Jinyun Xiandu Scenic Area

Xiandu Scenic Area is located in Jinyun County, Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, covering a total area of 166.2 square kilometers. It is a national key scenic area characterized by its unique peaks and rocks, beautiful mountains and rivers, and a blend of pastoral scenery and cultural relics. It is mainly for sightseeing, leisure, vacation, and science popularization. The name "Xiandu" was given by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, who inscribed the characters "仙都" (Xiandu) during his reign. In the seventh year of the Tianbao era (748 AD), Jinyun Mountain was said to have "celestial music and auspicious clouds," and was decreed as Xiandu Mountain. During the Song Dynasty, it was rebuilt as "Yuxu Palace," gradually forming a Taoist temple complex. During the Chunxi era, the famous Neo-Confucian philosopher Zhu Xi lectured at Xiandu. In his leisure time, he often visited the area, boating on the green pond and relaxing in the mountains. Later generations named the pond "Zhu Pond" and the mountain beside it "Zhu Pond Mountain." The pebble embankment by the pond, with its willows swaying in the wind and a long bridge spanning across, attracts countless couples to take wedding photos, with Dinghu Peak witnessing their eternal love, hence the name "Fairy Embankment." The "Wangfeng Pavilion" on the embankment is the best spot for tourists to photograph the reflection of Dinghu Peak. The famous photographer Wu Pinhe's award-winning work "Fairyland" was taken here. Dinghu Peak, also known as "Lone Peak" or "Red Peak," is commonly referred to as "Stone Bamboo Shoot." It stands east of Buxu Mountain and west of Lianxi River, with a base area of 2,468 square meters, a top area of 710 square meters, and a height of 170.8 meters. It rises majestically, exuding a masculine aura. Formed by volcanic eruptions 160 million years ago, it is a rhyolite platform shaped into a columnar peak by geological forces, earning the title "The First Peak in the World." Legend has it that the Yellow Emperor placed a cauldron on the peak to refine elixirs, and after the elixirs were completed, he ascended to heaven on a dragon. The cauldron left a depression among the pines and cypresses at the peak, forming a small lake with clear spring water that never dries up, hence the name "Dinghu" (Cauldron Lake), and the peak is named after it.