Peach Blossom Spring Cave in Mount Wuyi

Peach Blossom Spring Cave in Mount Wuyi

Peach Blossom Spring Cave in Mount Wuyi is located along the sixth bend of the scenic area. This place is extremely secluded, where towering cliffs form a natural gateway. Winding your way through, you’ll find a stone bridge over a bubbling stream. Soon after, the path opens up into a flat expanse, with the Sun and Moon Liberation Pools situated right at the cave entrance. Surrounded by mountains on all sides and dotted with peach groves, the one to twenty-acre fields resemble the “land of idyllic beauty” described by Tao Yuanming, hence the name.

The Peach Blossom Spring Cave lies to the east of Jade Tablet Peak, south of Cangping Peak, west of Tianhu Peak, and north of Sanyang Peak. Surrounded by mountains on all sides, it enjoys a tranquil and elegant atmosphere with uniquely beautiful scenery. It earned its name due to its resemblance to the Peach Blossom Spring of Wuling as depicted by Tao Yuanming. This area features mostly steep cliffs and precipices, with the Squirrel Stream gushing out of the valley. Walking along the stream for about a mile, you'll find the valley blocked by scattered boulders and dried-up water flow, where huge rocks lean against each other forming a cave.

Deep within Mount Wuyi, Peach Blossom Spring Cave can be reached by following the Squirrel Stream between Cangping Peak and North Corridor Rock. Passing through a crevice in the rock and crossing the stone gate, you’ll suddenly find yourself in a bright, open space with flat fields, neat houses, cottages, peach orchards, bamboo groves, stone ponds, and small streams — truly reminiscent of the Peach Blossom Spring described by Tao Yuanming. Surrounded by Cangping Peak, Three-Tiered Peak, Tianhu Peak, and North Corridor Rock, the cave also houses the Kaiyuan Hall, an important center for Taoist activities in Mount Wuyi. Other sites include the Peach Blossom Hermitage, the former site of Kaiyuan Hall, as well as attractions like the Peach Stone, Golden Brick Stone, Li Spring, and Wu’s Cave. Heading north, you can climb up Sanyang Peak.

The Taoist temple was first built during the Tianbao era of the Tang Dynasty (742–756 AD), a time when the legends of immortals in Mount Wuyi attracted many scholars and hermits to live in seclusion here. The Daoist nuns Kong, Zhuang, and Ye from Kuaiji (later revered as the Three Sovereign Mother Goddesses) came to Mount Wuyi together and eventually settled in Peach Blossom Spring Cave, developing it into a paradise for recluses amid blooming peach orchards. Confucian scholar Chen Shitang and recluse Wu Zhengli of the Song Dynasty also lived here for spiritual cultivation and writing. Bai Yuchan, the fifth master of the Southern Taoist School, also practiced alchemy in seclusion at Peach Blossom Spring. During the Yuan Dynasty, the Liu Wenjian Ancestral Hall and Sanyuan Nunnery were expanded, enshrining deities such as the Three Officials and Liu Wenjian. By the Ming Dynasty, the Peach Blossom Taoist Temple had become widely known and was one of the major temples in Mount Wuyi.

At that time, halls such as the Three Pure Ones Hall, the Three Sovereign Mother Goddesses Hall, the Three Officials Hall, the Zhenwu Hall, the Goddess Hall, and the Merit Shrine were constructed, covering a total area of over 2,000 square meters. Many Taoist cultivators chose to reside here. The Ming Dynasty poet Wu Shi wrote in his poem “Visiting a Taoist in Little Peach Blossom Spring Cave”: “…Following the stream to its source, there lies an ancient village with two or three recluses; they isolate themselves not to escape the Qin Dynasty, but to cultivate their spirit and essence; they farm the spring fields themselves, needing no external provisions for food or clothing; the wind blows, shaking down palm flowers, and after the rain, they pick medicinal herbs.” The temple fell into decline during the Qing Dynasty, with many halls collapsing. In 1936, the famous overseas Chinese Hu Wenhu, along with Navy Commander Sa Zhenbing, visited the mountain. Seeing the dilapidated state of the temple, Mr. Hu immediately donated 500 silver dollars for renovation and co-inscribed the plaque “Little Peach Blossom Spring” hung above the mountain gate. The temple suffered further damage during the Cultural Revolution, leaving only the shell of the central hall.

In 1990, Peach Blossom Taoist Temple was approved as an open Taoist site. The Religious Affairs Bureau of Fujian Province placed great importance on revitalizing Taoism and assigned three Taoist priests from Fujian Province, who had graduated from the China Taoist College, to carry out religious activities at Peach Blossom Taoist Temple in Mount Wuyi, listing it as one of the province’s key temples. In 1991, resident Taoists renovated the main hall and carved sacred statues of the Three Pure Ones from the precious nanmu wood—Taxus chinensis—of northern Fujian. The statues stand 2.15 meters tall and are exquisitely crafted. They were also furnished with Taxus chinensis altars, bronze incense burners, candlesticks, and other ritual items, allowing normal religious activities to resume. In 1993, the temple was officially registered and certified according to the “Interim Regulations on the Registration of Religious Activity Sites in Fujian Province” issued by the provincial government, and comprehensive Taoist cultural activities commenced. In July 1995, Peach Blossom Taoist Temple and the Mount Wuyi Scenic Area raised funds to carve the world’s largest Laojun Rock sculpture, which was grandly consecrated on March 4, 1996. Leaders from the Chinese Taoist Association, as well as provincial, regional, and municipal authorities, presided over the ceremony, with over 3,000 believers from home and abroad attending. The Laojun statue stands 16 meters high, 11 meters wide, and 10 meters thick; the carving is lifelike and solemn, with a kind and amiable expression, smooth and unrestrained lines, and a transcendent aura.

Xu Xiake once wrote in his travelogue: “Surrounded by four mountains, there lies a flat field with winding streams, enclosed by verdant pines and bamboos, where the crowing of roosters and the voices of people are all heard amidst the lush greenery.” To the north of Peach Blossom Spring Cave are two ancient houses, the former sites of Peach Blossom Hermitage and Kaiyuan Hall, where statues of the Supreme Old Lord are enshrined. Leaning beside the house is a rock called the Golden Brick Stone. A mountain spring gushing from a crevice in the rock is named the Golden Brick Spring. The clear spring water flows around the houses, into the fields, and gathers into a pool beside the vine-covered Peach Stone. The stone slab by the pool is spotless, making it a perfect spot for tea tasting and quiet rest.

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