Taijia Qing Mountain Scenic Area

Taijia Qing Mountain Scenic Area

Taijia Qing Mountain Scenic Area is located in Shantang Village, Siguqiao Township. The scenic area management office is situated in the Shuikou Group of Shantang Village, 8 kilometers from Yushan County and 3 kilometers from the Yuzi Line of the Sanqing Mountain tourism highway. Both are easily accessible by road, making it a great weekend getaway for urban dwellers.

Taijia Mountain is known as the "back mountain" of Yushan County. With an elevation of 966.7 meters, it is the most beautiful small peak at the southernmost end of the Huaiyu Mountain Range. The mountain features undulating terrain, surrounded by Niukun Mountain and Fulong Ridge, with landmarks such as Stone Guanyin, the Ancient Taijia Path, and Guoxi adding to its picturesque landscape. The *Dushi Fangyu Jiyao* (*Essentials of Historical Geography*), Volume 85, written by Gu Zuyu in the early Qing Dynasty, records in the "Jiangxi Section 3": “Taijia Mountain is located 25 li north of the county. The mountain is majestic, with a temple dedicated to Shang Dynasty’s King Taijia atop it. Ten li to its north lies Dongyan (Cave Rock), where forests and valleys blend, peaks and cliffs are uniquely beautiful, and a stream flows out with a clear, resonant sound.” Taijia Mountain boasts a long history and rich cultural heritage. The *Yushan County Annals* from the Kangxi era note that legend has it, the minister Yi Yin, on a mission from King Taijia, traveled across regions and arrived in Yushan. Seeing the towering, overlapping mountains to the north of Yushan—majestic and grand with an imperial aura—he named the mountain “Taijia Shan” (Taijia Mountain) after the then-reigning Emperor Taijia. This is the earliest historically documented record in Yushan County. The Song Dynasty’s top scholar Wang Yingchen was deeply impressed by Shang Dynasty’s Yi Yin’s journey to Taijia Mountain. In his poem titled *[Taijia Mountain]*, he wrote:

Since ancient times, kings have often toured for pleasure,

Yet seldom venture to valleys in the south.

Dragons and tigers truly guard the golden tripod’s fire,

While phoenixes feast on Yushan’s grains at dawn.

Clouds and rosy clouds unfurl banners at sunset,

Trees in the west wind chime with jade pendants.

Yi Yin once toiled joyfully in southern fields,

And must have lived in seclusion 'mid these lofty crags.

In 1982, during a cultural relics survey, the Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relics Team discovered a Shang-Zhou dynasty site dating back over 3,600 years at Dawan Mountain in Siguqiao Township at the foot of Taijia Mountain. Within an area of about 800 square meters, the surface layer contained ancient pottery shards with various patterns and other stoneware artifacts, providing evidence of Yi Yin’s legendary visit to Yushan. Taijia Mountain also preserves a stone-paved ancient path approximately ten *li* in length. This path is the best-preserved section of the eastern ancient route from northern Yushan to Zi Lake and Sanqing Mountain. Hiking up the ancient path to Taijia Mountain, one can find remnants such as the Taijia Temple, passes, and pavilions quietly awaiting discovery.

Taijia Qing Mountain Scenic Area is set against the backdrop of Taijia Mountain, covering a total area of 12.8 square kilometers. With convenient transportation and stunning scenery, the area boasts abundant and widely distributed tourism resources, making it a key rural tourism destination developed by Siguqiao Township and even Yushan County. The scenic area features pastoral landscapes, villages, and streams as its main attractions, rural culture as its soul, specialty mountain produce as its leading industry, and rural leisure tourism as its highlight. It forms a beautiful tableau of “one mountain, one garden, one center, two streams, and three zones.” Walking along the Dalin Ancient Path and through the villages, visitors encounter breathtaking scenery including farmland, streams, ancient houses, caves, oddly shaped rocks, and the Taijia Ling Mountain Temple. The area enjoys excellent air quality and ample rainfall, making it ideal for outdoor aerobic activities.

Entrance Zone