Dashan Mountain

　　Dashan Mountain, also known as Yunxiu Mountain, is one of the famous mountains in Xinyi City. It is located in Beiluo Village on the outskirts of Xinyi City, with an elevation of 728 meters and situated just 3 kilometers from the city center. The scenic area covers 10 square kilometers. Legend has it that in ancient times, a man named Zhong Dashan sacrificed his life heroically on this mountain to save the people. The locals built the Zhong Dashan Temple on the mountain to worship him, and thus the mountain got its name. The mountain consists of three main peaks connected together, resembling a peacefully sleeping giant, which is why it is also called "Da Ren Shan" (literally "Giant’s Mountain"). With its towering ridges, majestic presence, hidden peaks, misty clouds, rugged rocks, rustling pine trees, hidden treasure caves, and diverse landscapes, the mountain is also rich in medicinal herbs and fragrant mountain tea. It is covered with lush forests and bamboo groves, and filled with birdsong and floral scents.

　　The mountain is “steep and majestic, towering into the sky, with hundreds of springs gushing out from the mist and flowing down into streams. There is also the Cloud Stream Nunnery.” For a long time, it has attracted poets and scholars who lingered here, composing poems. During the Qing Dynasty’s Shunzhi era, Xu Ming?, the magistrate of Xinyi, wrote: “The stream water seems to come from the heavens above, / Clusters of clouds cover the desolate terrace. / The central peak’s stone silently roars like a coiled dragon, / Hundreds of springs flow as wild geese return. / No worries for drought when in a land of abundance. / Signs of a bountiful year appear at spring’s terrace. / Often burdened with worry for the people’s plight, / I find joy and laughter resting here in delight.”

　　The mountain features dense woods, uniquely shaped rocks, clear mountain streams, and swirling clouds. It is abundant with medicinal herbs such as angelica, schizonepeta, honeysuckle, moneywort, and asarum. Legend says that the beans on Dashan Mountain were seeds scattered by the Immortal Woman He, which can cure chickenpox and clear heat and toxins. Another legend says that during the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty, anyone who climbed the mountain and drank from the Immortal Spring was spared from the then-rampant plague. There is also a tale of a farmer who, after joining others on the mountain, changed his fortune—his crops flourished and his livestock thrived. As a result, it became a custom to climb the mountain every year on the first day of the fifth lunar month to enjoy the view and gather medicinal herbs. Residents from nearby areas, within a 20-li radius, would form groups to go, with 3,000 to 5,000 visitors on May 1st alone. This tradition continued even after 1949.

　　The mountain also has fragrant gardens that are intoxicatingly pleasant. Qing Dynasty poet Lin Xiangyuan from Xinyi wrote in “Highland Cloud Stream”: “Washing the alms bowl by flowers, the fragrance turns into rice; / Brewing tea beyond the bamboo, snow fills the cup.” If you experience it firsthand, you will deeply feel that it is a true reflection of life.

　　Dashan Mountain has many beautiful myths and legends among the locals: the Eight Immortals, including Iron-Crutch Li, Lu Dongbin, and Immortal Woman He, once accompanied Imperial Uncle He in his cultivation here, leaving behind many scenic spots. There are features such as a horse on the left and a lion on the right, stepping on a turtle and snake, and among them, “Horse Ridge Soaring” is one of the former Eight Scenic Spots of Xinyi. Other scenic spots related to legends include Golden Rooster Cave, Cliff Eagle Nose, Two Peaks Ridge, Treasure-Bringing Ridge, Immortal Spring, Immortal Stove, Immortal Spring Cave, Immortal Millstone, Immortal Footprint, Stone Dog Ridge, Three-Legged Stove, Dragon Fangs Towering Green, Little Jade Pool, Immortal Woman He’s Well, and Earth Dragon Temple. Therefore, locals also call this mountain Immortal Ridge and have built an Eight Immortals Temple to worship them.

　　Climbing to the top of Dashan Mountain gives you the feeling of “overlooking all other mountains as small,” broadening your heart and opening your horizons.

　　Dashan Mountain, after development from 1992 to 1999, added many attractions and built a cement road for climbing. Now, visitor numbers continue to grow, making it a rare and valuable tourist scenic spot near Xinyi City.