Badong Bailudong

Badong Bailudong

Bailudong

Located at the northern foot of Jinshan Mountain, hidden within the dense woods behind the old government complex. There are two karst caves, each about two meters square and roughly three meters deep, known as “Bailudong.” On a small hill beside the caves lies a roughly 16-square-meter platform called “Luming Platform,” next to which gushes a clear spring named “Liquan” (Deer Spring). In ancient times, a pavilion called “Liquan Pavilion” stood near the spring.

Legend has it that during the Northern Song Dynasty, when Kou Zhun served as the magistrate of Badong County — then located in the old county area on the north bank of the river — he often crossed the river in his leisure time to visit Shouning Temple, where he would discuss the past and present, compose poetry, and exchange ideas with the abbot. However, each time he came, the abbot had already swept the path and prepared tea, waiting respectfully at the temple gate. Puzzled, Kou asked how the abbot always knew of his arrival. The abbot replied that there was a pair of white deer near the temple; whenever they cried out, it signaled the coming of an honored guest. Kou Zhun invited the abbot to see the mystical deer. Upon reaching the cave entrance and paying their respects, the deer were startled — one fled down the mountain toward the river, while the other ran up into the hills. Later generations, in memory of Kou Zhun’s governance in Badong and his eventual promotion to prime minister, left behind numerous legends and commemorative sites related to the “white deer’s warning,” such as Malu Lane, Malu Pond, Luming Platform, and Liquan Pavilion.