Songyun Temple

　　Located 30 kilometers southwest of Shangzhou City in Yangxie Town, there is a sturdy pine tree whose shape resembles drifting clouds and a coiling dragon. A temple was built around this pine and named “Songyun Temple,” formerly known as “East Temple.” It was renovated in the 53rd year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty (1788 AD). The original theater stage, bell tower, and drum tower have long been destroyed, and the temple fair held on the eighth day of the tenth lunar month has also been discontinued. Today, three front halls, three rear halls, seven side rooms, and a thousand-year-old pine tree remain.

　　People often describe pine trees as “standing tall and proud against the majestic sky,” but the giant tree before you twists and turns like a coiling dragon in motion, with its top branches and leaves spreading out like a sea of clouds surging over rivers and seas, covering the entire sky above the temple. The ancient pine is weathered with time, and every crack in its bark seems to record the ups and downs of history and poignant stories. According to inscriptions and historical records, “Songyun Temple got its name from the thousand-year-old pine within the temple. The branches of the ancient pine twist and spiral, while its main trunk resembles a vivid, living dragon, raising its head and swaying its tail. Its dense foliage forms a giant umbrella that shelters the sky above the temple. In the tranquil courtyard, visitors and worshippers come and go in small groups. Legend has it that when Wang Mang overthrew the Han Dynasty and declared himself emperor, he hunted down the imperial family member Liu Xiu. Liu fled into the Shangluo Mountains and took refuge under this pine tree, narrowly escaping danger. Later generations named it the ‘Dragon Pine’ because of its resemblance to a dragon floating among clouds.” It’s hard to imagine it leaning like this. That’s what makes this pine at Songyun Temple so unique.

　　Songyun Temple enshrines Guan Yu, and on one side of the main hall there is also an altar to the Goddess of Childbirth. We carefully observed the temple inside and out—it has an antique charm. In the courtyard, there are also three truly upright and ancient pine and cypress trees that accompany the ancient pine.

　　Note: Songyun Temple is about 30 kilometers from downtown Shangzhou City and is named after the legend that Liu Xiu once took refuge in a pine tree here.