Binyang Longyan Mountain

Binyang Longyan Mountain

Longyan Mountain is located in the northeast corner of Litang Town, covering an area of 130 acres. It is a garden-style cultural park that integrates sightseeing, leisure, appreciation, and entertainment. It is 35 kilometers from the county town and 102 kilometers from Nanning.

Longyan Mountain stands 164 meters above sea level, stretching from east to west, higher in the west and lower in the east, with beautiful scenery and lush forests. The cave is over 10 meters high. The cave entrance resembles the mouth of a giant dragon that looks drowsy and ready to doze off. About 300 meters in front of the dragon’s mouth lies Dragon Pearl Mountain, shaped like an embroidered ball. The two mountains stand opposite each other, forming the image of a giant dragon playing with a pearl. Stone steps behind the mountain lead directly to the summit. From the top, you can enjoy panoramic views of Litang Town, factories, rural areas, the renewed urban landscape, and Guangxi’s second-largest railway marshalling yard—Litang Station—as well as the Xianggui Railway, Litang-Zhanjiang Railway, and Litang-Qinzhou Railway. Inside Longyan Cave, a clear spring gushes from beneath the rock wall, forming “Dragon Pool” (connected to an underground river), with a pleasant temperature that is warm in winter and cool in summer. The cave features a romantic dance hall, an ice-skating rink, and other attractions, offering a unique karst cave entertainment experience.

Here, there is a comprehensive building that combines accommodation and entertainment for visitors; there is Longyan Temple where worshippers can pray and make wishes; and there is a swimming pool for fitness and cooling off. If you are spiritually inclined, you can listen to Buddhist chants at 5:30 a.m. or 4:00 p.m. every morning inside the temple. Walking eastward from Longyan Temple, you’ll find a winding path shaded by greenery. At the end of the path stands a 9-meter-tall statue of Buddha, smiling as if waiting for you to fulfill your vows. Further east, there is a miniature Bodhisattva Cave, which is over 600 meters long, runs through the entire Longyan Mountain, and covers an area of more than 3,000 square meters. The temperature inside the cave remains around 20°C year-round. Developed in 1996, the cave features over 20 scenic spots, including Immortal Stone Drums, Peach Blossom Fairyland, Undersea Dragon Palace, Gathering of Immortals, Flower Mountain Murals, and scenes of the Zhuang ethnic villages. The cave has narrow passages and spacious halls, with twisting and interconnected stalactites and stalagmites in bizarre and vivid shapes. Lifelike stone statues of Bodhisattvas of various sizes are carved throughout. If you are a newlywed couple, gently tapping the twin stone drums in the cave is said to bless you with a desirable set of twins. As you explore the various attractions, each one is colorful and magnificent, leaving you feeling refreshed and reluctant to leave. The site often attracts tourists from the United States, Canada, Russia, the United Kingdom, Japan, and other countries, and renowned Chinese poets, writers, and journalists have also left poetic inscriptions praising Longyan Mountain.

Speaking of Longyan Mountain, there are also two ancient and beautiful legends:

Ancient Legend One: In Litang Town, there was a smart and beautiful Zhuang girl who was skilled in embroidery and weaving. One year, she meticulously embroidered a dazzling red embroidered ball, intending to give it to her beloved. However, just as she finished the ball, a wandering dragon from Zhelong Mountain (14 kilometers southeast of Litang Town, at an altitude of 1,170 meters) spotted it and desperately wanted to possess it. So, under the cover of a moonless and starless night, the dragon stirred up a blinding wind and flew down to the human world, stealing the girl’s beautiful red embroidered ball. Overjoyed with the prize, the dragon, in gratitude to the girl who made the ball, began to dance gracefully in the sky. It somersaulted, spewing clouds and mist; it soared straight into the sky, exhaling crimson clouds; and it dove close to the ground, howling with fierce winds. Local people flocked outdoors to watch, burning incense and candles, praying for safety and the prosperity of their livestock.

The dragon danced wildly for three days and three nights. By the fourth day, as dawn broke, it was exhausted, drowsy, and listless, eventually collapsing to the ground with its mouth agape, gasping for breath. In the process, the red embroidered ball flew hundreds of meters away. At that moment, golden light burst forth from the east, the sky became cloudless, and rays of rosy clouds spread across the heavens as the sun slowly rose. The dragon could no longer fly. It then turned into a stone mountain—the present-day Longyan Mountain—while the red embroidered ball became a small round stone mountain, now known as Dragon Pearl Mountain.

Later, to commemorate the dragon, the local people built an ancient-style Longyan Temple at the dragon’s mouth.

Ancient Legend Two: In the northeast corner of Litang Town, an old widow lived alone and suffered from illness. One day, she encountered a young snake with a broken tail, took pity on it, and brought it home. From then on, they depended on each other, and she cared for it with great devotion. A year later, the snake shed its skin and transformed into a golden dragon. The widow passed away peacefully, and the dragon, grief-stricken, dug a grave to bury her. The following year on Qingming Festival, the golden dragon returned with wind and rain, stealing heavenly nectar to offer as a sacrifice at the grave. It lingered there, looking back year after year. Over time, it transformed into a mountain. Dragon Pearl Mountain marks the widow’s grave, while Longyan Mountain is the incarnation of the golden snake.

In recent years, over 500,000 yuan has been invested in constructing two antique-style pavilions at the mountain’s summit and base, as well as completing the largest single-character “Dragon” calligraphy stone carving in China on the mountain’s northern face, along with a series of smaller “Dragon”-themed stone carvings.

Today, it has developed into a Buddhist tourism destination, with expanded and supporting temple architecture; the development of cliff inscriptions, stone carvings, and sculptures; the exploration of eight large and small karst caves within the mountain; the creation of a forest of stone tablets; the cultivation of landscape plants and gardening; and the expansion of artificial scenery.

Longyan is a paradise that makes travelers never want to leave.

Longyan is spiritual—if it transforms into a golden dragon, it will carry Binyang and soar with the world.

Transportation Guide

Scenic Area Address: Northeast corner of Litang Town, Binyang County, Nanning City