Baoshan Lion Rock

Baoshan Lion Rock

Baoshan Lion Rock is situated within Lion Mountain on the eastern side of Jiangbei Village, Baoshan Township. The entire mountain is 600 meters long and 300 meters wide, and from a distance looks like a lion lying on the ground with its head raised—a strikingly realistic shape, which locals refer to as “Lion Rock.” Behind the mountain is a pond whose water remains yellow throughout the seasons, called “Yellow Pond.” Since Lion Rock is located right by Yellow Pond, it has come to be known as “Yellow Rock.”　

The outer structure of Baoshan Lion Rock is composed of yellow rock and limestone, facing southeast with its back to the northwest. On the southern midsection of the mountain, there is a cave entrance. The rock wall at the cave mouth bears seven large characters inscribed horizontally in parallel: “Feiyun Rock” (Flying Cloud Rock) and “Fangya Xianzhuo” (Immortal's Trail on Cliff), all written by Zhang Minghe, a Jinshi scholar from Zhentang during the Ming Dynasty. On the opposite cliff wall is carved “Since when did you begin to dance?” The mouth of the cave features flowing water in a meandering stream, cool and winding. The cave entrance is several zhang high, with towering and steep cliffs. Inside the cave is a cavern about 50 meters high, with countless stalactites hanging from the ceiling, shaped like precious canopies and ceremonial banners, continuously dripping spring water. When tapped with a stone, they resonate like a great bell. To the left of the cave is another entrance midway up the rock wall, where a massive stalactite in the center is inscribed with the characters “Tianzhu Peak” (“Pillar of Heaven Peak”), each character one square meter in size, with bold brushwork resembling the Liu style. Below it is inscribed: “On the Double Ninth Festival, Zhao Shipu from Shouyang, together with fellow townsman He Qianxun, came to visit.” The cave entrance is called the Stone Drum Cave, with the characters “Big Drum” carved on the rock wall, in bold Yan-style calligraphy. Moving rightward from the main cave (toward the lion’s head), the cave gradually becomes smaller and extends upward, leading to the “Confucius Teaching Spot,” where stone statues stand solemnly, with the Four Sages attending and Confucius at the top. Water seeps from the rock wall into the inkstone pool, making a rustling sound. Walking about 10 meters eastward, you’ll reach an ancient cave where monks once practiced alchemy. Clearly visible inside the cave are the characters “Danlu” (Alchemy Furnace), with six small characters vertically inscribed on the right: “Tenth Month of the Dingyou Year, Wanli Era.” The alchemy furnace in the cave stands over two chi tall, with immortal footprints nearby. The cave ceiling features stone drums and bells; when you lift a rock and strike them, each makes a corresponding sound. Further up is another cave chamber filled with deep water, where a statue of Guanyin is embedded in the rock wall, standing solemnly on a lotus throne with a child on her knee, a white turtle to her left appearing as if about to take flight. Going deeper, on the left is a lion and on the right an elephant, both majestic and lifelike. The three characters “Zixiao Rock” (“Purple Cloud Rock”) appear before your eyes, each two meters long and wide, with the corner inscription “Written by Zhang Minghe.” The inner walls of the cave display various rock patterns—some like bird feathers, some like turtle shells, others like deep valleys and dense forests, or like secluded immortals and fairy companions, all uniquely shaped.

At the lion’s head, there are two caves, one above the other, wider outside and narrower inside. In front of the cave are monk dwellings, and the rock walls feature imperial inscriptions from Emperor Ningzong of the Song Dynasty (1195–1224 AD), reading the four characters “Tongtian Shishi” (“Celestial-Connecting Stone Chamber”). In front of the mountain was an ancient temple, decreed and inscribed by the emperor as “Zhisheng Chan Temple” (“Temple of Victorious Wisdom”), which no longer exists today.

Since 1971, certain organizations and individuals, in order to extract production materials, have blasted and quarried Lion Rock. As a result, the rock was cut in half and its appearance completely altered. In response, successive NPC deputies, CPPCC members, and many officials and citizens have cried out in anguish, demanding that such destruction of cultural relics and historic sites be stopped. People from all walks of life have published appeals in newspapers and periodicals. Cultural and heritage authorities have reported and submitted special requests to higher-level departments multiple times, urging decisions to be made. They issued “Save Lion Rock—A Letter to the Five Leading Teams of the County,” and implemented a series of protective measures. With the attention of leaders from the county Party committee, county government, county people’s congress, and county political consultative conference, relevant departments convened a meeting on-site at Baoshan Lion Rock in Baoshan Township and resolved the issue. The People’s Government of Wan’an County once again issued “A Notice on Strengthening the Protection of Cultural Relics and Historic Sites at Baoshan Lion Rock.”

In March 1991, while excavating stone at the tail end of Lion Rock, the engineering team of the county cement plant discovered ancient vertebrate fossils within a 50-square-meter area at a depth of about 20 meters from the surface. These fossils, dating back tens of millions of years, include samples such as animal premolars, tusks, incisors, and femurs.

Baoshan Township: Baoshan Township is one of the central towns in the southeastern part of Wan’an County. It borders Xingguo County to the east, neighbors Jian Tian Township and Wushu Township to the southwest, adjoins Jiandou Town to the northwest, and is adjacent to Shuicha Township of Taihe County to the north. The township covers a total area of 140.18 square kilometers, governing eight administrative villages: Longshang, Shuinan, Huangtang, Shiyang, Baoshan, Shilong, Anchang (an ethnic She village), and Dongping, comprising 78 villager groups with a total population of 12,000. The arable land area is 8,000 mu, and the mountainous area spans 15,000 hectares. The area is known for its “three treasures”—red, white, and black—namely Golden Silk Jujube (and... More details on Baoshan Township++)