Guiping Baishi Mountain

Guiping Baishi Mountain

Baishi Mountain

Baishi Mountain is located 35 kilometers southeast of the county town and 8 kilometers northwest of Mazhong Township. At an elevation of 650 meters, it is referred to as the "Baishi Cave Heaven" in Taoist texts and ranks 21st among China's Thirty-Six Cave Heavens. Temples and monasteries began to be built on the mountain during the Song Dynasty, and it became a popular tourist destination after the Ming Dynasty. In the tenth year of the Chongzhen reign (1637), Xu Xiake came here to conduct research and wrote the "Travelogue of Baishi Mountain." To the east of the mountain is Duxiu Peak, a solitary peak that pierces the sky, and to the west is Lianhua Rui, also known as E'tou Peak, which is uniquely rugged and perilous, serving as the main peak of Baishi Mountain. At the foot of the mountain lies Shousheng Temple, the Alchemy Furnace, and not far away, there is also Flying Squirrel Rock—each a unique attraction drawing visitors.

Monk Facing the Cliff

As visitors ascend the mountain and approach its base, they can see beneath the steep cliffs a rock about two zhang tall, shaped like a person standing, facing the cliff wall, wearing what looks like a “monk’s hat” and “monk’s robes.” It is referred to in old county records as the “Monk Facing the Cliff.”

Shousheng Temple

Located at the foot of Baishi Mountain, originally named Sanbao Hall, also called Shousheng Yuan, or commonly known as the Great Temple, construction started in the third year of the Jiayou reign of the Song Dynasty (1058) and took ten years to complete. It was expanded during the Zhengde reign of the Ming Dynasty and renovated in the Wanli reign (late 16th to early 17th century). The plaque above the temple gate inscribed with the three characters “Shousheng Temple” was bestowed by Emperor Zhezong of Song, Zhao Xu, in the first year of the Xining reign (1068). In front of the temple stands a memorial archway carved from cinnabar stone, 7 meters high and 6 meters wide, inscribed with the characters “Xian Gong” (Immortal Palace) and adorned with vivid carvings of the Eight Immortals, built during the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty. The front hall of the temple is the Sanbao Hall, while the rear section features a grand towering pavilion, flanked by reception rooms and monks’ quarters. To the right of the temple is Hui Zhen Guan. After the liberation of Guiping, most of the temple buildings were repurposed as school facilities and used by Baishi Primary School.

“Baishi Cave Heaven” Cliff Inscription

Behind Shousheng Temple, on a sheer cliff thousands of feet high, are carved the four large characters “Baishi Cave Heaven.” Each character is roughly one square zhang in size and was inscribed in the late Ming Dynasty by Yang Dajie, a successful candidate in the imperial examinations from the county. Legend says he labored diligently for ten years to perfect these characters. Later, he composed a poem titled “Poetic Record of My Inspiration”: “Carving into the cliff out of sheer joy for eighteen years, I casually set my name upon the rock face; the mountain spirit has its own magical brush, asking me to wildly inscribe and thereby fill the cave heaven.” Indeed, the bold strokes of the “Baishi Cave Heaven” inscription carry the unrestrained feel of “wild calligraphy.”

Gurgling Jade Spring

Beneath the cliff behind Shousheng Temple lies a round pool called Zhuzhu Pool, also known as Gurgling Jade Spring. This is a mountain spring approximately 2 meters in diameter. Legend has it that in the past, when the temple monks rang the morning and evening bells and drums, the spring water would surge up as if boiling. The Qing Dynasty’s Tongzhi-era “Xunzhou Prefecture Annals” also recorded this, but according to the field investigation by the Ming Dynasty geographer Xu Xiake, the story was entirely far-fetched. On July 23 of the tenth year of the Chongzhen reign (1637), Xu Xiake specifically visited Baishi Mountain to study the matter. In his travelogue, he addressed this: “Beneath the cliff is Zhuzhu Pool, where water drips from the mid-level of the cliff into a round basin below—there is nothing unusual about it... According to the Annals: to the north of the mountain is Gurgling Jade Spring, and both 'Chronicles of Western Affairs' and 'Records of Hundred Yue Local Customs' claim that this spring would bubble and overflow when the bells and drums sounded, then become still when the sounds ceased, which they found strange. I say the bubbling or stillness of a spring follows its own natural rhythm—it is the monks who time their bell-ringing to coincide with the spring’s activity, not the spring responding to the sound. When I arrived at Baishi, I first asked at the Sanqing Guan, then investigated further at Shousheng Temple and regarding the name 'Gurgling Jade'; no one knew what it referred to, and the monks were clueless about the idea that the spring boiled at the sound of bells. It is all just hearsay from those keen for a good story.” Long-term observations by later generations have confirmed that Xu Xiake’s account is scientific and accurate. Moreover, the spring water is crystal clear, never dries up throughout the year, and tastes sweet and refreshing. Visitors who are thirsty find drinking it akin to sipping nectar.

Alchemy Furnace

Exiting Shousheng Temple and walking about 1 li to the right, there is a cave approximately 100 square meters in size, called Sanqing Rock. In front of the cave is a temple enshrining the Three Pure Ones of Taoism: Yuqing Yuanshi Tianzun, Shangqing Lingbao Daodejun, and Taiqing Taishang Laojun. Hence, it is called Sanqing Guan. On one side of the cave hall is a niche about 1 square meter wide, said to connect underground with the Goulu Cave Heaven in Beiliu County. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the famed Taoist Ge Hong often traveled between the two locations through this tunnel to practice alchemy. Today, remnants of the alchemy furnace and a statue of Ge Hong can still be found near the cave entrance.

Encircling Mountain Ancient Fortress

At the foot of Baishi Mountain, one can see an earthen rampart encircling the mountainside, with city gates every 100–200 meters connecting to the outside. This encircling mountain fortress wall was built during the Xianfeng reign of the Qing Dynasty, in the mid-Taiping Rebellion period. At that time, a rebel army led by Chen Kai and Li Wenmao of the Guangdong Tiandihui along the Xijiang River captured Xunzhou Prefecture and established it as Xiujing, founding the Da Cheng Kingdom. During this time, local officials of Xunzhou Prefecture and Guiping County had no choice but to retreat to Baishi Mountain, relying on the mountain’s terrain and building walls to maintain their reactionary rule. Since then, this winding, jade-like “Little Great Wall” has become one of the wonders of Baishi Mountain.

Cangyu Gorge

Also called Qingyu Gorge, and commonly known as Dongmen Alley, it is the essential route to climb Baishi Mountain and enter the Cave Heaven. The gorge is flanked by cliffs thousands of feet high, and between them runs a stone path only 2 meters wide and about 300–400 meters high, ascending through the cliffs with stone steps. As visitors climb the steep steps and look up, only a small arc of blue sky remains visible, hence it is also called “One Line Sky.”

Cloud Ladder

Above Cangyu Gorge lies a structure resembling a ladder hanging from the clouds, hence called the Cloud Ladder, also known as the “Thirty-Six Steps,” symbolizing the idea of “stepping on the cloud ladder to ascend to the heavens.” The ladder has 136 steps, carved into a long, massive cliff as stone treads, about 1 meter wide, extremely steep and treacherous, with a slope of over 70 degrees. Climbing it evokes the feeling described in a poem by Li Bai: “The mountain rises before your face, the clouds gather beside your horse’s head.” Many timid visitors are often daunted and turn back.

Immortals’ Gathering Temple

A few hundred meters above the Cloud Ladder lies a large cave with a spacious hall inside featuring “immortal footprints.” The “Baishi Cave Heaven” refers to this place. During the Ming Dynasty, five connected temples were built here, collectively called the Immortals’ Gathering Temple. Inside are dozens of exquisitely carved and lifelike divine statues, including one with a gaunt face, piercing eyes, and clearly visible ribs, nicknamed the “Thin Immortal.” Unfortunately, during the Cultural Revolution, all the statues were destroyed. Outside the Immortals’ Gathering Temple is the Immortals’ Gathering Pavilion, where legend says that those with fate may meet immortals here.

Flying Squirrel Rock

A few li to the west of Baishi Mountain lies Flying Squirrel Rock. There, two massive rocks support each other like a giant “eight” shaped cave entrance. This is Flying Squirrel Rock. The surrounding area is hilly, providing a favorable habitat for flying squirrels. The interior of the cave features a hall about 50 meters high, 30 meters wide, and over 20 meters deep, home to tens of thousands of flying squirrels. Every evening, they fly out in swarms to forage, forming a huge dark mass in the sky that resembles a cloud, accompanied by a deafening roar similar to ocean waves—a truly spectacular sight.