Donglang Mountain

Donglang Mountain

When viewed from different angles, its appearance changes accordingly — resembling a tender maiden from the southeast, a staggering old man when facing due south, and a valiant warrior from the northeast. It offers endless food for thought.

Introduction

Located to the north of Fuli Town, by the road leading to Xingping, about one kilometer from Fuli Town and 10 kilometers west of Yangshuo County. It is a renowned pictographic mountain in the county, equally famous as Xilang Mountain in the west of the county. A massive rock stands prominently on the mountain, shaped like a human figure, corresponding to Xilang Mountain across the river, hence the name Donglang, also known as Dongren Mountain, or commonly referred to as Renzai Mountain.

The mountain has an elevation of 273 meters, a relative height of 160 meters, a length of 430 meters, a width of 290 meters, and covers a surface area of 12.47 hectares. To the east of the mountain lies Xiongshi Mountain, to the northeast are General Mountain and Ma’an Mountain, to the west is Phoenix Mountain, and to the southwest is Zhuangyuan Peak, making it a renowned mountain surrounded by peaks.

Since ancient times, there has been a touching legend about the twin brothers Donglang and Xilang and the twin sisters Yugu and Xiaogu, whose love story adds a layer of mystique to Donglang Mountain (see “Landscape Gardens · Yangshuo Park · Xilang Mountain”). On the roadside east of Donglang Mountain, there are the ruins of the Yingcheng Temple from the Song Dynasty and Dongshan Pavilion. The remaining stone tablet inscribed with “Imperial Edict from the Ministry of Personnel to Yingcheng Temple in Yangshuo County, Jinping Prefecture, Granting the Title of Wei Xian Hou” was engraved in the 11th year of the Shaoxing era of the Song Dynasty (1141), making it the oldest extant tablet in Yangshuo. To the south of Donglang Mountain lies the site of Huangdao Street, which flourished during the Song Dynasty. At the foot of the mountain was once a settlement of primitive humans from the Neolithic Age, with evidence of ancient ape activity. The Tang Dynasty poet Cao Ye wrote: “Donglang stands firmly facing the east, craning its neck to greet the sun each day; its loyal heart remains eternal through the ages — who says this place is remote and desolate?”