Zhengzhou's 100 Free Treasure Spots for Sightseeing—Qinglong Mountain

Qinglong Mountain is a branch of the Songshan Mountain Range, located in the southern part of central Gongyi, formerly known as Huoshan or Tianling Mountain. It was also called the East-West Panlong Mountain, and during the Song Dynasty, a mausoleum was built on the sunny side of the mountain, hence the name Qinglong Mountain. The mountain range extends from southeast to northwest, with an elevation of 1042 meters and an area of 56 square kilometers. It is hailed as the backbone of Gongyi. Ciyun Temple is one of the oldest temples in the country, established in the seventh year of the Yongping era of the Eastern Han Dynasty, four years earlier than the White Horse Temple. It was founded by the Indian monks She Moteng and Zhu Falan, and is known as the 'Source of Buddhism', 'Ancestral Court', and 'China's Number One'. The current Ciyun Temple was restored and rebuilt on the original site of the Ming Dynasty temple, preserving the architectural layout of that time. The construction is based on the traditional Chinese concept of 'Heaven is round, Earth is square'. It takes the 'mountain-shaped full moon' as the celestial body, harmoniously integrating images of the Milky Way, jade rabbit, cassia tree, and others, metaphorically representing the concept of 'Heaven', and cleverly combining with the natural environment. The temple's architecture is the square-shaped Ciyun Temple.