Hammer Mountain

Hammer Mountain

As the saying goes, “Touch Hammer Mountain and you’ll live to be three hundred and thirty.” Also known as “Qingchui Peak,” Hammer Mountain stands alone atop gently rolling hills, towering like a pillar reaching the sky. Its naturally formed shape—thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom—easily sparks the imagination. In the 41st year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign during the Qing Dynasty, the emperor, noting the peak’s resemblance to a pestle, bestowed upon it the name “Qingchui Peak.” Qingchui Peak stands alone atop gently rolling hills, towering like a pillar reaching the sky, and its naturally formed shape—thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom—easily sparks the imagination. It has been said to rival Namibia’s “Finger of God,” and descriptions calling it pestle-shaped or hammer-like are refined expressions found in texts. But in the hearts of locals, it is more like a divine essence gathered from heaven and earth. Childless women walk here in devout steps just to touch the peak at its summit and feel its masculine energy. Perhaps some women have indeed conceived after doing so, otherwise this near-religious custom would not have endured to this day. Quite remarkably, halfway up Qingchui Peak grows a mulberry tree about three meters tall. It is estimated that this mulberry tree and the peak have stood together for three hundred years, and legend has it that it is the oldest mulberry tree in China. At the foot of the peak lies a platform, and on the eastern cliff face are Qing Dynasty Esoteric Buddhist statues. Qingchui Peak faces the “Hammer Peak Sunset” pavilion in the summer resort from afar.