Wusha Bijia Mountain Park

Wusha Bijia Mountain Park

Located in Chenwu Village, Wusha, Chang’an Town, Bijia Mountain Park was originally part of the ancient Jingkang Salt Field and boasts a long history with numerous cultural relics.

Bijia Mountain is named for its shape resembling a brush rack; the terrain, shaped like a conch shell, is referred to as Luozhou. The surrounding area is lush with greenery and enveloped by water on all sides. Within the mountain are a temple and a monastery. Owing to its long and rich history, travelers throughout the ages have loved to climb the mountain to watch the tides and admire the scenery, making it known as a scenic gem of Luozhou and a famous spot of the Shimmering Sea, even earning the nickname “Little Penglai.”

Legend has it that during the Song and Yuan dynasties, villagers going out to sea often spotted flickering lights halfway up the mountain, which they found very peculiar. Once, during a flood tide, a wooden puppet floated in with the waters. The villagers believed it to be a deity and immediately placed it in a rock crevice, calling it the Flying Buddha. Later, the villagers built a temple and respectfully called it "Mother Rock," which became the origin of the Tin Hau Ancient Temple. In the following years, the village prospered with growing families and peace, and the people believed it was due to the protection of the deity. Thus, they erected a grand memorial archway and expanded the temple. The scholar Wang Zhen, then Minister of War, inscribed the words “A Penglai in the Blazing Sea.” Due to the site’s excellent terrain and beautiful scenery, many scholars and poets who visited the temple left behind poetic verses—such as “Omens remain here as sacred traces; Wusha’s scenery belongs to Luozhou”—which have been passed down through the ages.

Tracing back to the Shenhai Monastery of Bijia Mountain, it originated from Qinglin Temple in Xiangshan. As Qinglin Temple was often used as a hideout by bandits nearby, it was investigated and destroyed by the Yuan government. Later, a wandering monk passing by the ruins vowed to rebuild it to continue Buddhist practices. However, since the location had once been a banned site, reconstructing there might cause significant trouble. At this time, Chen Naxuan, an official who had returned to farming from Chenwu Village and served as a clerk in the Huguang Division of the Ministry of Justice, built a small retreat on Luozhou and composed a verse for it: “Fish when the tide rises, crabs when it falls; call the boy to take them to sell at the street, trade for wine to drink among the mountain flowers, open the wooden gate and shut out the little Penglai.” Given that the place was a pure land with deep woods and faced the vast sea, offering mirage-like views, the monastery was built in the fifth year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty and named Shenhai Monastery. After the monastery was built, Chen Naxuan frequently interacted with the monks, discussing Zen philosophy and teaching the villagers to cultivate good karma... In the second year of the Kangxi reign, the monastery was renovated again, adding structures such as the Mahavira Hall, bell and drum towers, a reception hall, and a tea pavilion. In the center of the temple complex, a round opening facing the sky was built, which the villagers called “Luoyan.” To this day, this ancient feature remains preserved in the rebuilt structure.