Shimen Ridge

Shimen Ridge

Shimen Ridge gets its name from a rock formation halfway up the mountain that resembles a stone gate. Located southwest of Tanjia Mountain Town in Xiangtan County, beside the Shibakou Reservoir, it stands at an elevation of 148 meters and faces off against Wulong Mountain. The eastern and western sides of the mountain are steep, with narrow mountain paths winding up to the summit. The mountain is covered with bluestone, dotted with shrubs on the upper part and tea-oil forests on the lower. There is a spring at both the mountainside and the summit, each over two meters wide and oval in shape. Though it is a rocky mountain, the springs never dry up all year round, offering cool and sweet-tasting water.

There are 24 scenic views on and around the mountain, namely “Clouds Lying Over the Stone Gate,” “Moonlit Bridge over the Lake,” “Evening Cicadas in the Shade of Locust Trees,” “Night Rain by the Banana Window,” “Playing Go in the Bamboo Courtyard,” “Fishing by the Willow Stream at Dusk,” “Flute Playing in the Prince’s Pavilion,” “Quiet Garden Conversations,” “Playing the Zither Amidst Rosy Clouds,” “Plum Dreams on Snowy Peaks,” “Poetic Wine by the Fragrant Garden,” “Lotus Breeze in the Curved Pond,” “Kite Flying in the Spring Hollow,” “Crows Returning to Ancient Trees,” “Playing Horse with Bamboo Sticks on Pine Mountain,” “Releasing Pigeons in the Autumn Woods,” “Chrysanthemums by the Sparse Fence,” “Washing Brushes at Dragon Well,” “Listening to Orioles in the Old House,” “Storing Books at Ganji,” and “Waterfall at Chicken Cliff.” These 24 scenes were conceived in 1909 by Wang Zhongyan, a literati from Xiangtan County, at the request of Hu Lianshi, and painted by Qi Baishi in 1910 based on these themes. The painting album was named “Twenty-Four Scenes of Shimen,” also known as the “Shimen Painting Album.” In the winter of 1915, Qi Baishi, Li Chengli, and Hu Guang composed 24 poems for the “Twenty-Four Scenes of Shimen.” The painting album is now treasured in the Shenyang Museum.

In the past, a White Robe Temple was built on the mountain, with three couplets: “White Robes on Ancient Stone,” “Red Inscriptions on the Renewed Gate,” and “Mist and Clouds Embrace the Lotus Throne on Stone, Sunlight and Dew Speak of Mortals at the Gate”—all inscribed by Hu Baowu, a literatus from Zhuchong. The temple was later destroyed but has been rebuilt in recent years and renamed White Robe Temple. At the foot of the mountain lies the Shibakou Reservoir, built in 1958. The dam is 143 meters long and 17.1 meters high, with a total capacity of 12.7 million cubic meters, an effective capacity of 10.115 million cubic meters, and a water surface area covering 3,338 mu. It irrigates 16,700 mu of farmland. If you climb Shimen Ridge and look down, the water and sky blend into one—truly a spectacular view.