Meiling Scenic Area

Meiling Scenic Area

The Meiling Scenic Area is a famous summer retreat and the birthplace of ancient Chinese classical music and the Taoist Jingming Sect. With its majestic mountains, layered lush peaks, ever-changing seasonal beauty, and pleasant climate, Meiling features enchanting peaks, winding streams, deep valleys, rugged rocks, swirling clouds, and interwoven scenery, forming the area’s distinctive “lush greenery, serenity, elegance, and wonder,” earning it the nickname “Little Mount Lu.”

Meiling includes major attractions such as Xiyao Lake Summer Resort, one of China’s top thirteen summer retreats; Tianning Ancient Temple, one of the largest nunneries in southern China; Hongya Danjing, a site tied to Ling Lun, the father of Chinese music and one of the ancient Ten Scenes of Nanchang; Huanggu Tomb, the largest imperial tomb on the ground in Jiangxi; towering thousand-year-old ginkgo trees; the spectacular Shenlongtan Waterfall. Other sites include the Sino-Japanese Friendship Forest, Lin Biao’s Villa, Ziyang Palace, Hongya Calligraphy Academy, Miaoji Bridge, the Tomb of Martyr Fang Zhimin, Hunyuan Mountain Villa, thousand-year-old ginkgos, and Lion Peak.

Located 15 kilometers west of Nanchang City on the largest “flying peak” in southern China, Meiling got its name from Mei Fu of the Western Han Dynasty, who practiced Taoism here. Also situated west of the urban area, it is also called West Mountain. Bordered by Poyang Lake to the west and facing Mount Lu to the north, Meiling spans 150 square kilometers. It is a famous summer resort and the birthplace of ancient Chinese classical music and the Taoist Jingming Sect.

Meiling has over 120 natural and cultural attractions. Major sights include: Xiyao Lake Summer Resort, one of China’s top thirteen summer retreats; Tianning Ancient Temple, one of the largest nunneries in southern China; Hongya Danjing, tied to Ling Lun, the father of Chinese music and one of the ancient Ten Scenes of Nanchang; Huanggu Tomb, the largest imperial tomb on the ground in Jiangxi; a unique complex of celebrity villas; towering thousand-year-old ginkgo trees; the precipitous and spectacular Lion Peak; the grand and imposing Jiaoyutan Waterfall area; the flower-bedecked Sino-Japanese Friendship Forest with views of drifting clouds; and the solemn Tomb of Martyr Fang Zhimin.

Since ancient times, “Hongya Danjing,” “Autumn Greenery of West Mountain,” and the “Three Groups of Tongyuan” (waterfalls, terraced fields, and watermills) have been famous landscapes celebrated by poets and scholars. Meiling’s majestic mountains, layered lush peaks, ever-changing seasonal beauty, and pleasant climate contribute to its “lush greenery, serenity, elegance, and wonder,” earning it the nickname “Little Mount Lu.”

Originally called Feihong Mountain, Meiling had a post road established as early as the beginning of the Han Dynasty. In the late Western Han Dynasty, Mei Fu, the magistrate of Nanchang County, retreated to the western Feihong Mountain to avoid Wang Mang. Later generations honored his noble character by building the Meixian Altar on the mountain and the Meixian Temple at its foot, renaming Feihong Mountain as Meiling. Since the Tang Dynasty, figures such as the chancellors Zhang Jiuling, Zhang Shangying, Zhou Bida, Wang Anshi, and Zhang Wei, literary giants like Ouyang Xiu, Zeng Gong, Huang Tingjian, Chen Shidao, and Tang Xianzu, military heroes like Yue Fei, and others visited here—either to compose poetry, carve inscriptions, pay homage to historical sites, or live in seclusion—leaving behind many famous poems and cultural relics that have made it a must-visit destination throughout history.

Meiling is one of the sacred sites of both Buddhism and Taoism, with up to 136 temples, monasteries, and altars at its peak. Taoist texts refer to it as the “Twelfth Grotto Heaven.” The Zhayan Temple, the foremost among the great temples of West Mountain, once housed a 1.6-zhang-tall (approximately 5.2 meters) bronze Buddha, an 8-chi-tall (approximately 2.6 meters) bronze lotus pedestal, along with bronze vases, incense burners, and a thousand-monk cauldron. The Tang Dynasty eminent monk Guanxiu once resided at Yuntang Temple and composed 24 poems about mountain life. Beside the former Taoist temple Taiping Guan stands a “thousand-year-old ginkgo” tree, 30 meters tall with a circumference of 7.5 meters—so large it takes six adults to encircle it. Atop the mountain lies Ziyang Palace, where stone chambers still remain. Deng Yu, a founding hero of the Eastern Han Dynasty, once visited here, and nearby are Dengxian Cave and Zhenjun Tomb.

Among the historic sites in Meiling that attract visitors through the ages, Hongya Danjing is the oldest. In the ninth year of the Sui Dynasty’s Kaihuang era (589 AD), the region was renamed Hongzhou from Yuzhang Commandery due to Hongya. Not far from the Danjing is Huanggu Tomb, the largest surface tomb in Jiangxi, fronted by stone statues including a stone god, stone horses, stone lions, and stone sheep. Also located here is the cloud pagoda tomb of the renowned Buddhist Pure Land Sect monk Yin Guang from the late Qing Dynasty.

Meiling’s hundreds of peaks each have their own distinctive character. Meiling Head is lush with secluded bamboo, Lion Peak is steep and hard to climb, Ziyang Mountain is graceful and charming, and Luohan Ridge offers excellent viewing spots. The area has many ancient and famous trees, including majestic welcoming pines, the varied and elegant ancient pine forest on the ridge, and towering bamboo by the quiet stream. Particularly notable are the “potted landscape camphor,” “orchids in rock,” and “bamboo growing on trees,” known as the “Three Wonders of Meiling.”

The valleys of Meiling feature layers of gray-black granite forming various-sized caves. There’s Yunyin Cave, resembling the Immortal Cave of Mount Lu, the hundred-meter-long Panxian Cave, the winding and variable Zaogian Cave, Qianren Cave with waterfalls inside, as well as uniquely shaped rocks like JianDao Stone, Longzhua Stone, Jiaori Stone, Chuanjian Stone, and Foming Stone—all accompanied by local legends.

“Like pure silk streaming down, fairer than white gauze; light as jade flakes dancing, dotting the monk’s robe.” This ancient verse describes the waterfalls of Meiling. The area features waterfalls formed by broken cliffs—Jiaoyutan, Dieshigou, Dishuiya, and Shuikou Waterfall—which cascade year-round, along with many clear streams and mountain springs.

Meiling is covered in dense forests and enjoys a cool climate. Xiyao Lake, in front of Luohan Ridge—the main peak—is 842 meters above sea level, the highest point in the city. The summer average temperature is just 22.6°C, 8–10°C lower than the urban area. For Nanchang, one of China’s “Four Furnaces,” it’s a rare “cool island.” The Xiyao Lake Resort, built in 1985, is an emerging summer retreat.

Whether at the summit of Meiling, by Xiyao Lake, or in the summer resorts, visitors can watch the sea of clouds and sunrise in the east, gaze at the lights of Nanchang at dusk, admire the crimson azaleas in spring, enjoy the cool breezes atop the fairy terrace in summer, taste wild fruits like nectar in autumn, and take in the silver-coated forests in winter. It is truly a heavenly scenic spot for relaxation and summer escape.

Suggested Duration

One day

Transportation

Public Transport

1. Take bus 219 to Wanli, then transfer to bus 112 to Taiping to reach various scenic areas of Meiling

2. Take a direct tourist bus to the scenic area from the urban area

3. Take bus 240 at Qingshan Road to the foot of Meiling

4. Take bus 222 from the train station to enter Meiling via Wanli; at the gymnasium, you can also take bus 112 to access various scenic areas of Meiling

Tickets

Ticket: 40 RMB (Lion Peak: 25 RMB, Shenlongtan: 15 RMB, Meiling Rafting: 88 RMB)

Opening Hours

9:00-17:00

Location

15 kilometers west of Wanli District, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province

Meiling Town: A town under the jurisdiction of Wanli District, Nanchang City. One of the suburban tourism and summer resort destinations. Established as Meiling Commune in 1958, renamed Meiling Township in 1984, and upgraded to Meiling Town in 1987. The town government is located on Dianqian Street. It lies in the northern part of the district, within Meiling National Forest Park, 4.5 kilometers from the district center. Covering an area of 67 square kilometers with a population of 13,000, the Shengzhuang–Dianqian Highway runs through it. It administers the Dianqian Street Neighborhood Committee and seven village committees: Meiling, Qianjin, Lixin, Dongchang, Tuanyuan, Yuanjia, and Fengjing. Agriculture mainly focuses on rice cultivation. Over 80% of the land consists of mountainous areas, rich in bamboo and fir. More details on Meiling Town++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of National Key Scenic Spots