Shungeng Mountain

Shungeng Mountain

Shungeng Mountain National Forest Park is located in Changfeng County, Anhui Province, covering a total area of over 2,100 hectares. It was approved as a national forest park in September 1992. The park features major attractions such as beautiful peaks, returning rocks, gushing springs, ancient temples, ancient strongholds, ancient battlefield ruins, ancient tomb clusters, and bunkers built by the Japanese invaders during their occupation of China. It is a great place for urban residents to relax.

The Shungeng Mountain Forest Park is lush with trees, featuring neat forest arrangements, shaded paths, and serene winding trails. It attracts visitors all year round and serves as an ideal spot for camping and summer retreats for city dwellers. The main peak of Shungeng Mountain stands at an elevation of 297 meters. The mountain is named after the ancient sage emperor Shun, who was said to have farmed here. With undulating mountain ridges, gushing springs, and dense forests, the area boasts over 5,000 acres of pristine forest vegetation. The thick foliage provides ample shade, creating a pleasant and scenic landscape.

The Shungeng Mountain range stretches across the boundary between the old urban area of Huainan and the new Shannan District, running from east to west. National Highway 206 passes through the mountain, with the entrance to the scenic area just a hundred meters away from the highway. Throughout the mountain, one can find various shrubs such as black locust, Japanese black pine, oriental arborvitae, coptis, chestnut, jujube, wild rose, and baby’s breath, growing in every available space. Wildflowers and grasses thrive wherever they can take root. The mountain is characterized by its peculiar rocks and strange stones, which nature has sculpted into lifelike representations of objects—each uniquely shaped and vividly realistic. Examples include the Fairy Bathing, the Turtle Listening to the Zither, the Wild Boar Lying at Rest, the Dragon Eye Containing a Pearl, the Saddle Mark Seated Print, and the Toad Leaping with the Crane Soaring.

Even more remarkable is that each of these unique rock formations comes with a beautiful legend, connecting the landscape to historical or mythical figures from ancient tales. If the peculiar rocks represent the external beauty of Shungeng Mountain, then its many caves showcase its inner charm. The southern and western slopes of the mountain are dotted with caves and grottoes, all naturally formed, among which the Old Buddha Cave is the most famous. The cave entrance is semi-circular, about two meters high, with a large, powerfully inscribed Chinese character for “Buddha” on the cave wall. Inside, the cave is pitch dark and unfathomably deep. Throughout Shungeng Mountain, the sound of bubbling springs and cheerful streams can be heard everywhere.

Shungeng Mountain has a long-standing Buddhist cultural heritage. It is said that in the past, there were over 40 peaks, each with its own temple. The Shunwang Temple in front of the Old Buddha Cave was especially popular and bustling with worshippers. Unfortunately, the main hall was destroyed long ago in wars and conflicts. At the foot of the mountain, in Shanzhu Village, there is a group of ancient buildings with carved beams and painted rafters, white walls with black tiles, upturned eaves, and arches. The complex consists of four courtyards, and it is the former residence of Qian Xin, a late Qing Dynasty governor of Sichuan—known as the Qian Mansion.