Langshan Mountain-World Natural Heritage

It was late autumn and the temperature continued to decrease, the Jiulong Pond in Zhenshui Village, Huangjing Yao Township, Xinning County had gradually glowed with autumnal tints. Under the blue sky and white clouds, the serried woods deep-dyed, what a poetic autumn scenery!

The yellow of autumn starts from the leaves on the tree tips, the dancing autumn wind blows over the mountains and fields and changes them into dark green, bright yellow, and slightly red. Under the clear sky and blue cloud, the leaves quietly fall. The scene of “blue cloud sky, yellow-leaves covered land” slowly comes into view, like the taste of life changing.

Jiulong Pond is with  high mountains and deep valleys, few people come here. It has preserved a relatively intact subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest ecosystem and is a pure natural “oxygen bar”. The golden pine, larch, maple, and metasequoia trees in the forest have put on dazzling attire, and the mountain road meanders into the distance, creating a stunning autumn scenery.

Viewing from above, the beautiful scenery stretches for thousands of acres, with fiery maple leaves, golden larch, and wine red metasequoia shining brightly in the warm sunlight.

The bright autumn sun and mist complement each other, creating a unique autumn painting.

Feishuizhai Waterfall Introduction

The Feishuizhai Waterfall is located in Anyang Village, Yidushui Town, Xinning County. With a drop of 108 meters and a maximum width of about 10 meters, it is divided into two stages, falling firstly over 100 meters onto a rock shelf, and then falling into a oval deep pool with 3 meters deep and 3 meters wide. Like a natural bathtub, the deep pool’s water is clear and transparent, and you can see the bottom. 

Standing under the waterfall and looking up, the waterfall is like a silver curtain sprinkled with pearls, while the water mist is flowing below. Surrounded by green mountains and towering ancient trees, the waterfall is with fresh air and plant fragrance, adding a touch of beauty to its  grandeur.

The Legend of Feishuizhai Waterfall

Legend has it, in the late Ming Dynasty, the government was corrupt, with exorbitant taxes and levies everywhere, making it difficult for the people to survive. In Lingyangli (now Yidushui Town), there was a person named Li Feishui with excellent martial arts skills. He can walk on the steep rocks and walls, and even on the water. He is extremely chivalrous, robbing the rich to help the poor, and fighting against the government, but he was deeply loved by the local people! The landlord and corrupt officials hated him to the bone, eager to catch him and eat his flesh. The government sent troops to encircle and suppress him several times, and with the help of the local people, he was able to escape.

In the last time the government sent heavy troops to surround and suppress him, chasing him from the current Xicunfang Village to Anyang Village, blocking him in the current Feishuizhai Waterfall which is surrounded by cliffs.  With Anyang Village above and Huangnidong Village below, there is  only one way to go through. Both ends of the road were blocked by troops and the government called him to surrender. However Li Feishui was calm and unhurried, holding up his umbrella and jumping down from the top of the waterfall. Against the backdrop  of the waterfall, descending like a  immortal to the earth, Li Feishui floating in the deep pool below,  which made the officers and soldiers stunned! Then  Li Feishui burst into laughter at the officers and soldiers above, drifting away without a trace.

Since then, the local people have never seen Li Feishui again. In memory of him, the local people called this waterfall Feishuizhai Waterfall. There is also a folk legend has it that Li Feishui has incarnated into a mountain god, guarding the mountains and the people. In the late 1980s, some people dug mountains for illegal mining around Feishuizhai waterfall. But some supernatural things often happened in the mines, and the people said it angered the mountain god Li Feishui. These men had to close mines willingly to preserve the green mountains and waters  around here. Thanks to its beautiful scenery, fresh air, clean water and cool temperature, Feishuizhai Waterfall is a nice summer resort now. 

The memorial archways were quite popular in ancient time, but Sandushui Memorial Archway is quite unique. It is the only huge archway that is still well preserved in Xinning county.

Sandushui Memorial Archway, also known as “Li Zhao Qian’s Wife He’s Archway” and “Archway of Chastity & Filial Piety Honored by Imperial Edict”, is located in Cha’an Compound, Sandushui Village, Yidushui Town, Xinning County, Shaoyang City, Hunan Province. It was built in the third year of Daoguang’s reign in the Qing Dynasty (1823) and stands on the main post road from Xinning county to Dong’an county. It is now beside the national road 207.

The archway is in the style of a pavilion, made entirely of large ridge stones, with a height of 10 meters and a width of about 7 meters. It is with four big stone pillars and three overlapping layers from top to bottom. There are three parallel doors from left to right. The middle door is 3 meters high and 2.3 meters wide, and two side doors are 2.7 meters high and 1.6 meters wide. Four stone pillars with a height of 7 meters stand tall on four huge stone bases. The entire archway has a rigorous structure and a dignified sitting posture. The relief stone carvings on the archway are dazzling. There are 15 relief carvings of various characters, such as leading an ox, carrying plow, sitting and meditating.  Each layer has two Aoyu-shaped cornices(Aoyu,a huge legendary turtle). The archway is exquisitely carved and finely engraved with mythological stories such as Kuixing(Test God), Ten Dragons Robbing Treasures, Eight Immortals Floating in the Sea, Red Phoenix Bowing to the Sun, Two Lions Rolling Ball, Plowing and Farming, and Kirin, Monkey, Frog, Flower, Bird, etc. Ten window frames of different sizes in the archway embedded with over 40 patterns of birds and beasts. The carving is exquisite and delicate, the statues are vivid and lifelike, and the craftsmanship is exquisite, making it breathtaking. 

The ambiguous words carved in the middle of the bottom layer read as follows:
This archway is to honor 84-year old Mrs. He, who was the daughter of He Wenzhang and the wife of a Confucian scholar named Li Zhao Qian, lived in Xiaoxi Village, Xinning County, Baoqing Prefecture, Hunan Province.

According to the words carved , the memorial archway was built by the emperor to praise Mrs. He, demonstrating the benevolence and filial piety of the royal court and educating the people. Li Zhaoqian, the husband of Mrs. He, was known as Guozhen. He was born in  a wealthy family and was a scholar. Unfortunately he passed away 55 years earlier than his wife. His wife was the daughter of He Wenzhang who was also from a prominent family in the local area. Mrs. He would rather remained a widow, maintained chastity, showed filial piety to her parents, educated her children well, and many of her descendants have achieved great achievements. Her behavior can be said to be admirable. The local government (or its descendants) reported her deeds to the emperor who instructed to build memorial archway to honor Mrs. He . According to Li’s genealogy, the memorial archway was built with money allocated by the royal court. When the memorial archway was built,  Mrs. He was already 84 years old and she witnessed  this archway specially built her.

The Sandushui Memorial archway embodies the wisdom and culture of the ancients. It was announced by the Hunan Provincial People’s Government as a provincial key cultural relics protection unit on January 24, 2011.

Known as the “soul of Langshan”, Bajiao Stronghold is one of the core attractions of Langshan mountain. Its main attractions include One Foot Crossing Two Provinces, Dragon Door, Palm Cave, Yuntai Temple, Whale Paddling in the Sea, Yixiantai, King of Medicine Temple, and so on. The undulating Danxia Peaks are magnificent, with lush forests growing on the flat top of the peaks.

Started from  Nanning at 8 pm, my friend and I drove through Quannan Expressway and turned into Hubei Expressway. The journey took about 7 and a half hours, and we arrived at Langshan around 4 am the next day. 

The weather in the mountainous area was constantly changing. As soon as we arrived at the top of the Bajiao Stronghold by cable car, the heavy rain poured down in an instant, lasting for over an hour. We were extremely excited,  thanks to many years of shooting experience, we all knew that there will be mist rising in Langshan mountain when the sun rises after the rain. If we were lucky, we may see a large sea of clouds.

Sure enough, as soon as the rain stopped, the mist slowly rose and gathered more and more, soon enveloping the entire Langshan Mountain. My friend and I openned the drone to start aerial photography on the observation platform in the left front of the cable car station, and took photos of the entire Bajiao Stronghold. At this time, the Bajiao Stronghold was like a dreamy fairyland, with thousands of mountains clean and the Immortal aura floating over high.

From 9am to 11am, the sea of clouds lasted for two hours, with peaks resembling snails, winding and undulating. The ever-changing nature endows the Bajiao Stronghold with different forms of beauty. The Danxia Mountain stones, which appear faintly amidst the clouds and mist, are even more diverse in appearances, with vivid and lifelike shapes. The landscape with strong visual tension made our shooting very exhilarating.