Shanmen Cave Scenic Area

　　Shanmen Cave is located in Wenji Mountain, 15 kilometers north of Ningguo City. Also known as Stone Gate, it is also called Lingyan. Wenji Mountain is formed from limestone, featuring bizarre rocks and numerous caves. According to records, there were "seventy-two large and small caves," among which the most famous are Dragon Pool, Purple Cloud, Loquat, Ripple, Lingyan (Shanmen Cave), and Chaoyang — each only about a mile apart, with Lingyan (Shanmen Cave) being the most extraordinary. Shanmen Cave is a natural cave, ten meters high and seventeen meters wide, with steep stone walls that suddenly open up like a city gate, wide enough for carts and horses to pass through. Inside the entrance stands Lion Peak, resembling a roaring lion lifting its head.

　　Further inside are Chaoyang Cave and Zao Guo Cave. Outside the cave are nine ginkgo trees, towering and shading the area, highlighting the ancient and lush character of the cave entrance. Nearby are Water Cave, Heaven Cave, and Lotus Cave, all serene and charming, with various stalagmites and stalactites, each uniquely shaped.

　　During the Tahe era of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (366–371 AD), a local scholar named Zhai Xing secluded himself in Purple Cloud Cave, marking the beginning of the development of Shanmen. Later generations referred to Lingyan Cave as "Zhai Xing's Stone Chamber" and inscribed stones to commemorate it. By the Tang Dynasty's Zhenyuan era (785–805 AD), a temple was first built near the cave, and during the Song Dynasty's Zhiping era (1064–1067 AD), it was granted the name "Lingyan Temple." Since then, the temple has enjoyed enduring incense offerings and unbroken prosperity, attracting many literati and poets who left behind numerous poetic works. Poet Zhou...

　　once wrote the line “Of all the wondrous mountains under heaven, Shanmen is the one with a gate; of all the gates under heaven, Shanmen’s is peerless,” which has been passed down through the ages. To this day, carvings on the stone walls such as “Fairy Rock Wall” and “Buddha Seat Lingyan” can still be faintly discerned.

　　Exact location: Shanmen Cave is located in Wenji Mountain, 15 kilometers north of Ningguo City