Qingshan Scenic Area

　　Qingshan, also known as Qilinxian Mountain, features rugged terrain, rolling peaks, elegant rock formations, undulating ridges, lush forests, and murmuring springs. Historical records indicate that Xie Tiao, a poet of the Southern Qi Dynasty and prefect of Xuancheng, was deeply enamored with its beauty, calling it the “capital of landscapes.” He even built a residence on the southern side of the mountain. Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty, who “bowed his head in reverence to Xie of Xuancheng” all his life, admired both the scenery of Qingshan and the character of Xie. He once expressed the wish to “live near Qingshan, neighbors to Xie Tiao,” hoping to become an immortal neighbor across ages.

　　After Li Bai’s passing, he was originally buried at the southeastern foot of Longshan. In the 12th year of the Yuanhe era (817) during the Tang Dynasty, Fan Chuanzheng, the Observer of Xuanshi-Chizhou, following Li Bai’s dying wish to be “buried at Qingshan,” together with Zhuge Zong, the magistrate of Dangtu County, relocated Li Bai’s tomb to the southwestern foot of Qingshan, now at the entrance of Gujiacun Village in Taibai Township. The tomb faces south and leans against the mountain with water in front, located about 300 meters from the road. Following a stone path along the roadside, crossing a small stone bridge, you enter the Li Bai Tomb Park. To the left within the park lies the “Qinglian Pond,” where willows sway gracefully over limpid green water, and the arched “Huanhe Bridge” spans the pond, connecting to the “Ten Poems Pavilion.” In his later years in Dangtu, Li Bai wrote ten poems praising the landscape and scenery of the region, collectively known as the “Ten Poems of Gushu.” Later generations built a pavilion by the Guxi River to commemorate them, which was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution (“0”).

　　The newly constructed “Ten Poems Pavilion” features soaring eaves and classic elegance. At its center stands a stone stele engraved with Li Bai’s “Ten Poems of Gushu.” To the left of the pavilion is the Taibai Shrine. It has two sections, with plain white walls and dark gray tile roofing. Inside, the shrine is paved with blue bricks, adorned with soaring eaves, painted beams, and ornate carvings. The space is spacious and brightly lit. The lintel of the main hall door bears a horizontal plaque inscribed with the characters “Taibai Shrine,” written by Lin Sanzhi. Inside the hall stands a 2.47-meter-tall, approximately 3-ton white marble statue of Li Bai. The statue depicts him standing sideways, left hand on his sword, right hand behind his back, eyes full of wisdom, beard flowing, exuding extraordinary presence. The background of the statue is a large dark green relief print, portraying the places Li Bai visited in Dangtu in expressive brushstrokes. Above the print is a plaque inscribed with the words “Lofty Traces of Li Bai,” written by calligrapher Shu Tong. On the central upper part of the hall hangs a plaque with three characters—“Poetry Without Equal”—written by calligrapher Situ. On the side walls are embedded six stone tablets: one carved with a lifelike full-body portrait of Li Bai; one inscribed with Li Bai’s “Song on the Road”; another three re-engraved epitaphs written by Tang Dynasty scholars Li Hua, Liu Quanbai, and Pei Jing; and the most precious one is a surviving Song Dynasty stele. This stele was recreated in the 2nd year of the Chunyou era (1242) of the Song Dynasty by Meng Dian, who was concurrently administering the Taiping Prefecture and commanding the troops. Based on the stele text written by Tang Dynasty's Fan Chuanzheng, he “re-wrote and carved the stone, erecting it to the left of the tomb.” The stele is 5 chi 7 cun tall and 2 chi 9 cun wide, containing 30 rows with 63 characters per line in regular script, each character about 6 fen in size, with the title “New Tomb Stele of Li Gong, Hanlin Academician of the Great Tang” inscribed above. This stele, over 740 years old, is one of the oldest historical relics in the Li Bai Tomb Shrine.