Ancient City of Shou County and Bagong Mountain Scenic Area

Ancient City of Shou County and Bagong Mountain Scenic Area

The Ancient City of Shou County and Bagong Mountain Scenic Area is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a cultural tourism destination.

Shou County is one of China's famous historical and cultural cities, with Shouchun serving as its county seat. In 241 BC, King Kaolie of Chu moved the capital from Chen to Shouchun. The ancient city of Shouchun is renowned both at home and abroad for its captivating combination of famous mountains, rivers, historic sites, and notable figures.

Shouchun has a long history as a military stronghold. Located on the northern bank of the Huai River at the foot of Bagong Mountain, the Fei River flows around the city. Historically known as Shouchun, Shouyang, and Shouzhou, it boasts a history of over 2,000 years. The ancient city wall of Shouchun is the best-preserved city wall from the Song Dynasty in China and is also a national key cultural relics protection unit. The existing wall was rebuilt during the Xining period of the Northern Song Dynasty. It features a stone base and brick walls, standing 8.33 meters high, with a top width of 6–10 meters and a total circumference of 7,147 meters. The inner area of the city covers 3.65 square kilometers. The city has four gates, each inscribed with their names: Dong BinYang (East Welcoming Sun), Nan TongFei (South Through Fei River), Xi DingHu (West Calming Lake), and Bei JingHuai (North Pacifying Huai River). The ancient city wall forms a complete defensive system consisting of barbicans, city gates, moats, drawbridges, watchtowers, battlements, as well as observation holes and arrow slits in the crenellations. During the age of cold weapons, it was praised as an “impregnable fortress” or “as solid as iron,” and historically it was referred to as the “Ironclad Shouzhou City.” In 1991, when a catastrophic flood struck, Shouchun County was besieged by floodwaters, with devastation all around, yet the city remained unscathed.

Shou County is home to a wealth of cultural relics. The Shouchun Chu Culture Museum, with its name inscribed by [a notable figure], houses over 6,000 cultural relics dating from the Shang and Zhou dynasties to the Ming and Qing dynasties, including hundreds of national first- and second-class relics.

The coexistence of various religions within a single city is a distinctive feature of the ancient city of Shouchun and also a significant reflection of the inclusiveness and richness of Chu culture. To the east of the city lies the renowned Jianghuai Buddhist temple Bao'en Temple (formerly known as Chongjiao Chan Temple or Dongchan Temple), which was first built during the Tang Dynasty’s Zhenguan era and has a history of over 1,300 years. At its peak, it housed hundreds of monks and boasted grand architectural scale. To the west of the city is a Ming Dynasty mosque, the largest in East China. To the north on Bagong Mountain is the Siding Mountain Goddess Palace, a center of Taoism in the Jianghuai region. The city also contains the Confucius Temple and a Christian church.

In the ancient city of Shouchun, visitors can admire historic structures such as the Prefecture Office, Kuiguang Pavilion, Pan Pond, Liudu Shrine, Zhuangyuan Mansion, and Jian Dao Alley. They can also hear beautiful stories and legends such as “The Person Inside the Gate,” “A Greedy Man Swallows an Elephant,” “Face the Drum, Opposite the Gong,” “Emperor Taizu Trapped in Southern Tang,” “Shi Miao Leaves the Calf,” and “Grass from a Foreign Land.” Additionally, they can sample local delicacies like “Great Salvation Cake” and Bagong Mountain tofu.

Bagong Mountain, also known as Feiling Mountain, is a provincial-level forest park. It lies 2 kilometers south of the ancient city of Shouchun and consists of 11 connected peaks, covering a total area of 10 square kilometers, with the highest peak reaching an elevation of 241.2 meters. Though not particularly tall, the mountain appears majestic compared to the surrounding plains, which average only about 20 meters in elevation. As the saying goes, “A mountain needs no great height to be famous if it is home to immortals.” Legend has it that Liu An, the King of Huainan, invited eight alchemists to this mountain to refine elixirs in search of immortality, hence the name. This gave rise to idioms and legends such as “When one person attains enlightenment, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven” and “Chickens and dogs of Huainan,” as well as the method for making tofu. Bagong Mountain has long been a strategic military location. In 383 AD, the famous Battle of Feishui took place at its foot, giving rise to idioms like “wind sounds like cranes and cranes sound like soldiers” and “every blade of grass looks like an enemy soldier,” as well as “enough hair to block a river.” Historical sites such as Fu Jian’s Frightened Horse Slope, the Eastern Ford Ancient Crossing where Jin troops crossed hastily, and the Xie An Shrine still remain. Today, Bagong Mountain features over 30 attractions, including the Tomb of King Liu An of Huainan, the Tomb of Lian Po, the Huaiwang Dan Well, Pearl Spring, Agate Spring, Shengxian Pavilion, and Granny Temple.

Bagong Mountain is both an ancient and a mystical mountain. Fossilized dinosaur bones from prehistoric times have been discovered at its southwestern foothills, while fossilized mammoth teeth approximately 100 million years old were found on its eastern side. Foreign scholars have praised the region as poised to become a global holy site for paleontological science. According to tourism development plans, a geological profile protection area for Precambrian strata will be established near Liulaobei in Bagong Mountain to support scientific research and public education.