Golden Mountain

　　The Golden Mountain Scenic Area is situated in the southern part of Qingchuan County, bordering Jiange to the east, Jiangyou to the south, Zhuyuan to the west, and Guangyuan to the north. It spans an area of 20 square kilometers with a forest coverage rate of 59%. The Mianyue–Guangyuan Expressway runs across the entire area, just 3 kilometers from the Baoji–Chengdu Railway Line. Part of the seventy-two peaks of the Jianmen Mountain Range, it features majestic mountain ridges, bizarre rock formations, uniquely rising peaks, undulating terraced cliffs, rare birds and animals, echoing bird calls, bounding deer, pristine mountains and clear waters, as well as fragrant blossoms and fruits. It is an ideal destination for leisure vacations, eco-tourism, and spiritual rejuvenation.

　　The Golden Mountain Scenic Area embodies the spirit of nature, boasts a long history, simple folk customs, a land rich in talented people, profound culture, and abundant beauty and resources. Legend has it that when the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, a pair of star-crossed lovers, were forcibly separated by the Queen Mother of the West, the heartbroken Weaver Girl, in a fit of anguish, tried to give her golden hairpin to the Cowherd but accidentally dropped it from mid-air. The shattered hairpin scattered across the land, giving rise to several places named after “gold,” including not only Golden Mountain but also Golden Hill, Golden Rock, and Golden Courtyard.

　　Back then, the old ox sacrificed itself to help the Cowherd chase after the Weaver Girl. It willingly offered its hide to the Cowherd so he could ride it in pursuit. Its remains turned into rocks, now known as Ox Horn Rock, Plow Tip Peak, Ox Hoof Rock, and Ox Nose Cave. Later, the loyal act of the ox moved the Jade Emperor, who secretly allowed it to be reincarnated as the son of the Li family, a family that had been growing tea for generations. He later achieved scholarly honors and became widely known as “Scholar Li.”

　　The Golden Mountain Township Scenic Area is home to a wide variety of plant species, including many ancient, unique, famous, rare, and precious trees and flowers. There are 28 families and 50 species of main timber trees, and 2 types of bamboo. The area also features 12 families and 19 species of major economic trees. Shrubs make up a large proportion of the vegetation and are key components of the forest landscape, with 25 families and 62 species of main shrubs. According to incomplete statistics, the area contains as many as 25 kinds of valuable medicinal herbs such as Gastrodia elata, Eucommia ulmoides, Huangcao, and Lily.

　　Within the scenic area, golden pheasants can often be heard calling, while eagles soar and pheasants dart about. There are 12 types of rare and precious animals, including musk deer, macaques, golden cats, tufted deer, and yellow muntjacs. There are also over 30 species of precious birds, such as golden pheasants, bamboo partridges, kites, eagles, junglefowl, and Eurasian cuckoos. There are 2 types of amphibians and 9 types of reptiles.

　　When spring arrives and flowers bloom, the area is filled with a riot of mountain blossoms and the fragrance of orchids. Lilies hang high amid perilous cliffs, the delicate scent of jasmine wafts through the air, rose thickets vie for brilliance, and magnolia flowers blaze with radiant beauty. By autumn, when chrysanthemums turn golden, the hills are fragrant with wild fruits, red leaves cloak the treetops like brocade, the rustling of pine waves echoes in the ears, and distant mountains emerge like paintings—making visitors linger in blissful forgetfulness, reluctant to leave.