Qilu Mountain Scenic Area

　　Qilu Mountain Scenic Area is situated in the northern suburbs of Yiwu City, within Suxi Town. It is mainly focused on mountain sightseeing, with Qifu Temple as the core attraction. The mountain features naturally formed landscapes with majestic and picturesque scenery, embodying grandeur, magnificence, beauty, ruggedness, serenity, and peril. It boasts numerous natural and cultural attractions, along with a cool and pleasant climate, making it an ideal destination for summer retreats, leisure, wellness, and vacation.

　　The area is covered with lush and diverse vegetation. It is home to historic sites with long-standing legends such as Qifu Temple, Dongqing Jinshi Ancestral Hall, Chan Sheng Hua Jia, Hidden Dragon Cave, and Divine Turtle Stealing Elixir Rock. Together with the region’s unique mountains, waters, and rocks, they form a distinctive landscape of high aesthetic value.

　　Qifu Temple: Originally built during the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty as a small nunnery, it enjoyed flourishing incense offerings. Through the vicissitudes of time and several cycles of destruction and reconstruction, it has grown into its current scale. Xianxiao Ju is said to have been built by Lou Zhen, a Jinshi (imperial examination graduate) from Dongqing Village during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, who later rose to the prestigious position of Jin Dian Chuan Lu. He was extremely filial to his mother, who was a devout Buddhist, practiced kindness, chanted scriptures, and enjoyed tranquility. Her son specially selected a location to build a residence where she could live in seclusion and practice Buddhism. Hence, it was named Xianxiao Ju (Residence of Filial Piety).

　　Dongqing Jinshi Ancestral Hall: Constructed during the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty, the building retains much of its original architectural form. It houses stone inscriptions from the Ming and Qing dynasties and holds significant cultural heritage value.

　　Divine Turtle Stealing Elixir Rock: Located in the eastern part of Chaye Wu (Tea Valley), amidst a large mountain of solid rocks with various shapes—some resembling arhats, others giant beasts. Legend has it that one massive rock shaped like a turtle, complete with head and feet, crawled down the mountain attempting to steal the elixir pills refined by Lü Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals, from the valley. However, Lü Dongbin discovered the attempt, wounded one of its feet with his sword, and used immortal magic to trap it in place, leaving it unable to move up or down. This legend gives the site its name.

　　Hidden Dragon Cave: In winter, steam continuously seeps out from the cave. Legend says a fire dragon is buried inside the cave, and the steam is the dragon’s breath. As a result, plants around the cave remain free of frost and snow, with temperatures several degrees higher than surrounding areas. Of course, this is just a legend. The scientific explanation is that geothermal heat rises through fissures in the earth’s crust and escapes through this cave.

　　Tianjing Spring and Stone Figure: A few hundred meters down from Hidden Dragon Cave lies an ancient spring called Tianjing Spring. No matter how long the drought lasts, the spring never dries up and provides clear, sweet water. Beside the spring stands a tall rock that resembles a human figure. Legend says this stone figure guards the spring for the immortals’ use and forbids mortals from approaching.