Wuzhou Volcano Sunset Flames

　　      Located to the south of Wuzhou City and towering across the Xun River (West River). Surrounded by lush greenery all year round, it earned its name from the poetic line “Swords buried beneath shoot out light, illuminating the night sky like candles; hidden pearls float and shimmer, casting radiance upon the mountain at night.”      Legend has it that Zhao Tuo, the King of Nanyue in the late Qin Dynasty, hid his swords in this mountain, which caused it to emit light at night—visible once every few days. The flames would start at the base around the first watch of the night, spread upward, turning the entire mountain crimson, with the glow soaring into the sky before suddenly extinguishing, leaving the mountain as lush and green as ever by the next day. Another tale tells of a bottomless pool at the foot of the mountain, housing a precious pearl that would surface at the first watch on clear moonlit nights, casting divine light into the sky, resembling the phenomena of Mount Emei’s Gegar Light or Mount Heng’s Sacred Lamp—thus creating the marvelous sight known as “Volcano Sunset Flames.”      The mountain produces lychees that ripen as early as April each year, once famed nationwide as “Volcano Lychees.” In the Bingxue cave by the river at the mountain’s base, a delicious fish similar to small perch is found, especially tasty in late spring. It is said that these renowned fish first originated here before spreading elsewhere. The Tang Dynasty poet Shen Quanqi wrote the line: “Having endured the volcano’s heat, my face fades in the miasmic river.”

　　     Wuzhou City, Guangxi