Guiping Baishi Mountain

　　Baishi Mountain is located 35 kilometers southeast of the county town and 8 kilometers northwest of Mazhong Market. At an elevation of 650 meters, it is referred to in Taoist texts as the "Baishi Cave Heaven," ranking twenty-first among China’s Thirty-Six Cave Heavens. Temples and monasteries began to be built on the mountain during the Song Dynasty, and it became a popular tourist destination after the Ming Dynasty. In the tenth year of the Chongzhen reign (1637), Xu Xiake visited the site for research and wrote the "Travelogue of Baishi Mountain." To the east of the mountain lies Duxiu Peak, a solitary peak piercing the sky, while to the west is Lianhua Rui, also known as E’ tou Peak, a strange and precipitous formation that is the main peak of Baishi Mountain. At the foot of the mountain are the Shousheng Temple, the Alchemy Furnace, and not far away, the Flying Squirrel Rock—all unique attractions that draw visitors.

　　The Wall-Facing Monk

　　As visitors approach the foot of the mountain, they can see beneath the cliffs a rock about two zhang tall, shaped like a person standing, facing the cliff, wearing a “monk’s hat” and a “kasaya.” The old county annals refer to it as the “Wall-Facing Monk.”

　　Shousheng Temple

　　Located at the foot of Baishi Mountain, it was originally named Sanbao Hall, also called Shousheng Yuan, or commonly known as the Great Temple. Construction began in the third year of the Jiayou reign (1058) during the Song Dynasty and took ten years to complete. It was expanded during the Zhengde era of the Ming Dynasty and renovated in the Wanli era (late 16th to early 17th century). The plaque above the temple gate bearing the three characters “Shousheng Temple” was bestowed by Emperor Zhezong of Song, Zhao Xu, in the first year of the Xining reign (1068). In front of the temple stands a memorial archway carved from cinnabar stone, seven meters high and six meters wide, inscribed with the characters “Fairy Palace” and featuring vivid carvings of the Eight Immortals, built during the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty. The front section of the temple is the Sanbao Hall, while the rear section features a towering pavilion, with reception rooms and monks’ quarters on either side. To the right of the temple is the Huizhen Guan. After the liberation of Guiping, most of the temple buildings were converted into school facilities and used by Baishi Primary School.

　　“Baishi Cave Heaven” Cliff Inscription

　　Behind Shousheng Temple, on a sheer cliff thousands of feet high, are inscribed the four large characters “Baishi Cave Heaven.” Each character is about one square zhang in size, written by Yang Dajie, a successful candidate in the imperial examinations from the county, in the late Ming Dynasty. Legend has it that he spent ten years of painstaking effort to perfect these characters. Later, he composed a poem titled "Record of Inspiration": “With enthusiasm I carved the cliff for eighteen years, carelessly placing my name before the rock face. The mountain spirit surely possesses a magical brush, asking me to wildly inscribe and fill the cave heaven.” Indeed, the bold strokes of the “Baishi Cave Heaven” inscription carry a sense of wild calligraphy.

　　Shuyu Spring

　　Beneath the cliff behind Shousheng Temple lies a round pool called Zhuzhu Pool, also known as Shuyu Spring. This is a mountain spring about two meters in diameter. Legend says that in the past, when the temple monks rang the morning and evening bells and drums, the spring water would surge up like boiling water. The Qing Dynasty’s Xiangzhou Prefecture Annals also recorded this, but according to the Ming Dynasty geographer Xu Xiake’s on-site investigation, the story was entirely far-fetched. On July 23 of the tenth year of the Chongzhen reign (1637), Xu Xiake made a special trip to Baishi Mountain to conduct research, and he mentioned this in his travelogue: “Beneath the cliff is Zhuzhu Pool, where water drips from halfway up the cliff into a round basin below—there is nothing unusual about it. … According to the prefectural records: there is a Shuyu Spring to the north of the mountain, and both the Xishier and Baiyue Fengtuji claim that when the bells and drums were struck, the spring water would boil and surge, and when silent, it would become still, which they found remarkable. I believe the boiling or stillness of springs follows its own natural rhythm—it is the monks who time their bell and drum strikes to the spring, not the spring responding to the sounds. When I arrived at Baishi, I first inquired at the Sanqing Guan, then asked at the Shousheng Temple about the origin of the name Shuyu, but no one could tell me, and the monks were clueless about the story of the spring boiling at the sound of bells. It is all just hearsay.” Later observations confirmed that Xu Xiake’s account was scientific and accurate. The spring water is crystal clear, never dries up throughout the year, and tastes sweet and refreshing. Visitors who are thirsty find drinking it akin to sipping nectar.

　　Alchemy Furnace

　　About one li to the right of Shousheng Temple is a cave about 100 square meters in size, called Sanqing Yan. In front of the cave is a temple enshrining the three deities revered in Taoism: Yuqing Yuanshi Tianzun, Shangqing Lingbao Daodejun, and Taiqing Taishang Laojun, hence it is called the Sanqing Guan. On one side of the cave hall is a niche about one square meter wide, said to connect with the Goulao Cave Heaven in Beiliu County. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the famous Taoist Ge Hong often traveled through this cave between the two places to practice alchemy. To this day, remnants of the alchemy furnace and a statue of Ge Hong can still be found nearby.

　　Circular Mountain Ancient Fortress

　　At the foot of Baishi Mountain, one can see an earthen wall encircling the mountainside, with gates every one or two hundred meters connecting to the outside. This circular fortress wall was built during the Xianfeng era of the Qing Dynasty, in the mid-Taiping Rebellion period. At that time, a rebel army led by Chen Kai and Li Wenmao, leaders of the Tiandihui in Guangdong, moved up the Xijiang River, captured the Xunzhou Prefecture city, established it as Xiujing, and founded the Da Cheng Kingdom. During this period, local officials of Xunzhou Prefecture and Guiping County had no choice but to retreat to Baishi Mountain, relying on the mountain’s natural defenses to build walls and maintain their reactionary rule. Since then, this winding, jade-like “Little Great Wall” has become one of the wonders of Baishi Mountain.

　　Cangyu Gorge

　　Also known as Qingyu Gorge, or commonly called Dongmen Alley, it is the essential path to climb Baishi Mountain and enter the Cave Heaven. On both sides of the gorge are sheer cliffs thousands of feet high. Between the cliffs, a narrow stone alley about two meters wide and three or four hundred meters high climbs through the rock face, with stone steps in the middle. As visitors climb the steep steps and look up, only a small arc of blue sky can be seen, hence it is also called “One Line Sky.”

　　Cloud Ladder

　　Above Cangyu Gorge, resembling a ladder hanging from the clouds, it is thus called the Cloud Ladder, also known as the “Thirty-Six Steps,” implying the meaning of “stepping on the cloud ladder to ascend to the heavens.” The ladder has 136 steps, carved into a long, massive cliff, each step about one meter wide, extremely steep and dangerous, with a slope of over 70 degrees. As visitors climb, they are overcome with the feeling described in a poem by Li Bai: “The mountain rises before your face, and clouds gather beside your horse’s head,” making even the timid hesitate to proceed.

　　Huixian Guan

　　A few hundred meters above the Cloud Ladder is a large cave, inside of which is a hall with “immortal footprints.” The “Baishi Cave Heaven” refers to this place. During the Ming Dynasty, five connected temple buildings were constructed here, called Huixian Guan. Inside are dozens of exquisitely carved, lifelike statues of deities, one of which, with a gaunt face, piercing eyes, and clearly visible ribs, is known as the “Thin Immortal.” Unfortunately, all the statues were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. Outside Huixian Guan is Huixian Ting, where legend says that those with fate may meet immortals here.

　　Flying Squirrel Rock

　　A few li to the west of Baishi Mountain is Flying Squirrel Rock. Two huge rocks support each other like a mountain, forming an “eight” shaped cave entrance. This is Flying Squirrel Rock. Surrounded by rolling hills, the area is conducive to the habitat and activities of flying squirrels. The interior of the cave features a hall about 50 meters high, 30 meters wide, and over 20 meters deep, home to tens of thousands of flying squirrels. Every evening, the squirrels fly out in groups to forage, creating a dark, cloud-like mass in the sky, accompanied by a sound like ocean waves, a truly spectacular sight.