Wumalan River

　　Wumalan River is situated south of Wuxuan County, on the southern bank of the Qianjiang River. From an elevated viewpoint, five connected mountain ranges vividly look like five galloping horses that block the powerful, dragon-like Qianjiang River, compelling its waters to detour eastwards. Among these five horse-shaped peaks stands Wenbi Mountain, which resembles a bamboo shoot. It faces a 200-meter-long oval-shaped sandbar in the river, giving rise to the ancient poetic line: “Five horses bar the river’s mouth, while the writing brush mountain faces the sandbar.”

　　There is a long-passed-down myth about these five mountains: In ancient times, five celestial horses descended to the mortal world and found Wuxuan so beautiful that they refused to return to heaven. To force them back, the Jade Emperor ordered the rain god to unleash several days of torrential rain, causing villages on the southern bank of the Qianjiang River’s mouth to be on the verge of being submerged by floods. To save the people, the five horses transformed into five stone mountains, blocking the floodwaters and altering the course of the river. Since then, Wuxuan has been graced with the scenic wonder known as “Wumalan River.”