The ancient name of Panshan Mountain
was Xuwu Mountain. Panshan Mountain is sinuous and tortuous, has no fixed
direction and its form looks like a dragon, so it is also known as Panlong
Mountain (coiling dragon mountain). It is located in the north of Guanzhuang
Town, Jixian County, Tianjin City, and 12.5 kilometers northwest to the town. It
is one of the southern branches of Yanshan Mountains. The average height of
Panshan Mountain is 400 to 600 meters above sea level.
The highest peak Guayue Peak with an area of
about 20 square meters is 864.4 meters above sea level, and its slope is more
than 35กใ in general. Panshan
County features a typical geographic characteristic of spherical weathering,
with many craggy stones and steep peaks. The vegetation type mainly includes the
coniferous forest of Chinese pines. Panshan Mountain is famous for its high
mountains, deep valleys, oddly shaped stones and pines, crystal clear springs,
beautiful trees, temples and ancient towers. It is reputed as the No. 1 Mountain
in East Beijing and one of the 15 most famous mountains in China.
There are many sites in the area of Panshan
Mountain, including the famous Three Spiral Positions (pine resort in the upper
spiral position, stone resort in the middle spiral position and water resort in
the lower spiral position), the Five Peaks (Guayue Peak, Zilai Peak, Zigai Peak,
Jiuhua Peak and Wujian Peak) and the Eight Stones (Xuankong Stone, Yaodong
Stone, Liangjia Stone, Jiangjun Stone, Jiamu Stone, Tianjing Stone, Hama Stone
and Mang Stone), altogether four scenic spots and more than 30 views.
Tiancheng Temple, Yunzhao Temple and Wansong
Temple
These temples are situated within the
scenic spots of Panshan Mountain. The emperors of past dynasties cut the
mountains and built temples in Panshan Mountain; they constructed more than 160
temples and towers, including the most famous 72 Buddhist temples and 13
exquisite pagodas. Most of them have not been repaired for many years and only
the original foundations are extant now.
Tiancheng Temple
It is also known as the Fushan Temple. It
was first built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and expanded and repaired in the
Liao Dynasty (916-1125), the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasty
(1644-1911). The main buildings include the Great Hall, the Side Hall, the
Sanjian Hall, and the Jiangshan Yilan Pavilion, etc. The stele Record of
Touring the Panshan Mountain prepared according to the order of Emperor
Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty was erected in front of the eastern Side Hall of
the Main Hall, and a gallery of over 40 meters long stands there too.
Yunzhao Temple
The temple is 800 more meters above sea
level and located near the apex of Panshan Mountain, so it is the temple with
the highest elevation in the mountain. Since it is situated near the summit of
the mountain and the clouds always cover the temple, so it is also known as the
Yunzhao Temple (Cloud-covered temple). The temple was first built during the
Tang Dynasty, and is composed of the Great Hall, the Side Hall, the
Sutra-Keeping Hall and the Temple Gate, etc. Three golden Buddha statutes with a
height of 4 meters are enshrined in the Main Hall, and the Thousand Buddha
Niches are located on the four walls of the Main Hall, etc. The eastern part of
the Yunzhao Temple relies against the Guayue Peak (the highest peak of Panshan
Mountain) on which the Dagoba of Dingguang Buddha is standing
upright.
Wansong Temple
The Wansong Temple is the largest temple in
Panshan Mountain. Since the famous senior general Li Jing of the early Tang
Dynasty once lived here, it was known as the Li Jing Temple before the Qing
Dynasty. The time when it was first built is unknown, but it was repaired during
the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty. Since there were many ancient pines around
the temple, Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty granted a tablet to call it as
the Wansong Temple (ten-thousand-pine temple).