Jiuhua Lotus Mountain

Jiuhua Lotus Mountain

Jiuhua Lotus Mountain

Jiuhua Lotus Mountain is located in Nangongyingzi, Harqin Left Wing Mongolian Autonomous County, Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province. It derives its name from the nine springs that flow down the mountain. This mountain served as the backyard garden of the "Prince's Mansion" and is said to be the burial site of great treasures.

At an elevation of 758.7 meters, the mountain stretches from northeast to southwest and is located on the north bank of the Dalin River. The northeastern end lies in Zhuzhangzi Village, Pingfangzi Town, while the southwestern end is at the railway bridge near the junction of Xicun in Nangongyingzi Town and Shanwanzi Village in Pingfangzi Town. When you're within the mountain, apart from the exposed cliffs, lush forests, and brushwood, there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly remarkable. But seen from afar, the mountain resembles a blooming lotus flower, with the nine springs distributed across the beautiful waist of the mountain like lotus leaves. The springs overflow naturally, forming several small streams on the mountain that nourish the red flowers and green grass, irrigate the crops in the fields below, and are even scooped up by villagers for cooking. As the springs flow and gradually seep into the ground, locals say they stop in their tracks, reluctant to leave the beauty of Lotus Mountain. To this day, several springs still flow on the mountain. In spring, they form peach blossom water, gurgling into the farmlands to relieve spring droughts, and in summer, they irrigate the thirsty seedlings in the fields.

Speaking of Jiuhua Lotus Mountain, there is a local legend: on the mountain lies a crescent-shaped pool where, hundreds of years ago, a sacred lotus bloomed. Every evening, it emitted a soft, radiant moonlight, which is why the mountain is also called Jiuhua Lotus Moon Mountain. But why did the lotus and the radiant moonlight in the moon pool disappear? The legend begins here—

Back then, Emperor Kangxi, disguised, traveled north and arrived at the Harqin Left Wing Banner beneath Jiuhua Lotus Mountain, staying at the Prince’s Mansion at the foot of the mountain. The imperial visit delighted the prince, who, during the evening banquet, summoned his most beautiful dancers to entertain Emperor Kangxi. Suddenly, one dancer swayed and nearly fell, startling the emperor, who fixed his gaze on her for a moment. The prince seemed to understand and, when Kangxi retired after bathing, sent a weeping dancer to his bedside—sent to accompany the emperor for the night. Recognizing her as the near-falling performer, Kangxi asked her name. She replied, “I am Lotus. The prince forced me to be a dancer, and now I am pregnant. I beg Your Majesty for mercy.” Kangxi then ordered the guards to escort her back to her quarters.

By the time Kangxi returned to the capital, he had long forgotten the incident—but word had already reached the palace. One night, Kangxi summoned the Minister of Astronomy and asked which of his sons would inherit the throne. Unaware that the dancer had been sent away, the minister, knowing the prince had offered a beauty for the emperor’s company, pretended to study the stars and declared, “The true heir to the throne has appeared among the Mongol banners in the northeast!” The emperor was shocked and unsure how to respond. The astronomy minister suggested bringing the one-month-old son born to Lotus to the palace, naming him crown prince, having him attend court daily, and granting him a dragon throne—all intended to gradually disperse his imperial aura. The boy grew up in the palace and was later made Prince Zhang. Following the minister’s advice, the emperor ordered Prince Zhang to lead the troops of the 48 Mongol banners of the northern passes to suppress the Zunghar rebellion upstream along the Yellow River, hoping he would perish in battle and eliminate future trouble. However, Prince Zhang survived two major battles and returned victorious. Fearing his plot would be exposed, the minister again sought to harm Prince Zhang by persuading the emperor to send him to fight in the western frontiers. Meanwhile, the minister secretly bribed the Ministry of War to withhold supplies and reinforcements, leaving Prince Zhang surrounded, suffering heavy losses, and ultimately dying in the chaos of battle.

After Prince Zhang’s death, the astronomy minister volunteered to oversee his funeral to dispel suspicions from the Prince’s Mansion. Upon approval, he led a procession to bury Prince Zhang at the foot of Jiuhua Lotus Mountain. When the minister saw the mountain, his heart skipped a beat. He thought, “This must be the mountain that produced such talent for the Mongol banners—and perhaps even a future true dragon emperor.” He then ordered Prince Zhang to be buried deep in the moon pool of the mountain, intending to sever the dragon vein and ensure the prince’s lineage would end. Prince Zhang was buried deep in the moon pool, and his birth mother—the former dancer Lotus—took her own life. From then on, the moon pool became a graveyard, the radiant moonlight vanished, and the beautiful lotus was gone. Later, the Jasak Prince’s Mansion was rife with power struggles over succession, taxes and military conscription increased, and local people suffered from hunger and cold.

Such days continued for countless years until the Five-Star Red Flag was raised above Beijing’s Tiananmen Gate, and the people at the foot of Jiuhua Lotus Mountain finally began living prosperous lives. Entering the 21st century, tremendous changes took place around Jiuhua Lotus Mountain. Transportation improved with the Wei-Ta Railway and National Highway 306 passing through the area. Due to the mountain’s one-hundred-million-ton limestone reserves, the county established a cement plant with an annual output of 40,000 tons, and the town sells 40,000 tons of limestone annually to Jianchang Cement Plant. At the foot of the mountain lies a fruit orchard farm, producing Fuji apples that sell for over one yuan per jin, providing farmers with substantial income. In the 1980s, Qijianfang Village built a pond dam at the mountain’s base for water storage, and in 2003, Xicun constructed a 150-cubic-meter cistern in the mountains to alleviate drought. Small-town development at the mountain’s base has taken initial shape.

Source: Tourism Bureau of Harqin Left Wing Mongolian Autonomous County