Ma'anshan Caishiji｜A Show of the Ages

Caishiji Scenic Area is located on the south bank of the Yangtze River, 5 kilometers southwest of Ma'anshan City, Anhui Province, facing the river on three sides and against the wall on one side. Caishiji, Chenglingji and Yanziji are collectively known as the "Three Rocks of the Yangtze River". Among them, Caishiji is the most precipitous, with cliffs overlooking the river, turbulent water and strange rocks. Its unique scenery is known as the first of the three rocks. "The Yangtze River is 30,000 miles long, and ends at Caishiji", Caishiji is also the place where the great Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai ended his life and became an immortal, attracting countless literati to come here to compose poems📝. In the second year of Chiwu in the Eastern Wu Dynasty (239 AD), the Chiwu Well was dug in the Guangji Temple in Caishi. This is the earliest existing cultural relic in the quarrying scenic area. In the third year of Xining in the Northern Song Dynasty (1070), Zhang Gui, the governor of Taiping, built the Eyebrow Pavilion in the south of Cuiluo Mountain. In the fifth year of the Zhengtong reign of the Ming Dynasty (1440), Zhou Chen, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Works, inspected the south of the Yangtze River and ordered Xiuhui, a monk from Guangji Temple, to build the Qingfeng Pavilion on Cuiluo Mountain in Caishi, and to build the Banished Immortal Tower (later renamed Taibai Tower) in front of the pavilion, with a statue of Taibai carved on it. In the spring of the 14th year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1657), a tourist carelessly dropped a fire and burned down the Exiled Immortal Tower. In the second year of Emperor Kangxi's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1662), Hu Jiying, the prefect of Taiping, and Ge Yuanfu, the magistrate of Dangtu County, rebuilt the Exiled Immortal Tower and renamed it Taibai Tower. The Li Bai Temple, which was originally located in Caishi Town, was moved to the back of the building and rebuilt. Painter Xiao Yuncong painted four murals in Taibai Tower, including the clouds and mist of Mount Emei, the pines of Mount Huayue, the waterfall of Kuanglu, and the rising sun of Mount Tai. In the 23rd year of Emperor Jiaqing's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1818), Zhang Pichang, the prefect of Taiping, and Wu Cunkai, the magistrate of Dangtu County, rebuilt Taibai Tower. During the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty (1851-1861), Taibai Tower and the paintings were destroyed in war. In April 1877, the third year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, the reconstruction of Taibai Tower was completed with funds donated by Peng Yulin, the right vice minister of the Ministry of War, Li Hongzhang, the governor-general of Zhili, and Yu Lu, the governor of Anhui, and supervised by Tao Lizhong, the deputy admiral of the Yangtze River Navy. In the 13th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1887), Li Chengmou, the admiral of the Yangtze River Navy of the Qing Dynasty, rebuilt the Ranxi Pavilion in the southeast of Cuiluo Mountain. In the 32nd year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1906), Caishi town gentry Lu Shijin and others used the land of the Caishi temple fair and the wheat fields of Chaizhou as funds to establish the Caishi Primary School on the site of the Shenxiao Palace and the Taibai Temple. In 1935, the Anhui Provincial Construction Department approved the Dangtu County Government to build the Cuiluo Mountain area into a quarrying park and open it to tourists. On October 8, 1959, the Ma'anshan Municipal People's Government decided to rebuild Caishi Park based on the natural landscape and remaining cultural relics of Caishi Cuiluo Mountain. In 1961, Quarry Park and Li Bai Memorial Hall were opened to the public. 📷Check-in point: 1⃣ Metasequoia forest: The straight Metasequoia trees are arranged in a staggered manner in the pond, half in the water and half in the air. After being slightly "baked" by the warm winter sun, the branches gradually turned into a "ripe" ochre red, making them very photogenic. 2⃣ Santai Pavilion: Climb up to Santai Pavilion to have a panoramic view of the magnificent Yangtze River. 3⃣Taibai Tower: Formerly known as the Exiled Immortal Tower, it was built in the Tang Dynasty and is the earliest and largest existing ancient building commemorating Li Bai. There is also a photocopy of Li Bai's original "Shangyangtai Tie" in the building. 4⃣ Guangji Temple: First built in the Eastern Han Dynasty, it is one of the early Buddhist sites in my country. 5⃣ Sanyuan Cave: It enshrines Shiji Goddess Sun Shangxiang and Wangjiang Buddha. Later generations also regarded this place as a blessed place of gods. Candidates and students would come here to pray and make wishes. 6⃣Lin Sanzhi Art Museum: The art museum is hidden in the green trees. It was built in 1991 and displays art masterpieces from different periods of Lin Sanzhi's life. 📍Location: Caishi Street, Yushan District, Ma'anshan City, Anhui Province 🚗Transportation: You can drive to the scenic spot, take bus No. 4 or take a taxi when the high-speed rail goes down from Ma'anshan East ⏰Opening hours: 8:30-17:30, closing time is 16:00 🎫Tickets: 68 (free for local citizens)