ShanYekou Scenic Area

ShanYekou Scenic Area

ShanYekou Scenic Area is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

The ShanYekou Scenic Area is located in ShanYekou Village, DaWuli Township, in the western part of Qian'an City, covering a total area of 14 square kilometers. It features natural landscapes such as beautiful canyons, streams, rocky forests, and mountaintop lakes, integrating geological culture and folk characteristics. The area boasts uniquely scenic gravel landscapes and a rich, well-preserved Archean geological formation. It has been praised by geologists as a "holistic geological and geomorphological archive of the Archean era."

The ShanYekou Scenic Area was established in 2007. It is positioned as an ecological tourism zone integrating leisure, experience, sightseeing, and entertainment. Initially designated as a national AA-level scenic area, it is an important part of the Qian'an National Geological Park. In recent years, through a combination of new rural development, tourism promotion, and the creation of science-led demonstration villages, Qian'an has encouraged and motivated local residents to develop distinctive rural farm restaurants and guesthouses, with the goal of boosting income via tourism. Staff at qualified farm restaurants receive centralized training to improve service quality and reception standards. A tourism development company renovated 38 idle rural households’ properties and implemented unified standards and management for restaurants and guesthouses. Currently, the rural tourism reception industry at ShanYekou Scenic Area has begun to take shape.

The ShanYekou Scenic Area is surrounded by mountains on three sides. According to geological experts, the colorful stones scattered across the area are ancient seabed pebbles and sediments from 3.85 billion years ago. Formed under high temperature and pressure and through tectonic movements, they are hailed as the “undersea multicolored amber.” Among them, the flounder stone is vividly lifelike, standing alone with one eye and a broken tail. The unique “Six-Branch Divine Pine” tree is over a thousand years old, with one trunk splitting into six branches, fourteen forks, and twenty-eight twigs. Its gnarled limbs are sturdy and lush year-round. The rare underwater landforms have shaped the distinctive geological and natural scenery of ShanYekou.

Visiting ShanYekou in late summer and early autumn feels like stepping into an underwater world where the sea has receded. The forest is lush and green, the air is fresh, and clear springs flow down from above, winding around the mountains, with the gentle sound of flowing water never ceasing.

Legends and Tales:

Legend of the Flounder Stone: In ancient times, this area was once a vast ocean, with a small mountain by the shore and a tiny fishing village in front of the mountain. One day, a sudden tsunami brought roaring, towering waves that tossed the small mountain like a leaf adrift in the stormy sea. The villagers, young and old, cried out in terror. It turned out that a sea monster was causing havoc and endangering lives. At this critical moment, a gigantic flounder leapt out of the water, shielding the waves with its body, and then engaged the monster in a fierce battle. After 300 rounds of combat, the flounder finally defeated the monster, which fled gravely injured back into the depths. When the chaos subsided, the sea returned to its gentleness. When the people came to thank the flounder, they found it had been fatally struck in half by an evil dragon, its tail still lying beside it. Later, the heavens, learning of the flounder’s sacrifice to protect the people, honored it as a deity. Its body remained on the earth to deter the monster and receive worship, ensuring the safety of the land. The small village, once like a leaf in the ocean, was thus given the poetic name: ShanYekou Village. As the poem goes: “The sea monster stirs foul waves, engulfing the land in chaos; the colorful fish champions justice, bringing peace to the people.”

Legend of the Turtle Gazing at the Sea: It is said that long ago, the area around ShanYekou was once a boundless ocean. Later, due to tectonic shifts, the surging seawaters suddenly receded, and the multicolored rocky mountains emerged. At that time, a divine turtle was taking a nap during the tectonic changes. When it woke up, the seas had moved eastward, leaving it to sigh wistfully toward the sea. A poem reads: “Once a creature of the sea, why now atop the peak? Longing for home so deeply, gazing for hundreds of millions of years.” In traditional Chinese culture, turtles symbolize good fortune and longevity, so worshipping the divine turtle is believed to bring blessings and long life to family and friends.

The Large and Small Stone Houses: Regarding the large stone house, there is an interesting local folktale. It is said that when the Heavenly General Yang Jian (Erlang Shen) was patrolling the mountains near the “Jade Pool” on Pingding Mountain, he suddenly heard laughter. It turned out that the Queen Mother of the West and her fairies were bathing. Startled, Yang Jian slipped, kicked down a huge rock, which rolled downhill toward the Jade Pool. Yang Jian quickly ran ahead and blocked the rock with two stones, stopping it from falling in. Hearing the noise, the Queen Mother and her fairies shouted, “Who dares to peek?” Yang Jian hastily hid in a cave formed by three large rocks. He then noticed the upper rock was unsteady because the two supporting rocks were uneven. He grabbed a small stone, wedged it under the shorter support, and pushed it firmly into place. From then on, this place was called “Erlang Cave.” Southeast of Erlang Cave is another small cave, said to be where Yang Jian’s celestial dog, Xiaotianquan, hid. Hence, it is also known as “Xiaotianquan Cave” or “Small Stone House,” with space inside for three people.

Transportation:

1. Exit at Zhenzishizhen on the Beijing-Shenyang Expressway — head toward Qianxi County (left turnoff) (turn right at Lianhuayuan Township Government) — ShanYekou Scenic Area

2. Exit at Zhenzishizhen on the Beijing-Shenyang Expressway — head toward Qian'an (right turnoff) — turn left at Taipingzhuang Township Overweight Detection Station — go straight in the direction of DaWuli (with ShanYekou Scenic Area signage) — continue straight to the Beiying intersection, then turn left — go straight to the scenic area entrance (on the right side of the road)

3. Exit at Qian'an on the Beijing-Shenyang Expressway — go straight in the direction of Qian'an City to the toll station — after passing the toll station, turn left at the bridge north of the toll station, then take the second bridge (Qiguang Bridge intersection), turn left at the traffic light — Qiguang Road — turn left at the Siwenke Factory — turn right at the Yunfeng Bath intersection — ShanYekou Scenic Area

4. Qian'an Long-Distance Bus Station (take bus routes 2 or 3) — Bus Terminal — take bus route 16 to the final stop (ShanYekou Scenic Area)

Ticket Price: 50 RMB per adult

Address: ShanYekou Village, DaWuli Township, Qian'an City, Tangshan, Hebei Province

Type: Geological Mountain Scenery

Rating: AAAA

Recommended Visit Duration: 3 hours

Phone: 0315-7088880

Official Website: http://www.shanyekou.net/

Opening Hours:

8:00–17:30 (last entry at 16:30)

ShanYekou Village: ShanYekou Village is a mountainous village surrounded by hills on three sides, with 125 households and a population of 420. It has 5,300 mu of mountainous land and just over 300 mu of arable land. With limited flat land and scarce mineral resources, the village has focused on utilizing its abundant mountain resources. In recent years, leveraging its picturesque natural environment, the village has developed forestry, fruit farming, and eco-tourism. Alongside establishing a thousand-mu chestnut orchard, it has accelerated tourism development by building 26 folk tourism guesthouses mainly offering farmhouse meals, steadily increasing farmers' incomes. To better serve tourism and the entire community, in 2007... (Detailed information on ShanYekou Village++)