Shen Tong Mountain Forest Park

Shen Tong Mountain Forest Park

Shen Tong Mountain Forest Park is a national AAA-level tourist attraction.

Shen Tong Mountain Forest Park, located east of Ningyang County, adjacent to National Highway 104, borders the Wen River to the north and faces Qufu to the south, covering an area of 120,000 mu. The park features a harmonious blend of mountains, water, forests, and villages, integrating cultural and natural landscapes. In July 1998, it was designated as a provincial-level forest park by the Shandong Provincial Forestry Department.

Shen Tong Mountain, facing Mount Tai and Mount Culai across the river, is collectively known as the "Three Mountains of Qilu" and lies at the heart of the Mount Tai–Qufu tourist route. It is the core of the provincial forest park. In folk belief, Shen Tong Mountain is regarded as a sacred mountain, known as the "Navel of Chaos." "The navel of chaos, where primal energy gathers, gives birth to heaven above, earth below, and the Shen Tong in the middle."

The land of Ningyang has been imbued with the spiritual essence of Shen Tong Mountain and the radiance of the sun and moon. Throughout history, it has produced numerous eminent figures and frequent appearances of child prodigies. Kong Rong, a child prodigy of the Eastern Han Dynasty who offered his pear to an elder at age four and was recommended as a scholar at eight, and Liu Zhen, known as one of the "Seven Masters of Jian'an," who could compose poetry at five and write essays at ten, were both born at the foot of Shen Tong Mountain. Chen Xiaoyan, a modern "child prodigy" calligrapher who started learning calligraphy at two, won a national calligraphy award at three, and published a personal calligraphy collection at four, earning the Western title of "Oriental Wonder." His ancestral home is in Gaqiao Village, north of Shen Tong Mountain. Since the Shang and Zhou dynasties, over twenty notable historical figures have been born at the foot of Shen Tong Mountain, including "Seven Grand Tutors," "Four Grand Protectors," "Six Ministers," and "Four Generals." Countless experts, scholars, and notable personalities have emerged in modern times. "A generation of talents descended as child prodigies here, and the mountain is endowed with divine energy radiating in all directions." In this prosperous era, the sacred mountain grows even more "divine."

Shen Tong Mountain boasts unique scenery, lying with its head to the west and tail to the east, stretching across the Wen-Si Plain. Its layered peaks are steep and rugged, its valleys deep and serene. The Wen River flows in from the east, while the dragon vein stretches westward, as if wandering and murmuring, ready to roar or take flight. The Han River, Ma River, Sacred Mother Pool, and Twin Dragon Pool encircle the area, while Nine Mountains, Ling Mountain, Cai Mountain, Apricot Mountain, Gao Mountain, and Ma Mountain surround it in reverence. The distant and nearby mountains and waters embrace and protect one another, presenting a magnificent sight. From the mountain foot to the mid-slope, a forty-li belt of orchards and woods encircles the mountain. Vast pear orchards and endless jujube groves stretch like the sea, creating a spectacular view. Most of the jujube, pear, and persimmon trees are over a hundred years old, some nearly a thousand. Through centuries of erosion by water and stones, chopping by soldiers’ blades, and repeated falls and risings, these trees have endured life and death struggles. They are no longer just trees—they seem to have transformed into spirits, growing twisted and slanted, covered in scars, blooming from decayed spots, and sprouting from withered branches. Age and youth coexist, twisted forms and upright growths thrive together, both bizarre and wonderfully harmonious. Just observing the trees, without even considering their fruits, is awe-inspiring.

It is truly breathtaking.

"Huashan is steep, Huangshan is elegant, but neither can compare to the giant rocks of Shen Tong Mountain." Born 2.5 billion years ago, Shen Tong Mountain has undergone multiple tectonic shifts, witnessed the rise and fall of seas and lands, and been shaped by hundreds of millions of years of wind and rain erosion and time’s polishing. The rocks scattered across the mountain seem to have come alive—meteorite stones, immortal peach stones, reclining ox stones, Lu Gu stones, golden deer carrying a fawn stones... Each is vividly lifelike and brimming with spirit. Every unique rock on Shen Tong Mountain is a major scenic attraction, with each hiding a beautiful story, wrapped in ancient legends, like a poem or a song.

The most moving aspect of Shen Tong Mountain is not its form, but its true spirit; not its foothills, but its summit. The Honghai Temple Valley is deep and serene, the Jiunv Hall is ancient and distant, the Heifengkou emits a silent yet furious black wind, and the Laozhaiding peak offers a sky-touching experience. Only by entering Shen Tong Mountain can you truly appreciate nature at its most unspoiled. Remote and far from the mundane world, being here allows your body and soul to be pierced by the mountain’s spirit, fully merging you into the forest.

Shen Tong Mountain is the cradle of human childhood; the ancient and splendid Dawenkou Culture was born at its feet. The yellow earth at the mountain’s base conceals millennia of civilization, while the mountain itself still retains stone circles, stone arrays, and altars built by ancient people. Throughout history, literati, Taoist priests, Confucian scholars, and eminent monks either lived here or visited, leaving behind numerous cultural relics. The Kuixing Pavilion, Hanmo Academy, Calligraphy Drying Platform, Poetry Chanting Pavilion, the spot where Confucius overlooked Lu, Mu Guiying’s General Platform, the Han Dynasty ancient fortress, Later Liang stone carvings, and the Three Sacred Mothers Hall... With over 130 scenic and historic sites, the rich cultural landscape is a defining feature of Shen Tong Mountain.

In spring, Shen Tong Mountain is blanketed in silver by tens of thousands of acres of pear blossoms, while hundreds of thousands of acres of jujube groves buzz with butterflies and bees. In autumn, it is laden with abundant fruit, the fragrance of jujubes and sweetness of pears filling the air. It is truly "an ancient post road at the southern edge of the Yellow River, fertile land inside and outside the mountains, through the ages, producing generations of prodigies, whose brilliance shines across Qilu." You may skip Huangshan, you may pass on Huashan, but Shen Tong Mountain is not to be missed.