Baoshan Lion Rock

　　   Baoshan Lion Rock is situated within Lion Mountain on the eastern side of Jiangbei Village, Baoshan Township. The entire mountain is 600 meters long and 300 meters wide, and from a distance, it looks like a lion lying on the ground with its head raised, with a lifelike form that locals call "Lion Rock." At the back of the mountain lies a pond whose water has remained yellow throughout all seasons, known as "Yellow Pond." Since Lion Rock is located right by Yellow Pond, it also came to be called "Yellow Rock."    　

　　   The outer structure of Baoshan Lion Rock is made up of yellow rock and limestone, oriented from northwest to southeast. On the southern midsection of the mountain, there is a cave entrance. On the rock wall at the entrance, seven large characters—"Feiyun Rock" and "Fangya Xianzhuo"—are inscribed in horizontal parallel lines. They were written by Zhang Minghe, a tribute scholar from Zhentang during the Ming Dynasty. On the opposite cliff wall is carved “Since when did you start dancing?” Water flows through the cave entrance in a winding stream, cool and meandering. The cave door stands several zhang high, with steep, sheer walls. Once inside the cave, there is a cavern about 50 meters high, with countless stalactites hanging from the ceiling, shaped like canopies and ceremonial banners, continuously dripping spring water. When struck with a stone, they resonate like a great bell. To the left of the cave is another entrance midway up the rock wall, where an enormous stalactite bears the inscription “Tianzhu Peak,” each character one square meter in size, written in powerful strokes resembling the Liu style. Below it is inscribed: “On the Double Ninth Festival, Zhao Shipu of Shouyang, along with fellow villagers He Qianxun and Ke Laiyou, came to visit.” The entrance is known as Drum Rock Cave, where the words “Big Drum” are carved on the rock wall, bold and vigorous in the Yan style. Moving to the right from the main cave (toward the lion’s head), the space gradually becomes smaller and extends upward, leading to the “Confucius Teaching Spot,” where stone statues stand densely, with four sages attending and Confucius above. Water seeps into the inkstone pool on the rock wall, making a rustling sound. Ten meters eastward, you reach the ancient cave where monks used to practice alchemy. The words “Dan Lu” (alchemy furnace) are clearly visible in the cave, with six small characters vertically inscribed on the right: “Wanli Dingyou First Winter Month.” The alchemy furnace in the cave is over two chi tall, and next to it are traces of an immortal. From the cave ceiling hang stone drums and bells; throwing stones at them produces corresponding sounds. Further up, a cave contains stone images of a lion on the left and an elephant on the right, majestic and lifelike. The three characters “Zixiao Rock” appear before your eyes, each two meters in length and width, with “Zhang Minghe Inscribed” noted in the left corner. Inside the cave, the patterns on the rock walls resemble bird feathers, turtle shells, deep valleys and dense forests, or secluded immortals and fairy companions—each form unique.    

　　   At the lion’s head, there are two caves, one above the other, with wide openings outside but narrowing inward. In front of the cave are monks’ quarters, and on the rock wall are imperial stone inscriptions from Emperor Ningzong of Song (1195–1224 AD) reading “Tongtian Stone Chamber.” The ancient temple at the foot of the mountain was bestowed an imperial title and inscribed by the emperor as “Zhisheng Chan Temple,” but it no longer exists today.    

　　   Since 1971, certain organizations and individuals have blasted the Lion Rock to extract production materials, cutting the rock in half and completely altering its appearance. In response, successive delegates to the People’s Congress, members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and many officials and residents have cried out in distress, demanding a halt to this destruction of cultural relics and historic sites. People from all walks of life have published appeals in newspapers. The departments of culture and cultural relics have repeatedly reported to higher authorities, submitting special requests asking for directives. A letter titled “Save Lion Rock – A Letter to the County’s Five Leading Teams” was issued, and a series of protective measures were taken. With the attention of leaders from the county Party committee, county government, county People’s Congress, and county CPPCC, relevant departments held a meeting on-site at Lion Rock in Baoshan Township and resolved the issue. The People’s Government of Wan’an County once again issued the “Notice on Strengthening the Protection of Cultural Relics and Historic Sites at Baoshan Lion Rock.”    

　　   In March 1991, while excavating stone at the tail end of Lion Rock, the engineering team of the county cement plant discovered fossils of ancient vertebrate animals within a 50-square-meter area at a depth of about 20 meters below the surface. These fossils, which date back tens of millions of years, include samples such as animal premolars, tusks, incisors, and femurs.