Guanyin Rock

　　　　The Guanyin Rock Religious Tourism Area is located in Guanyin Village, Yongxing Town, Jingshan County. It is fifteen kilometers from the county seat and four kilometers from the Zao-Dang Highway. Originally built before the Eastern Han Dynasty (220 AD), it features inscriptions personally written by Sun Wenlong of the Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period, a plaque inscribed with the words “A Joy of Official Travel” left by the imperial censor Shi Baoshan, and an imperial calligraphy by Emperor Qianlong that reads “Roots Untainted by Dust,” which he wrote during his travels across the country. The site was restored and invested in during 1988, and now houses over twenty temples, including the Jade Emperor Pavilion, the Main Hall, the Ancestral Master’s Palace, the Guanyin Hall, the West Buddha Temple, and the Three Buddha Temple. The spring water from the mountain behind the temples is natural mineral water, and the waterfall flows year-round—a truly unique sight. The name “Guanyin Rock” originates from a thousand years ago when, between the streams of two mountains, a woman was said to have lived in seclusion. She used the morning stream to wash and carry water for cooking, and in the evening, she drew water for lamp oil and sat by the light. For a hundred years she remained unchanged, until eventually seen by people in the mountains, who believed it to be the manifestation of Guanyin. Thus the place was named Guanyin Rock, and shrines were soon built. According to the county annals, Daoism at Guanyin Rock had already taken initial shape during the Yuan Dynasty, consisting of upper and lower temples and several shrines.