Jingmen Baiyun Tower

Jingmen Baiyun Tower

Jingmen Baiyun Tower is a cultural relic protection unit of Hubei Province.

Baiyun Tower is situated at the western foot of Qinglong Mountain in the urban area of Jingmen, facing west and backed by the east. It borders Baiyun Avenue to the west and lies adjacent to the Jiaozhi Railway to the east. It is a religious structure, and legend has it that Lü Dongbin, a renowned Taoist figure from the Tang Dynasty, once cultivated himself here. The architectural complex is grand and features a unique style. The preserved stone carvings and inscriptions hold significant historical and artistic value. In 1992, the provincial government designated it as a provincial-level key cultural relic protection unit. The Baiyun Tower architectural complex consists of the Reading Platform, Baiyun Tower, Three Sovereigns Hall, Crane-Lifting Pavilion, Immortal Path Hall, and a quadrangle courtyard, forming a unified structure of cave, platform, and tower that has stood for a long time.

Baiyun Cave, also known as Taiping Cave. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Jiao founded the Taiping Dao (Way of Great Peace), and its followers recited the Taiping Jing (Scripture of Great Peace). Therefore, its founding date can be traced back to the Eastern Han period based on the name Taiping Cave. According to inscriptions on steles, Baiyun Tower took its final form during the Jiaqing era (1796–1820). The cave consists of three chambers with arched ceilings. The front chamber is spacious, while the middle chamber has a separate “Slanting Moon” cave on its northern side. The rear chamber houses a statue of Lü Dongbin, and its western wall features a niche carved with an image of the Green Dragon’s sword and pine-and-crane imagery. The “Slanting Moon” cave winds intricately and is exceptionally tranquil. Above the entrance of Baiyun Cave, there is a stone inscription in regular script reading “Wo Yun” (Lying Cloud), with relief carvings of coiled dragons on either side of the characters. The two sides of the cave entrance are adorned with four stone pillars, each engraved with three-dimensional patterns of flowers, sacred trees, rare birds, and animals.

Legend has it that Lü Dongbin, a famous Taoist figure from the Tang Dynasty, once rode a white crane here to cultivate himself while also ridding the people of harm. Folk tales such as “Lü Dongbin Descends by Imperial Order to Subdue the Dragon” and “Lü Dongbin’s Three Visits to the Flying Tiger Cave” are still passed down to this day. Since the Ming Dynasty, a dragon bed (Cold Jade Bed), said to be where Lü Dongbin stayed, has been kept in the cave, along with a statue of Lü Dongbin. Baiyun Tower has weathered centuries of storms and turmoil, and the surviving structures now include only Taiping Cave, the Platform, and Baiyun Tower. Restoration of the ancient Baiyun Tower architectural complex began in 1995, and some parts have been repaired.

A poem praises it: “Baiyun Tower soars level with the white clouds, / Cloud shadows blur as the sun sinks west. / I raise my hand to grasp the cold starry host, / And gaze down upon the humble mountains.”

Further reading:

· Third Batch of Hubei Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units