Meijiang Scenic Area

　　The Meijiang area spans a total of 136.64 square kilometers and combines mountains, water, caves, peaks, rocks, springs, waterfalls, cliffs, steep walls, deep pits, and karst lakes. It features various geological landforms such as folds, faults, and nodal developments. Longquan Gorge, Cangjun Cave, and Huangluowan are products of the Quaternary period, exhibiting characteristics and hallmarks of early-stage karst landform development that differ from those of Lunan Stone Forest and Zhangjiajie. These areas hold high aesthetic value and scientific research significance for karst geology. In Immortal’s Mansion, there are caves within caves, with waterfalls forming inside. Xianglu Mountain presents eight vivid scenes within a single rock formation. Longquan Gorge shifts from moments of apparent dead ends to sudden turns revealing new paths, culminating in a breathtaking “sky window” at its end. The Lotus Spring at Guanyin Cliff connects underground with Saihai Lake, while the beautiful, winding Meijiang River—like a jade ribbon—links all the scenic wonders together. At Meijiang, visitors can admire an imperial mausoleum, two beautiful lakes, three rock gates, four green oases, five temples, six grand waterfalls, a seven-li gorge, eight hundred unique peaks, the winding Meijiang River, and ten spectacular views. A colorful Meijiang Tourism and Cultural Arts Festival is held annually at the end of September.

　　Ancient Divine Land is one of the scenic area’s major highlights. Located within the Saihai–Longquan Gorge scenic zone, it is a large karst cave in Meijiang Park, stretching 28,000 meters in total length, with over 3,000 meters already explored. It houses more than 20 spacious and grand cave chambers. The cave is known for its towering, expansive chambers, unique attractions, and magnificent presence. It consists of 17 cave chambers, including “The Founding Ceremony,” “Five Lakes and Four Seas,” “Penglai Island,” “Bridges Across the Nine Continents,” “China’s No. 1 Stone Waterfall,” “The Milky Way in Heaven,” “Potala Palace,” and “The Gobi Desert Beyond the Frontier.”

　　Meijiang is like a natural zoo, especially rich in wild pheasants. Legend has it that a hunter once went hunting on Zhuyun Peak and spent the entire day managing to catch just one wild pheasant. As evening fell, due to some mysterious obstruction, the hunter couldn’t find his way back. He had no choice but to spend the night on a small flat area atop Zhuyun Peak. He built a campfire to ward off the cold and soon grew hungry. So, he placed the pheasant over the fire to roast. Just as it became fragrant and ready to eat, a scholar dressed in white approached. The scholar walked up to the fire, took the pheasant from the hunter, and began eating it. When the hunter began to protest, the scholar tore half of it back and handed it to him, saying, “Catch half, eat half, or you’ll never find your way home,” before leaving. At that moment, the hunter clearly saw the path back. Ever since, hunters in the Meijiang region have developed the habit of bringing roasted pheasant when venturing out or roasting it in the mountains.

　　Today, the popular roasted pheasant in the Meijiang region is cooked over firewood or charcoal, seasoned with coarse salt, ginger powder, pepper ash, and chili powder. The flavor is especially delicious, fragrant, tender, and delicate.

　　The Meijiang Scenic Area boasts beautiful landscapes, unique landforms, and a comprehensive array of sights. It integrates mountains, water, caves, peaks, rocks, springs, waterfalls, cliffs, steep walls, deep pits, and karst lakes. Its picturesque scenery has been renowned since ancient times and is hailed as the foremost of the “Eight Scenic Views of Anhua.” It is considered one of China’s classic representatives of natural landscape beauty and poetic artistic conception.