Baoding Temple

　　Baoding Mountain is situated in the northeastern part of Baoshan Basin. With an elevation of 2,776 meters, it is the highest peak in the surrounding area. The mountain rises behind Jinchai Village, which was once the seat of the ancient Buwei County during the Han Dynasty. Its summit is formed by several clustered peaks, and due to their stacked formation resembling an ancient ritual vessel (ding), the mountain has been named “Baoding” (Treasure Ding).

　　Among the several closely clustered peaks of Baoding Mountain, Lion’s Head stands as the main peak due to its majestic solidity and absolute height advantage. To the north of this peak lies a gently sloping area enclosed by side peaks. Legend has it that ancient government forces once stationed troops here for drills, hence the area is still called Little Military Parade Ground to this day. Southwest of the main peak and between another side peak lies an even larger parade ground, several times the size of the Little Military Parade Ground. At the summit of Baoding Mountain, rugged cliffs sing the song of steadfastness and towering grandeur. They resemble bamboo shoots, platforms, birds, or beasts. For hundreds of millions of years, these bluish-gray rocks have abandoned the formlessness and mutability they once had as magma. Through hardness and tenacity, they have become the foundational elements and backbone of Baoding Mountain. They respond to drifting clouds with cool indifference, tear through the southern airstreams with unyielding firmness, and shape the character of Baoding Mountain with their imposing presence and enduring strength.

　　Climbers standing atop the jagged rocks of Lion’s Head gaze into the distance—rolling northern mountain ranges, misty eastern peaks, and the vast sky to the south. Baoding Mountain, as a sovereign peak, surveys the sun, moon, wind, rain, and the rare few auspicious snowfalls in the harsh winter. Dancing with the wind and playing with the moon are not its nature, but sensing the seasons and experiencing the weather are inevitable duties of the majestic Baoding. What moves climbers the most is the southwest view—looking down, one sees the densely dotted villages and faintly visible fields of the fertile Baoshan Basin. As a grand mountain, both the peak stabbing into the clouds and the moist, fertile land below are equally important. Baoding Mountain interprets the true essence of a great mountain through its towering stature and gentle strength.

　　Although Baoding Mountain is undisputedly the highest and most precipitous among the peaks around the Baoshan Basin, its summit is not devoid of life. Dwarf pines may be small but full of vitality; scattered broadleaf trees have gnarled yet resilient branches. In the slightly lower-elevation Little Military Parade Ground, dense stands of Huashan pines thrive under the embrace of sunlight and mist. The Big Military Parade Ground, battered by the fierce southern winds, may not be as lush as the Little Military Parade Ground, but the trees planted there continue to grow relentlessly year after year, adding new shades of green to the lofty Baoding Mountain. During late summer and early autumn—the season when mushrooms flourish—dozens of acres of forest in the Little Military Parade Ground sprout an endless crop of mushrooms peeking out from beneath pine needles. Sheep gently bleat amidst grassy slopes and rocky crevices. The serene and melodious chanting of the Great Compassion Mantra from the temple seems to offer a loving benediction to the thriving life on this mountaintop. Within this blessing, even on the wind-battered slopes, pines and alders grow year after year, steadily advancing their territory toward the summit and tenaciously lifting their green lives on the more harshly conditioned slopes. Baoding Mountain is a mountain full of life.

　　Baoding Mountain greets the rising sun in the east and overlooks the vast fertile plains to the west. Although the Han people living at the foot of the mountain have traditionally not regarded high and perilous peaks as totems of blessings, over time, Baoding Mountain has ascended to the status of a sacred mountain in the hearts of local people. Its sacredness is embodied by a solemn ancient temple. Baoding Temple is located on the northern side of Lion’s Head at the summit. It backs against jagged rocky peaks and faces a parade ground shaded by swaying trees. The temple, built facing north, avoids the constant force of the southern winds. Nestled within the lush greenery of the Little Military Parade Ground, it creates an atmosphere of serenity and ethereality. Baoding Temple was originally built during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty. It is said that the original site was not chosen next to the Little Military Parade Ground but near Mile Cave to the east of the Big Military Parade Ground. However, one night, the main beam of the main hall mysteriously flew to a gentle slope next to the Little Military Parade Ground. People believed it to be the will of the divine, so the temple was built on the northern side of Lion’s Head, adjacent to the Little Military Parade Ground. The current halls of Baoding Temple were rebuilt after the 1990s, initiated by a monk named Hongguang who came from afar. After constructing the Mahavira Hall on the ruins of the old temple, Master Hongguang raised funds to build additional structures such as the meditation rooms, Guanyin Hall, and Heavenly King Hall. As the layout of the temple gradually became more complete, the halls extended from the mountainside into the forested areas of the Little Military Parade Ground. Temples atop high mountains appear even more solemn due to their distance from the secular world, and are all the more awe-inspiring when shrouded in rising mist. The resplendent halls, emerging and disappearing amid the clouds, are not quite earthly paradises but are more magnificent than heavenly palaces.

　　Baoding Temple is the soul of Baoding Mountain, and at times it has also become synonymous with the mountain itself. Friends and family arrive by car along the mountain road, or walk up the mountain trail together across generations. Whether for sightseeing or worship, these are more than sufficient reasons to ascend Baoding. Both the mountain and Buddhism embody broad-mindedness and benevolence, and thus Baoding Mountain achieves a perfect integration of natural landscapes and spiritual devotion.

　　On one sunny day after another, as the morning dew bids farewell to the silence of night in the first light of dawn, climbers staying overnight at the mountain temple stomp their feet and rub their hands on the rocks. The reason they leave their warm beds in the cold pre-dawn hours is to welcome the slowly rising sun emerging from the blurred line between the eastern mountains and the sky. Across the world, the sunrise in the east is a moment universally praised, and watching the sunrise from a height has even become a solemn ritual of connecting with nature. Those who gather at Baoding Mountain to watch the sunrise in the early morning devoutly welcome the rising sun in the east, as well as the beginning of a vibrant new day in the Longyang region.