Xuecheng Panlong Mountain

Xuecheng Panlong Mountain

Panlong Mountain is located two kilometers northeast of Zaozhuang New City. It gets its name from the eastern part of the mountain, which is round in shape resembling a coiled dragon. The dragon’s head stands 271 meters high, facing west toward Panlong River, as if gazing into the distance. The dragon’s head features numerous stone stalagmites resembling whiskers, and beneath it lie two springs known as Dragon Eyes. In front of Panlong Mountain is a smaller, roughly circular hill that looks strikingly like a turtle—this is called Turtle Mountain. To the west of Panlong Mountain is a mountain that resembles a phoenix spreading its wings, known as Phoenix Mountain. The southern wing of Phoenix Mountain connects to the tail of Panlong Mountain, with one section of the wing called Golden Foot Ridge, also known as Golden Ox Ridge. The northern wing of Phoenix Mountain links to Kuangshan Head, with a section referred to as Kuangshan Waist. The phoenix’s tail is low and flat, extending toward Xigu Mountain, while its head stands 181.2 meters high, facing the urban area of Xuecheng, resembling a phoenix poised to take flight but not yet airborne. The three mountains—Dragon, Phoenix, and Turtle—not only resemble their respective creatures vividly but are also closely connected with Panlong River, Zaozhuang New City, Zaozhuang High-Tech Development Zone, and Xuecheng urban area (the western part of Zaozhuang Central City), together forming a picturesque landscape where mountains, city, and water complement one another.

Panlong Mountain has many alternative names. Since there is a Jingziyu Village to the east of the mountain, it is also called Jingziyu Mountain. During the Xianfeng and Tongzhi eras of the Qing Dynasty, Yuan Jinqi built a mountain stronghold here, hence it is also referred to as Yuan Family Stronghold Mountain. There are many small peaks on the mountain, each with its own name: such as Dadong Mountain, Xiaodong Mountain, Qifeng Mountain, etc. Each name is associated with its unique scenery. Among the remarkable sights are three notable ones: **First, Dadong Mountain**: Inside the mountain is a cave, and within the cave flows a spring that connects to the river, linking high mountain, river, and cave together. The *Yi County Annals · Mountains and Rivers* records: “Dadong Mountain has the Chaoyang Cave in front. The cave is situated at the foot of the peak, with cliffs a hundred feet high and dense shrubbery. Its entrance is four or five feet wide and twice as high. After walking a few steps, you reach the second cave. Bending down to enter, you’ll see rocks standing like screens. Walking left and right along the screen for over ten steps, you arrive at the third cave, ascending dozens of man-made steps. When you light a torch and go in, the floor is smooth as a whetstone, the walls glossy, and it can accommodate hundreds of people. A spring drips from above, collected in a stone basin. The water is incredibly sweet and cool enough to numb your teeth. Further inside, it’s pitch dark and bottomless—the torch won’t even light. Visitors dare not venture further. Some say it connects underground to the Nanming River (now called Panlong River).” After the founding of New China, local authorities measured the cave: it is five meters high, three meters wide, and over a hundred meters deep, capable of holding hundreds of people. However, deeper areas were not explored. According to village lore, in ancient times someone put a duck into the cave in the morning, and it swam out of Panlong River in the afternoon—about four li away from the mountain to the river. **Second, Stacked Rock Formations in Yuan Mountain Stronghold**: These are fossilized remains secreted and deposited by tiny algae in water, appearing in blue, gray, green, and brown hues. From afar, they look like ocean waves—extremely beautiful. Such fossils are commonly found in the 700-million-year-old Sinian strata. Why are these aquatic fossils found on Long Mountain? Could it be that Long Mountain was once underwater 700 million years ago? Local legend says: “During a great flood, people fled to Qingshan Head. The mountainside was covered in weeds, and thanks to the water not reaching the mountaintop, they survived.” This legend must date back more than 15,000 years, since continuous human habitation has been recorded in this region since then. But geological history tells us that this area did indeed experience “several rises and falls” and “epochs of change” around 15,000 years ago. Our region lies on the southwestern edge of the ancient Taishan landmass. To the west and south are lowlands belonging to the Huang-Huai alluvial plain. As far back as 700 million years ago during the Sinian period, this was indeed seabed, where these algal fossil formations may have formed. From then until 400 million years ago, it remained a marine sedimentary environment. Between 400 and 300 million years ago, the crust uplifted and the sea receded, turning the area into land. Over the next 300 million years, tectonic activity caused repeated marine transgressions and regressions—what we call “epochs of change”—until 230 million years ago when terrestrial sedimentation finally stabilized. Later, movements from the Yanshan and Himalayan orogenies altered the landscape, but the area never sank back into the sea long-term. It wasn’t until 13 million years ago that the arc-shaped zone spanning Tengxian, Lincheng, Shagou, Zhouying, Yinping, and Gushao finally stabilized, with no further significant uplift or subsidence. However, the mountainous regions northeast of this arc continued to rise slowly, while the Huang-Huai alluvial plains southwest of it gradually sank. That’s why for millions of years, western Shandong and northern Jiangsu have remained marshy river-lake areas prone to flooding. Locals often witnessed flood disasters, giving rise to legends of “floodwaters reaching the mountains.” Want to see for yourself? Visit Long Mountain. **Third, Yuan Mountain Stronghold**: Another “miracle” of Long Mountain. The marvel lies in how a twenty-plus-li-long stone fortress was built in just ten days—an extremely rare feat nationwide. Divine intervention or human effort? Worth seeing. During the Xianfeng and Tongzhi eras of the Qing Dynasty, amid the chaos caused by the Nian Rebellion along the Huai and canal regions, order broke down across counties in Shandong, Anhui, and northern Jiangsu. Yuan Jinqi and Chu Shen’zhu from southern Teng and western Yi called on villagers to build a stronghold on Long Mountain to escape the turmoil. Tens of thousands responded, gathering on the mountain and giving rise to many legendary tales, later adapted into operas performed across the country. Examples include: “Yuan Jinqi wields his great sword, blessed by the mountain god’s might; he splits the mountain stones, which roll down; tens of thousands build a great city in ten days; drought ends as sweet dew falls; an arrow flies through a pine tree over the ridge; the people unite to protect their homeland.” The legend that the stronghold was built to resist the Nian rebels is unlikely. On the fifth day of the fourth lunar month in the fourth year of the Tongzhi era, 100,000 Nian troops passed through Lincheng. Ten thousand Qing soldiers under the command of Senggelinqin and Shandong Governor Ding Baozhen attempted to block them at Xicang Bridge—but were routed instantly. Ding Baozhen fled disguised as a beggar, while Senggelinqin was killed in western Shandong. How could a small civilian stronghold resist the Nian rebels? However, it’s true that after the war, scattered soldiers and bandits rampaged, kidnapping and looting, throwing rural areas into chaos. It’s plausible that local strongholds could fend off small bands of brigands. The actual role of Yuan Family Stronghold at the time is unclear, but the tale of tens of thousands building a great city in ten days may well be true. This fortress was no different from a typical county town, except three to four times longer. For such a massive stone project to be completed in ten days is a national rarity—truly a “miracle.” Claims of “divine help” or “sword-splitting” have no scientific basis. It simply proves that: “The people, and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of world history.” As the old saying goes: “Unity is strength.”