Shilian Cave

Shilian Cave

Shilian Cave is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a national forest park.

Susong was once the ancient Songzi Marquisate, established in the fourth year of Empress Lü’s reign during the Western Han Dynasty, and was downgraded from a marquisate to a county in the fifth year of Emperor Ping’s Shijian era. In the 18th year of the Kaihuang era under Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, it was renamed to its current name, boasting a history of nearly 2,200 years. Susong is located at the southern foot of the Dabie Mountains and the northern bank of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, serving as the junction of eight counties across Anhui, Hubei, and Jiangxi. It lies along key transportation routes including the Shanghai–Chengdu Expressway, National Highway 105, and the Hefei–Jiujiang Railway. The terrain of Susong is diverse — featuring mountains, lakes, and rivers — with beautiful scenery, rich culture, numerous historical relics, and scattered scenic spots. Among them, Shilian Cave National Forest Park shines like a green gem embedded in the Songzi land.

Shilian Cave National Forest Park covers a total area of over 22,000 mu, with a forest coverage rate of 97.6%. The park boasts abundant animal and plant resources, including more than 80 species of wild animals, many of which are rare species under first or second-class national protection. There are 67 families and over 500 species of plants, ranging from century-old ancient trees to precious tree species and special economic forests with high ornamental and protective value. Throughout the seasons, the rolling peaks remain lush, while waves ripple through valleys. At times, clouds drift in the air; at others, sunlight filters like golden threads. There are also cool springs, uniquely shaped rocks, blooming mountain flowers, and melodious birdsongs, all contributing to a richly colorful and elegantly fresh tourism environment.

The park consists of four major scenic areas: Hexishan, Fuyu Mountain, Yangjiaojian, and Luohanjian. Each area features distinct natural and cultural landscapes that complement one another. There are over 100 natural attractions and more than 50 cultural sites throughout the park. The most distinctive is the Hexishan area, which is also home to Shilian Cave. According to the *Anqing Prefecture Records*: “Shilian Cave is five li south of the administrative center. A hollow stone chamber resembles a lotus emerging from water, with the three characters ‘Shilian Cave’ engraved on it — the calligraphy of Tang Dynasty poet Luo Yin.” Legend has it that he attained immortality here. The inscription “Shilian Cave” remains clearly visible on the upper left side of the cave entrance, from which the cave gets its name. The Qing Dynasty scholar Shi Shengli wrote in his poem *Visiting Shilian Cave*: “They say the ancient Peach Blossom Cave is serene, but who knew this place is an immortal isle? Exquisite and piercing through misty caves, forever bathed in sunshine and moonlight. Water sprays from cliff sides into emerald streams, while clouds guard sacred pools at valley mouths. Don’t say the world is small within — from here you take in all valleys and peaks.” The poem captures the beauty of Shilian Cave. Below the mountain lies the One-Day Gate, and above it is the Buddha’s Seat Ridge — both are former resting sites of the Buddhist Chan master Hongren, where the Fifth Patriarch Temple once stood, echoing the one in Huangmei. To the south of the mountain at Shuikoushan lies the tomb of Zhang Hedian, the first county magistrate of Songzi appointed during the late Western Han Dynasty after being demoted for opposing Wang Mang. Major attractions here include: rockeries with murmuring streams, elaborately carved poetry, calligraphy, and painting corridors, the Nine-Turn Lotus Pond, the Nine-Turn Lotus Bridge, the Lotus Robe Ancient Pool, the Lotus Pavilion, water scenery zones, leisure wooden cabins, a parent-child playground, a fishing center, the Wennan Theater, the Yixian Terrace, the Tingyu Pavilion, the Wuzu Zen Forest, the Buddha’s Seat Stone, the Crane Stone, the Wuzu Pavilion, the Dragon Eye Spring, the Golden Toad Gazing at the Moon, the Black Ape Guarding the Woods, the Turtle Head Stone, the Golden Turtle Watching the Sun, the Earth-Shattering Rock, the Dragon Roar Stone, the Toasting Pavilion, the Dolphin Bathing in the Sun, the Immortal Peach Stone, the All-Seeing Pavilion, the Rift Valley, the Mandarin Duck Stone, the Hundred-Son Tree, the Preaching Platform, the Drunken Immortal Resting on Flower Stone, and the Ten-Li Peach Blossom Land. The Fuyu Mountain area features highlights such as the Fuyu Green Peaks, the Intelligent Spring, the Qilin Nunnery, the tomb of Wu Gongzi Jizha, and the Mazu Daoyuan Cave. The Yangjiaojian area mainly includes three ancient temples: the Lingyin Temple (beside which there is a stele pavilion inscribed with calligraphy by Wang Minhao, the magistrate of Susong in the early Qing Dynasty), the Jiulong Zen Forest, and the Dongshan Temple, where the only flesh-body Bodhisattva in Susong, Goddess Mei, resides. The Luohanjian area features the Luohan Meditation Pose, the Dripping-Water Guanyin, the Drum-Foot Stone, the Shaoji Cave, and at the mountaintop, the Biyun Nunnery, which was the site of the Red Army — the Headquarters of the China Anti-Japanese Salvation Command. These numerous scenic spots sparkle like stars, offering breathtaking beauty.

The park enjoys a pleasant climate, free from severe summer heat and harsh winter cold, with fresh air and abundant negative ions — a natural oxygen bar. As you walk into the park, you’ll be delighted by thousands of competing peaks, thriving woods, birdsongs and floral scents, cascading springs, and dancing rocks. It blends flora, fauna, natural, and cultural landscapes, giving visitors the feeling of returning to nature — not quite heaven, yet surpassing it; not quite immortal, yet better than it.

Anhui Shilian Cave National Forest Park was originally the Susong County Forest Farm. In 1992, it was approved as a national forest park by the Ministry of Forestry. In June 2010, Mr. Wang Jianguo and Mr. Yuan Shuilin joined forces to reinvest and establish the Anhui Shilian Cave Tourism Development Co., Ltd., conducting a comprehensive plan for the Shilian Cave National Forest Park. The newly expanded forest park follows a one-axis, four-zone layout: the Forest Park Comprehensive Service Area, the Eco-Resort Area, the Leisure and Entertainment Area, and the Religious Pilgrimage Area, forming a “nine-core integrated” tourism hub. The reception center building, Shilian Hotel, Shilian Restaurant, Shilian Square, and eco-friendly parking lot maintain traditional Huizhou architectural styles, creating a tranquil and thought-provoking mountain-water environment. A crystal-clear stream winds through green hills across the entire estate. It is the best destination for tourists seeking sightseeing, leisure, gourmet food, and entertainment.