Shuixi National Forest Park

Shuixi National Forest Park

Shuixi National Forest Park is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a national forest park.

Located in the western suburbs of Jing County, Anhui Province, the park covers a total area of 2,147 hectares with a forest coverage rate of 79.6%. It consists of six major scenic areas: Shuixi, Lion Mountain, Elephant Mountain, Hushankeng, Bailenkeng, and Yanjiang. The park features undulating peaks, continuous ridges, murmuring streams as clear as strings, lush green trees and bamboos, ancient temples and pagodas, all exuding grandeur, where natural and cultural landscapes blend harmoniously. The park currently houses the Memorial Cemetery of the Martyrs of the Southern Anhui Incident, Shuixi Twin Pagodas, Baosheng Zen Temple, China Xuan Paper Museum, "Bai Bian Tang" (Hundred Plaque Hall), and the "Three Wus" Memorial Hall.

The China Xuan Paper Museum is the world’s only comprehensive museum systematically showcasing the historical origins and production techniques of Chinese Xuan paper. The museum includes three independent exhibition areas: "Bai Bian Tang," "Three Wus Memorial Hall," and "Ancient Ceramics Museum," fully displaying the rich historical and cultural heritage of ancient Jing County.

One is the Grand Pagoda, the other the Small Square Pagoda. "Two pagodas rise high into the blue sky, like rainbows standing tall against the washed azure. Their light blends with the purity of lotus flowers in temples, while their colors scatter like red palm leaves across the heavens. Only lightweight kites graze their summits, and one imagines ancient Buddhas residing within. Aspiring to ascend and gaze into the distance, moss-covered and sealed by time, endless emotions arise." A poem by Qing Dynasty poet Hu Zhaoyin, titled “Shuixi Twin Pagodas,” captures the vicissitudes of these thousand-year-old towers.

The Grand Pagoda was built in the late Northern Song Dynasty. It appears seven stories from the outside but has twelve levels inside, with an octagonal floor plan. Each side features a brick arched door, and between the levels, short eaves are constructed using corbeling techniques, extending outward layer by layer. Below the eaves are wooden-style brick carvings of bracket sets, and at each corner is a semi-circular brick pillar. Overall, the pagoda gives a solemn and magnificent impression. The interior space is relatively narrow and heavy, with contrasts of light and shadow creating a profound atmosphere. The inner and outer walls of the pagoda are inlaid with 128 stone tablets, making it a rare resource for studying Buddhist architecture of the Song Dynasty in southern Anhui. The Small Square Pagoda, also known as the Shaoxing Pagoda, was built during the Shaoxing era of the Southern Song Dynasty. It has seven stories and four sides. According to records, constructing one side of one level of the Grand Pagoda cost 125 guan, while the same for the Small Square Pagoda cost 30 guan, reflecting the economic conditions of the time. Yet, the ancient craftsmen ingeniously designed the Grand Pagoda to be grand and majestic, while the Small Square Pagoda appears delicate and refined—truly a testament to the wisdom of the ancient laborers. Both the Grand Pagoda and the Small Square Pagoda have been designated as National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Originally built during the Sui and Tang dynasties, it is renowned as the "Foremost Ancient Temple in Southern Anhui" and is also honored as the ancestral temple of the Linji School’s "Huangbo Patriarch Site." When Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Chen, was a crown prince, he once lived here in seclusion as a monk and wrote the famous verse: “If you ask about the south while in Chang’an, say the scenery lies in Shuixi.” This temple shares lineage with Japan’s Hosshoji Temple and Hong Kong’s Po Lin Monastery. With flourishing incense offerings and an endless stream of worshippers, its fame spreads both domestically and abroad.

The Memorial Cemetery of the Martyrs of the Southern Anhui Incident consists of four memorial spaces: the Entrance Memorial Monument, the Theme Plaza, the Main Monument Memorial Plaza, and the Tomb of Unknown Heroes, along with the Exhibition Room of Historical Materials on the Southern Anhui Incident. The entire cemetery centers around the main memorial stele inscribed by [Comrade’s Name] that reads, “Eternal Glory to the Martyrs Who Died in the Southern Anhui Incident.” The architectural elements are organically integrated with the mountain terrain to form a complete, solemn, and dignified whole.

The Memorial Cemetery of the Martyrs of the Southern Anhui Incident and its main monument employ symbolic and metaphorical techniques, using revolutionary romanticism to commemorate the tragic and heroic event of this great injustice. The cemetery has been successively named a “National Patriotic Education Base,” “National Patriotic Education Base for Hundreds of Primary and Secondary Schools,” “National Model Patriotic Education Base,” “Overseas Chinese Federation Patriotic Education Base,” and “National Advanced Model Patriotic Education Base,” as well as one of China's "Top 100 Classic Red Tourism Scenic Spots." It has become an important window for the construction of socialist spiritual civilization in Anhui Province and even the whole nation.

The mountain is shaped like a lion and is home to a karst cave landscape area. The mountain features numerous limestone caves—some stretching over a kilometer long, others small enough to accommodate just a few people—with diverse and breathtaking sceneries. It is an excellent place for those seeking mystery and adventure.

This is a natural ecological reserve. The scenic area features overlapping peaks, towering trees, bamboo groves, and clear streams, harboring abundant flora and fauna. It is home to protected wildlife such as sika deer, clouded leopards, black muntjacs, white-necked long-tailed pheasants, silver pheasants, and Chinese alligators, as well as rare and precious plants like machilus, toon, and ginkgo. The area is covered with forests of Pteroceltis tatarinowii, the main raw material for Xuan paper production.