Pengxi Gaofeng Mountain (Temple)

Pengxi Gaofeng Mountain (Temple)

Pengxi Gaofeng Mountain (Temple) is a national AA-level tourist attraction.

Gaofeng Mountain, also known as Gaofeng Mountain, is located in Gaofeng Village, Wenjing Town, about 25 kilometers north of Pengxi County. It is under the jurisdiction of Wenjing Town and borders Shehong and Xichong counties. With an elevation of 547 meters, Gaofeng Mountain is one of the higher peaks within Pengxi County. The mountain houses a temple called Gaofeng Temple (also known as Guangjiao Temple), and the mountainside features ancient fortress walls with gates to the east, west, south, and north.

According to the "Sichuan General Annals" and the "Pengxi County Annals," Gaofeng Temple was built in the early Tang Dynasty and has a long history of over 1,300 years. It was destroyed and rebuilt multiple times due to wars. For approximately 1,100 years until the end of the Qing Dynasty, it served as a Buddhist temple, with ancient temple structures covering an area of over 100 square meters. In the late Qing Dynasty, a Taoist priest named Wang Yuanqing resided here to preach. In the 24th year of the Guangxu reign (1898) during the Qing Dynasty, Fan Mingqing, a tailor from Xichong County, abandoned his craft to study Taoism and came to Gaofeng Temple to become a disciple of Wang Yuanqing, receiving the Taoist name Fan Yunfeng. Wang Yuanqing passed away in 1919. In October 1932, the temple's estate was put up for sale by the Xichong–Pengxi Public Property Clearance Office under the command of Li Weiru, commander of the First Route of the 29th Army of the National Revolutionary Army. Fan Yunfeng purchased it with his own funds. From then on, Fan Yunfeng and his disciples and followers jointly managed the temple, carrying out two major renovations and expansions. Between 1933 and 1939, under Fan Yunfeng’s direction, the mountain gate, Hall of Three Teachings, Hall of the Medicine Buddha, Hall of the Jade Emperor, Hall of Skanda, Hall of Founders, Hall of Arhats, Southwest Reception Hall, Wang-Fan Stele Pavilion, theater stage, woodshed, and all the deity statues were built or renovated. Between 1939 and 1947, five of Fan Yunfeng’s disciples oversaw the expansion of dormitories, alchemy rooms, the Southwest Reception Hall, and additional stele and statue pavilions, giving the temple a renewed and increasingly expansive appearance. Fan Yunfeng and his five disciples maintained frequent contact with high-ranking Kuomintang political and military figures. According to records, more than 30 prominent KMT figures, including Lin Sen, He Yingqin, Sun Fo, Ju Zheng, Yu Youren, Dai Jitao, Chen Cheng, Chen Guofu, Chen Lifu, Zhang Qun, Wang Lingji, Wang Zanyu, Yang Sen, Feng Yuxiang, Deng Xihou, Bai Chongxi, Liu Xiang, Liu Wenhui, and Tian Songyao, presented plaques and inscribed boards to the Gaofeng Mountain Temple. From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republican era, the temple displayed over 300 plaques (and couplets) inscribed by notable figures from across the country. As a result, Gaofeng Mountain Temple became one of the more influential Taoist temples in Sichuan Province.

In the early years of liberation, the Party and government placed great importance on the Gaofeng Mountain Temple. On March 25, 1950, the Director of the North Sichuan Administrative Office — along with Deputy Directors Qin Zhongfang and Liu Juikui — issued a proclamation strictly ordering the protection of Gaofeng Mountain. At the same time, the People’s Government of Pengxi County also issued a proclamation stressing the need to protect the Gaofeng Mountain Temple and its forests.

However, due to historical reasons, starting from the late 1950s, especially during the Cultural Revolution’s campaign to destroy the "Four Olds," the Gaofeng Mountain Temple and its cultural relics suffered relatively severe damage: parts of the architecture, carvings, and all the statues were damaged, wooden plaques and couplets were destroyed or repurposed, and many ancient trees on the mountain were felled. Nevertheless, because the site was used in rotation by various organizations, the main framework of the ancient cultural architecture at Gaofeng Mountain remained largely intact in terms of its layout from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republican period, laying the foundation for later repairs and reconstructions.

In 1985, the cultural department of Pengxi County assigned specialists to Gaofeng Mountain to oversee cultural relic protection and management, and began the process of restoring the relics and recovering scattered artifacts. In 1986, the Suining Municipal People’s Government designated Gaofeng Mountain (Temple) as an official Taoist religious activity site. Since then, over the past twenty-plus years, through the efforts of various parties, the ancient structures that survived the turmoil have been carefully restored, some lost plaques have been recovered, stone inscriptions and cultural relics have been properly preserved, scenic forests have gradually regenerated, and new complementary landscapes have been formed. In October 2003, Gaofeng Mountain was rated as a national AA-level scenic tourist area.

Gaofeng Mountain (Temple) covers an area of nearly 200 acres, with a construction area of over 5,200 square meters. The existing cultural relics consist of four main parts: the main temple, the tomb of Wang Yuanqing and its stele pavilion, the tomb of Fan Yunfeng and its stele pavilion, and the fortress walls and gates. In addition, there are over 30 stone tablets and plaques.

The main temple covers an area of more than 3,900 square meters and is arranged along the mountain slope, consisting of two or three levels. It includes the mountain gate, Hall of the Three Pure Ones, Hall of Laozi, Hall of Wenchang, guest hall, and living quarters. The Hall of the Three Pure Ones, built in the late Qing Dynasty, is situated at the highest point of the main temple, facing south. Most of the other structures were built during the Republican period, arranged densely around the Hall of the Three Pure Ones following the mountain’s contours. This creates a complex and ingenious layout of towers and corridors, featuring hidden chambers, passageways, partition walls, sky bridges, and overlapping staircases, earning it the reputation of being a “labyrinth” architectural marvel.

Tomb of Wang Yuanqing and its stele pavilion: The tomb itself was disturbed during the Cultural Revolution. The stele pavilion was rebuilt in 1989 and is also known as the True Immortal Realm. It is a wooden, double-eaved hip-and-gable structure originally built during the Republican period. It measures 5.4 meters in width, 7.3 meters in depth, and 10.5 meters in height, and is dedicated to Wang Yuanqing.

Tomb of Fan Yunfeng and its stele pavilion: The structure covers a construction area of 697 square meters. The tomb was disturbed during the Cultural Revolution. The stele pavilion, also known as the Immortal Selection Platform, was built during the Republican period as a wooden, double-eaved hip-and-gable structure measuring 15 bays wide (64.3 meters) and 6 bays deep (10.5 meters), with a total height of 6.5 meters. It is dedicated to Fan Mingqing. The pavilion contains numerous relief sculptures of theatrical characters and 23 ink paintings of immortal and Buddhist figures from the Republican period, all of a high artistic quality.

Fortress walls and gates: These are said to have been built during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Located mid-mountain, they were constructed in sections as needed. Today, they stretch approximately 3 kilometers in total length, with the highest section about 13 meters tall. The terrain is steep and strategically important. Before liberation, local village militias often set up winter defense posts on the fortress. There are four gates to the east, west, south, and north, with varying degrees of preservation, but no alterations have been made. The fortress walls and gates of Gaofeng Mountain are well-preserved examples of ancient mountain fortresses.

Plaques, couplets, and stone inscriptions: From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republican period, the Gaofeng Mountain Temple displayed over 300 plaques inscribed by notable individuals. Records indicate that more than 30 prominent Kuomintang political and military figures, including Lin Sen, He Yingqin, Sun Fo, Ju Zheng, Yu Youren, Xie Wuliang, Feng Zikai, Zhang Lan, Dai Jitao, Chen Cheng, Chen Guofu, Chen Lifu, Zhang Qun, Wang Lingji, Wang Zanyu, Yang Sen, Feng Yuxiang, Deng Xihou, Bai Chongxi, Liu Xiang, Liu Wenhui, and Tian Songyao, presented plaques and inscribed boards to the temple. However, only around thirty plaques survive today. Among them, the plaque inscribed with “Virtue Brings Greatest Joy” was gifted by Lin Sen (1867–1943), Chairman of the Nationalist Government, on February 15, 1942. The “Hermit of the Mountains” plaque was gifted by Wang Zanyu, Governor of Sichuan Province during the Republican period, in the winter of 1938. The “Following in the Steps of Chongyang” plaque was gifted by Deng Xihou, Governor of Sichuan Province during the Republican period, on March 5, 1942. The most exquisite is the “Scenic Beauty of Northern Sichuan” plaque, calligraphed by Yu Youren.

Scenic Forests: The mountain has over ten ancient cypress trees, including one with a circumference large enough to be encircled by three people — estimated to be about 500 years old. There are also more than 5,000 other scenic trees such as cypresses and camphor trees, as well as over 1,000 fruit trees of various kinds.

Gaofeng Mountain (Temple) has preserved much of its historical original appearance.

Wenjing Town: In 2019, Xinxing Township and Luoguo Township were abolished, and their administrative regions were incorporated into Wenjing Town. The Wenjing Town People’s Government is located at No. 100 Wenfeng Street.

Wenjing Town is located in the northern part of Pengxi County. Although the town itself is small, it boasts abundant natural resources and talented people. Its main street is lined with numerous small shops. Despite not being extremely bustling, the town center is lively and teeming with activity. It is one of Pengxi County’s three provincially designated key towns and is also slated to be developed by the county’s Party Committee and government into a “Famous Town for Taoist Cultural Tourism.” Known as the “Famous Taoist Mountain of Central Sichuan,” Gaofeng Mountain … Wenjing Town detailed information++