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| Hengshan |
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As early as 2,000 years ago, many emperors and celebrities visited Hengshan and left quite a lot of stone inscriptions of poems, including that of famous poets: Libai, Dufu and Zhuxi. Besides marvelous temples, the mountain also boasts 9 ponds, 9 wells, 9 pools, 10 caves, 15 rocks, 25 streams and 38 springs, in harmony with green forests and fragrant flowers and grass. Grand, graceful, sequestered and culturally abundant, Hengshan leads the five sacred mountains by its gracefulness.
The biggest temple in the mountain is the Nanyue Temple, which is the largest group of ancient buildings in Hunan Province; it is one of the best preserved temples in South China. Grand religious rituals are held annually in the middle of August. Among the temples in the mountain, the Fuyan Temple is known as the nation's "First Temple of Buddhist Doctrine", with a maidenhair tree of 1,400 years old; the Nantai Temple has a history of over 1,400 years and is regarded as the origin of a Buddhist branch in Japan; the Tripitaka Temple, famous for its delicacy and enfeoffed Confuian classics, is surrounded by such oddly-shaped ancient trees like Money Tree, Tree of Love, etc., and many historic sites like Shuzhuang Tai and Diaoyu Tai and Yunchun Pavilion. The Fangguang Temple, which is quiet with a forest of ancient trees, and the Water-Screen Cave, which is mysterious, are all spots of interest.
The renowned Four Wonders of the Southern Mountain are, namely, the loftiness of Zhurong Peak, the delicacy of Tripitaka Temple, the quietness of Fangguang Temple and the mystery of Water-screen Cave.