, “The sweet water of the Dragon Spring Stone Well surpasses milk.” Wang Anshi, then magistrate of Yin County, visited Longquan Mountain multiple times at the invitation of Xie Jingchu, the magistrate of Yuyao, and composed two poems titled “Stone Well.” One of them reads: “A thousand-year-old moist stone well halfway up the mountain, / A sea-eye spring never drying even for a day. / All people under heaven await rain, / Unaware that a dragon coils here within.” In the early Southern Song Dynasty, Emperor Gaozong of Song (Zhao Gou), fleeing pursuit by the Jin army, also climbed Longquan Mountain when passing through Yuyao and drank the water from the Dragon Spring, finding it sweet and refreshing. After returning to Lin’an (today’s Hangzhou), he even sent people specially to Yuyao to fetch water from this spring for drinking.

In ancient times, Longquan Mountain was covered with dense cypresses and sky-high pines, and wild deer roamed its depths. Later developed gradually, more than ten shrines and temples were built on the mountain, including Longquan Temple, Yan Ziling Shrine, Two Kings (Wang Hua and Wang Yangming) Shrine, and Wenchang Pavilion. After the liberation, greening efforts, terracing, road-paving, pavilion-building, and pond-digging were carried out on the mountain, and historical relics were restored one by one. In 1957, it was opened as Longshan Park and has been refurbished year by year, with the restoration of historical sites such as Zhongzhong Platform, Four Sages’ Hometown Steles, Zhongtian Pavilion, and the Dragon Spring Well. New structures were added, including Ziling Pavilion, Yangming Pavilion, Shunshui Pavilion, Lizhou Pavilion, and Huashou Pavilion, with inscriptions on their plaques written by calligraphers Shu Tong, Guo Shaoyu, Zhou Erfu, and Shen Ding’an. On the western slope midway up the mountain lies a garden-within-a-garden featuring the Tianfeng Tower, exuding an antique charm with unique elegance, along with a nursery and a bonsai garden. Precious flowers, plants, and potted landscapes compete in beauty, while towers and pavilions display vivid colors. In 1982, the Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association and the Japanese Zhu Shunshui Memorial Association erected a memorial stele for Zhu Shunshui in front of Shunshui Pavilion on the western slope to commemorate this emissary of cultural exchange between China and Japan.

From the top of Longquan Mountain, the entire cityscape spreads out beneath your eyes: the winding Yao River glistening as it flows eastward; the layered peaks of Siming Mountain to the south, with clouds over countless ridges; the verdant plains in the suburbs bringing a sense of relaxation; the mountain itself dotted with uniquely shaped rocks, dense forests, scattered towers and pavilions, and numerous historic sites, making it a place that captivates and lingers in memory.

Tongji Bridge and Shunjiang Tower

Tongji Bridge is a three-arch stone bridge that spans the Yao River, connecting the northern and southern parts of Yuyao. First built in the eighth year of the Qingli era during the Northern Song Dynasty, it is historically referred to as the “Number One Bridge of Eastern Zhejiang.” To the north of Tongji Bridge lies Shunjiang Tower, with its upturned eaves and classic solemnity, forming a complete scene with the bridge — “a long rainbow soaring above the river, a tower towering over the flow.” It is an iconic structure of the ancient city of Yuyao.

Admission

Free

Opening Hours

08:00~17:00

Location

North Binjiang Road, Yuyao City, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province