Guiyang Immortal Cave

Guiyang Immortal Cave

Guiyang Immortal Cave is located on the mountain between Xianren Cave Road (formerly known as Xianfeng Road) and Shuikou Temple Road in Guiyang (this mountain is also called Tonggu Mountain, renowned for the legendary bronze drum and counted among the Eight Scenic Spots of Guiyang during the Ming Dynasty). It is a famous Taoist site in Guiyang and is now a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit. Some historical records state that the cave was the place where Zhuge Liang’s general hid a bronze drum during the southern campaign, hence the name Tonggu (Bronze Drum) Cave.

Because the cave has good ventilation and air circulation, a humming sound can be heard at the entrance. Local legend attributes this to the sound of a bronze drum, leading to the mistaken belief that Zhuge Liang’s general had hidden one there. In the third year of the Zhengde era of the Ming Dynasty (1508), when Wang Yangming was exiled to Longchang Post (present-day Xiuwen) in Guizhou, he was invited to give lectures at the Guiyang Academy. He visited this cave and left behind a poem titled “Coming to the Immortal Cave.” The poem reads: “An ancient cave where chill pervades, few visitors tread the mossy, overgrown path. Scrolls hang from cliffs where monks’ verses stay, flowers bloom ‘mid vines that clothe Buddha’s wrath. A distant pot gathers youths near and far, a walking stick shows my waning official star. The stone gate locks in Yangming’s crane from sight, it’d laugh to see me lingering here so long.” Wang Yangming’s poem helped spread the fame of the “Immortal Cave” across China. During the Qing Dynasty’s Kangxi era (1662–1722), the cave served as a Taoist temple.

The Immortal Cave consists of three caves: the main Immortal Cave lies within the mountainside, the Immortal Lamp Cave sits atop the mountain, and the Eight Immortals Cave is above the Immortal Lamp Cave. Inside, statues of the Eight Immortals, such as Zhang Guolao and Lü Dongbin, are enshrined. Legend has it that the Eight Immortals played chess in the cave, while down by the Nanming River at the foot of the mountain, a giant rock and a giant turtle were locked in combat. One of the immortals, Lü Dongbin, threw a chess piece down, causing the turtle to flee and the boulder to crack into a boat-like shape, commonly known as the “Boat Stone.” The Boat Stone is located by the Nanming River near Shuikou Temple Primary School. It is a naturally formed, boat-shaped boulder that juts out of the water and serves as another scenic highlight near the Immortal Cave. The Boat Stone remains today, “like a wild boat moored at anchor.”

Transportation

Take bus routes 15, 34, 54, 305, or 306 and get off at the Shuikou Temple Bridge stop

Admission Fee

2 RMB per person

Location

No. 8, Xianren Cave Road, Nanming District, Guiyang City