Golden Flower Mountain Scenic Area

Golden Flower Mountain Scenic Area

Golden Flower Mountain is located nine kilometers southeast of Lingyuan City center. It stretches 3.5 kilometers from north to south and 3 kilometers from east to west, covering a total area of over 20,000 mu. In 1994, it was designated as a provincial-level forest park by the Provincial Forestry Department (Liaoning Forestry Approval No. 45 [1994]).

The main peak of Golden Flower Mountain rises 919 meters above sea level, making it the tallest mountain near Lingyuan City. Its shape is like a house ridge, with steep cliffs all around. Notable rock formations include the Maitreya Stone, Rabbit Crouching, Stone Tiger, Wind-moving Rock, Mountain-guarding Halberd, and Monkey Holding a Lamp. Not far below the main peak lies a man-made stone cave called the “East Cave.” Nearby is a well known as the “Sacred Spring.” This spring is situated halfway up the mountain at an altitude of 800 meters. The well is about five feet deep, with stone-lined walls and bottom. The water is as clear as a mirror, visible to the bottom. It never dries up during prolonged droughts, nor does it overflow during heavy rains. It remains unfrozen in the bitter cold of winter and doesn’t spoil in the heat of summer. Visitors who drink this water often feel instant relief in their abdomen, as if all ailments vanish and their strength greatly increases—hence the name Sacred Spring. A temple complex consisting of three halls, spanning 200 square meters, has now been built here.

The Golden Flower Mountain Scenic Area boasts a forest coverage rate of 98%, remaining green all year round and alive with birdsong and floral scents throughout the seasons. In spring, it transforms into a vast ocean of blooming flowers, with fragrance drifting for miles. By autumn, the branches are laden with abundant fruit. The fruits of Golden Flower Mountain are famed both domestically and internationally for their high sugar content and excellent taste, becoming a branded product in the fruit market. Millions of pounds of fresh and dried fruits are produced here annually and distributed across the country. The area is richly forested with a wide variety of trees, including pine, cypress, poplar, willow, elm, and locust, along with dozens of rare tree species. There are also thousands of varieties of shrubs and herbaceous plants, as well as dozens of species of wild, rare birds and animals numbering in the thousands.

Currently, the site preserves ruins of ancient structures such as Huishan Temple, Mountain God Temple, East Temple, and a small pagoda. These temples were first built in the third year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty (1738), making them 273 years old. According to historical records and local legends, Emperor Shengzu of the Qing Dynasty granted permission to build a temple on Golden Flower Mountain, named Huishan Temple. The temple was grand and magnificent in structure, with a glorious history. Its captivating legends helped spread the fame of Golden Flower Mountain far and wide. At its peak, the temple housed over 300 monks and held dozens of Buddhist ceremonies each year, each attracting tens of thousands of worshippers in spectacular gatherings. It was renowned as the “Number One Mountain Beyond the Passes.” In 1947, it was destroyed in a great fire. To this day, legends persist in places like Heilongjiang about how 360 monks from Huishan Temple once shared a single pot of porridge, and how a young novice fell into the pot without anyone noticing until the porridge was all gone. The large pot from that time is still preserved on Golden Flower Mountain, with a diameter and depth of approximately two meters each.

According to *Records of Tazigou*, “Golden Yellow Mountain, located thirty-five li southeast of Tazigou (also known as Lingyuan), appears golden yellow when viewed from afar, hence its name. The mountain spans seventy li in circumference and features a stone cave eight chi wide and ten chi deep.”

“Luoboseng built a Guanyin Hall within the cave during the tenth year of the Qianlong reign, along with two living quarters on either side of the cave entrance. Less than one li southwest of the cave entrance, a spring flows continuously from a crevice in the rocks, uninterrupted through winter and summer, neither increasing nor decreasing.” Today’s “Golden Flower Mountain” is suspected to be a mispronunciation of “Golden Yellow Mountain.” Additionally, according to Volume 67 of the *Imperially Commissioned Gazetteer of Rehe*, “Golden Mountain, located thirty-five li southeast of Jianchang County (also known as Lingyuan), extends seventy li. The mountain stones… appear golden yellow when viewed from afar. Halfway up the mountain lies a stone cave, with a spring emerging less than half a li to the southwest, flowing continuously through winter and summer.” The cave mentioned in the records refers to today’s East Cave. It is believed that during the Qianlong era, both “Golden Yellow Mountain” and “Golden Mountain” were used interchangeably. After more than two hundred years of oral transmission, “Golden Yellow Mountain” became mistakenly known as “Golden Flower Mountain.”