Taogongdong

Taogong Cave is located in the Daluoyan Attraction, at the foot of Daluoyan Mountain. The cave is 56 meters high, 76 meters wide and 79 meters deep. It is the largest stone chamber in southern Zhejiang. "The light and dark in the cave change with the clouds. It is dark when the clouds return and bright when the clouds disperse." The cave is divided into two floors, upper and lower. There are three Guanyin Pavilions on the lower floor, and there is a lecture platform in front of the pavilion that can accommodate hundreds of people. There are nine-bay front halls, bell and drum towers, wing rooms and monk kitchens outside the cave. A 56-step stone staircase on the south side of the cave leads to the upper "roof terrace". Behind the roof terrace is the Hugong Hall, which enshrines the seated statue of Hugong the Great, and in front of it is the Wenchang Pavilion. Under the right side of the shrine of the Hugong Hall is a jar-shaped "Red Water Well", which never dries up or overflows all year round. There are two long caves on the rock wall on the south side of the cave, called Liumi Cave and Baiyu Cave. At night, the white stones on the cave wall are illuminated by lights and candles, which look like floating clouds or scales, with different shapes and colors from far and near. Water drips down the cliffs at the entrance of the cave and falls into the pool, just like "flowers scattered by a goddess". Taogong Cave is close to the mountain and faces the water. There is a huge stone in front of the cave, about 20 meters high, called "Dengxian Stone". 200 meters north of the cave, you can see three cliffs standing like a barrier, named "Three Lions Sleeping Together". There is a "Guest-welcoming Pine" on the top of the cliff. There are also scenic spots such as Liuluo Mountain, Baiyun Ridge, Longshan Cave, Chaotian Turtle, and Chishui Pavilion near Taogong Cave. Taogong Cave is praised by Taoists as "the twelfth blessed place in the world". During the Three Kingdoms period, Taoist Wang Xuanzhen practiced here; in the ninth year of Tianjian (510) of Emperor Wu of Liang in the Southern Dynasty, Tao Hongjing, known as the "Prime Minister in the Mountains", wrote the book "Zhen Gao" in seclusion here, so it is also called Zhengao Rock. The temples in the cave were first built in the seventh year of Xiantong (866) of Emperor Yizong of the Tang Dynasty, and were successively rebuilt in the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are many incense here, and the incense period is from the beginning of August to September 9th of the lunar calendar every year.