Forty-Li Horse Racing Plateau

Forty-Li Horse Racing Plateau

I. Overview of Origins

Forty-Li Horse Racing Rock is located in the western part of Baiyugou Valley, Hui’li Township. Its main peak, Gu Yan Mountain, also known as Fox Ancestor Mountain or Kuankuan Ridge, stands at an elevation of 2,261.9 meters. The mountain stretches 20 kilometers in a straight line, with elevations all exceeding 2,000 meters. It connects to Yunding Mountain to the north, Sidaochuan to the east, and Sigou Cliff to the south, forming the boundary between this county and Lishi County. The mountain preserves the broad syncline structural features formed during the Yanshan Movement and is classified as a limestone dome high mountain. The summit features a flat and expansive terrace from the Tangxian Period, rich in pasture. The soil in the northern part is quartz sandstone mountain brown soil, the central part is limestone mountain meadow soil, and the southern part is loess mountain grassy brown soil. The main peak, Gu Yan Mountain, is 24.5 kilometers east of Hui’li. The mountain ridge runs from north to south. In the sixth year of the Republic of China (1917), the "Shanxi Provincial Model Livestock Farm" under the Shanxi Provincial Government introduced dozens of Dutch cows and established the second branch of the Shanxi Provincial Model Livestock Farm in the eastern part of Hujia Valley, west of Hujia Village and west of Donggou Village in Bazhigou Valley. It had four sub-farms, respectively built in Houlingdi Village of Donghulu Valley, Hengjian of Zhongxichuan, Sujiawan, and Diaowo. In the sixteenth year of the Republic of China (1927), the second branch in Jiaocheng was merged into the second branch in Jingle, and the site became the camp of Yan Xishan’s cavalry brigade. Forty-Li Horse Racing Rock thus became a cavalry training ground.

II. Brief Introduction to Attractions

1. Sunset over the Leaning Pagoda of the Zen Temple

The Zen Temple Pagoda is located in the valley south of Chansi Pagoda Village in Baiyugou. It is surrounded by mountains on the east, south, and west. At dusk in summer, the setting sun shines directly through the western valley mouth onto the remaining pagoda, casting a golden glow on the pagoda and the trees around it, giving it a particularly spiritual and serene feel. The upper part of the pagoda has been destroyed, and its full appearance can no longer be discerned. The currently remaining parts include the pagoda body and base, which suggest that it was a single-story pavilion-style tomb pagoda. It has a diameter of about 2 meters, with a relatively high base that is noticeably larger than the pagoda body. The base is a Vajra Guardian Throne, featuring two tiers of guardians spaced about 30 centimeters apart, with approximately 30 guardians per tier. The upper tier has story bricks carved between adjacent guardians, while the lower tier has Bagua patterns between the guardians. The pagoda body has small gate towers on all four sides, with the north-facing gate being a double-leaf door and the east-facing gate being a slab door. Such pagodas are extremely rare in China, and their simple and elegant design makes them unique treasures from the late Tang and Five Dynasties periods.

2. Sea of Clouds over the Sedan Mountain

Sedan Mountain is located north of Zhangjiazhuang in Baiyugou. Its main peak stands at an elevation of 1,694 meters and is a limestone dome high mountain. The mountain is covered with pine and cypress trees on its slopes, with blooming flowers everywhere. Its square-shaped form resembles a bridal sedan chair, hence it was referred to as "Four-Ridge Mountain" in the Ming Dynasty’s *Taiyuan Prefecture Records*. The rocks on the mountain cliffs are bright red in color. During summer and autumn, when mountain mist is pervasive and the fog is misty, the mountain appears and disappears amidst the sea of clouds and fog, fluctuating up and down, resembling a colorful bridal sedan chair drifting slowly through the air. There used to be an ancient temple at the mountaintop, but it has now collapsed.

3. The Place Where Liu Wang Found His Sword

Traveling north along Forty-Li Horse Racing Rock leads to Nanyunding Mountain. The mountain was anciently called Liu Wang Yuan Mountain. Because the words "yuan" and "yun" are homophones in the local dialect, it is also called Liu Wang Yun Mountain. Liu Yuan, the founding emperor of the Later Han Dynasty, ascended the throne in Zuoguo City, Lishi, in the third year of Yong’an during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He climbed this mountain many times and once found an ancient sword on the northern side of Yunding Mountain. Zhao Jishi, the magistrate of Jiaocheng County in the early Qing Dynasty, wrote a poem: “Liu Yuan found his sword in the shade of this rock.” Yunding Mountain stands at an elevation of 2,274 meters. Standing at its summit, one can see the undulating peaks of Gujiri Mountain to the north and Horse Racing Rock to the south, resembling ocean waves — a breathtaking sight.

4. Yan Xishan’s Horse Racing Ground

The horse racing ground extends 20 kilometers from the western peak of Hujia Valley in the south to the southern part of Yunding Mountain in the north. The mountaintop is over half a mile wide, with endless pastures, unique landforms, and beautiful natural scenery. It serves as a summer retreat in summer and a prime area for alpine skiing in winter. Additionally, the mountaintop is rich in banded ice stones and iron-eye stones, which produce crisp, musical tones and feature ever-changing patterns in yellow and blue hues. More uniquely, the stones often contain small iron balls and iron fragments, making them truly captivating.