Overview
Qingliang Mountain is located in Yan’an city, facingPagoda Hill andPhoenix Mountainacross the YanheRiver, towering and charming.There are 37 grottoes in the scenic area, most of which were dug in Song Dynasty.Qingliang Mountainis a holy place of Taoism, and there is a Taoist temple which was first built in Sui Dynasty and flourished in Ming Dynasty. After many times of renovation, the Taihe Mountain Taoist Cultural Exchange Center is now under construction here. Qingliang Mountain is also a treasury of Buddhism with the GrottoesTemple in Song Dynastyas the main body. During the War of Liberation, it was the place where the Central Printing House, the Central Publication and Distribution Department, Xinhua News Agency, Xinhua Radio Station, Liberation Daily, Border Area Mass Newspaper, Xinhua Bookstore and so on,were located. It is the birthplace and cradle of journalism.
Qingliang Mountain has a treasuryof Buddhismwith the GrottoesTemple in Song Dynastyas the main body, of which Wanfo BuddhaCave hasthe largest grottoes, and there is also the Taihe Mountain Taoist Temple located on the top of the mountain. The following areas are now opened to the public, namely: Sakyamuni Cave, SanshiBuddha Cave, Maitreya Cave, Sleeping Buddha Cave, Peach Blossom Cave, Yaowang Temple,and so on. Fan Zhongyan wrote in his poem that: “Chisel mountain into a stone world, with ten thousands ofBuddha.Rarein the world, but there is no magic.”Chen Yi also has a poem whichsays: "One hundred years of weak China, eight years of war in Yan’an.So who is in chargeofChina? Qingliang Mountain turns to be the focus.”
WanfoBuddha Cave: The most gorgeous grottoes in Song Dynasty, there are 11,014 stone Buddhas with different expressions carved on the four walls of the cave and thepillarsin the east and west.
MoonWell: Passing through the ShiwanBay, you will come to the towering and small MoonlightPavilion, which islike a vigorous birdlooking down from the sky. Visitors in the pavilion can seea crescent moon from the bottom of the wellif leaning over the fence looking down. Soit iscalled “MoonWell”.
Fan Gong Temple: On the south side of Moonlight Pavilion. Two “Wangyan Pavilions” stand on both sides of the temple. There is an image of Fan Zhongyan dressed in martial attire when he fought the Western Xia in Yanzhou. On the walls,there areFan Zhongyan's famous words. Above the templedoor, a horizontal inscribed board reads “The First Person in Song Dynasty”, and the couplet reads: “Being the first to bear hardships, and the last to enjoy comforts.”
Taihe Mountain Taoist Temple: Located on the top of Qingliang Mountain, the Taoist temple was first built in Sui Dynasty, flourished in Ming Dynasty, and has been rebuiltformany times. The Taihe Mountain Taoist Cultural Exchange Center is currently being built here.
The former site of Liberation Daily: In the foothills of Qingliang Mountain on the east, there isthe former site of Liberation Daily.
Qingliang Mountain is a Buddhist arttreasury, Wanfo Buddha Cave is the largest and the most gorgeous grottoes in the Song Dynasty. Qingliang Mountain is a holy place of Taoism.There’re the revolutionary cultural relics and ruins, represented by the former site of the news and publishing agencyof the Central Party Committee in Yan’an period, it is the birthplace and cradle of journalism, and the Xinhua Bookstore was also born here; Qingliang Mountain facesPagoda Hill andPhoenix Mountainacross the YanheRiver, towering and charming, the trees are lush and the terrain is steep, and the scenery is pleasant.
Historical Story
Wanfo Buddha Cave
Wanfo Buddha Cave on Qingliang Mountain was dug before Sui Dynasty, and in Tang, Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, statutes were built and repaired for several times. Wanfo Buddha Cave has four main grottoeschiseled based on the mountain wall, in a large grand scale. On the stone pillars in the cave and the four walls, therecarved ten thousand stone Buddhas with different expressions. Thestone carving is extremely skillful, wonderful art excelling the nature, so it is a precious historical and cultural heritage, which has been praised and loved by famous poets and people of insight. The great writer and politician Fan Zhongyan once wrotefour poems in Of Qingliang Mountainand highly praised the mountain that:“Chisel mountain into a stone world, with ten thousands ofBuddha.Rarein the world, but there is no magic.”
Temple Fair
Every year on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, there is a traditional temple fair at Taihe Mountain Temple, and by then,Qingliang Mountain will be extremely bustling.