Piceshu Waterfall

　　Piceshu Waterfall, anciently known as "Piceshu Cave" and also called "Xiangxue Spring," is located at the foot of Bifeng Mountain, 4 kilometers northwest of Tongcheng City, within the territory of Shiban Village, Bifeng Subdistrict Office. The waterfall cascades down like a high-hanging snow curtain, hence its name. The waterfall stretches 900 meters in total and is divided into three sections: the front section is the "Cascading Waterfall," about 50 meters long, where the water tumbles and splashes, sending beads and jade-like droplets flying—referred to as the "Front Waterfall"; the middle section is the "Stream Valley," called "Pilong," approximately 800 meters long, where snowy waves surge and dash forward; the rear section is the "Hanging Waterfall," about 50 meters high, with the water hanging long and crashing down like an avalanche with a thunderous roar—known as the "Rear Waterfall." On the left cliff of the Rear Waterfall, there is a cave named "Piceshu Cave." Wu Yongzhen once wrote a poem describing the waterfall scene: "The mighty spirit angrily tests his mountain-splitting hand, cleaving twin iron walls on a sheer cliff of ten thousand ren. Within flows a thread of Milky Way, that roars daily like a dragon, even in calm weather."

　　Piceshu Waterfall boasts beautiful scenery. The "Gazetteer of Administrative Regions from Ancient and Modern Books Compiled" records its splendor: "Bifeng Mountain, with its peaks arranged in succession, features a winding cave. Walking along the stream, one gradually feels a sense of openness. Leaning against a mountain to the south, a cliff rises a thousand ren high, covered with grotesque rocks. Below are four caves. Just as you reach the cave entrance, you see the waterfall hanging from the cliff like a sheer silk ribbon. Looking up from the front, it resembles a gathering of egrets or the whistling gusts of wind and rain—this is the 'Piceshu Cave.' Huge rocks line both sides, some sharpened by the water as if they were blades, others hollowed out by the water as deep as wells, still others polished by the water as clean as tabletops." "The flying waterfall, unusual rocks, green shades, and clear pools can truly be called a scenic gem near the city."

　　Inspired by the idea of "constant coolness without shade, snow-like chill even in peak summer," a "Summer Snow Pavilion" was once built beside the waterfall. According to the "Dai Family Genealogy," Dai Mingshi’s great-grandfather, Dai Zhen, "chose to settle in Longmian, constructing several rooms of a house, taking full advantage of the bamboo and trees. Drawing from Tang Yin’s phrase ‘the mountain is quiet as if in ancient times,’ he named it ‘TaiGu Mountain House.’ He also discovered a hanging torrent a thousand feet high at his residence and built a pavilion named ‘Xiangxue Pavilion.’" A Ming Dynasty poet, Lin Yinlu, wrote in his poem "Spring Outing to Piceshu Waterfall": "Majestic peaks unite in a sheer wall, a clear creek winds through a solitary path. Listening to the spring water on the rocks, gazing at the bamboos in the mountains. The waterfall flies like snow in the sunshine, peach blossoms sway in the evening breeze. The return path to the village ahead is long, the moon casts a hazy shadow." Yao Nai, a renowned writer of the Tongcheng School in the Qing Dynasty, once visited here with companions and wrote "Record of Viewing Piceshu Waterfall," praising this waterfall as "a wonder of our county."

　　Piceshu Waterfall is divided into three parts: the Front Waterfall, Pilong, and the Rear Waterfall. "The Front Waterfall is majestic, the Rear Waterfall is perilous, and Pilong is long and narrow with marvelous scenery." From the "Tongcheng Continued County Annals" of the Daoguang era in the Qing Dynasty: "After rain, Piceshu Waterfall cascades down, attracting many visitors who come to admire it and often leave inscriptions." As early as the Northern Song Dynasty, this place had already become a widely renowned tourist attraction, leaving behind stone inscriptions here. The cliff inscriptions of Piceshu Waterfall have been listed as a municipal-level key cultural relic protection unit.