Zhangjiajie Tianmen Mountain Tour Guide Script Featured
Friends: I believe you are no stranger to Tianmen Mountain. At the World Stunt Flying Grand Prix held in November 1999, a plane flew through a natural karst cave, a first in human history, immediately bringing Tianmen Mountain into the world's spotlight. Many people wished to see the splendor of Tianmen Mountain for themselves, and today, your wish has finally come true!
Tianmen Mountain is located about 8 kilometers south of Zhangjiajie city proper. Its summit is 1.93 kilometers wide from north to south and 1.96 kilometers long from east to west, covering an area of 2.2 square kilometers, with an elevation of 1,518.6 meters. It differs from the sandstone peak forest landscape of Wulingyuan with its relatively complete karst landforms, and is an isolated mesa-like mountain surrounded by sheer cliffs.
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Tianmen Mountain was called Songliang Mountain. During the Three Kingdoms period, because a gateway opened in the mountain wall, the Wu ruler Sun Xiu considered it an auspicious sign and renamed it Tianmen Mountain, and abolished Wuling Commandery to establish Tianmen Commandery. Tianmen Mountain is a masterpiece of nature. Over the long geological history, it underwent marine sedimentation, rose to become continental sedimentation, and formed high mountains, enduring hundreds of millions of years of wind and rain erosion, especially during the Triassic Yanshan Movement. At the end of the Cretaceous, the massive Himalayan orogeny further uplifted Tianmen Mountain, cutting it into an isolated mountain by two fault valleys, creating an enormous height difference between the high mountain and the valleys—over 1,300 meters within just a few kilometers—thus creating the majestic bearing of Tianmen Mountain, towering alone and reigning supreme in the sky.
Tianmen Mountain has unique weather, a wondrous cave gateway, rich vegetation, and a long history. It is a mysterious carrier of historical culture and Buddhist-Taoist culture, and a perfect combination of natural and cultural landscapes.
In order to accelerate the progress of Zhangjiajie's tourism development, Tianmen Mountain is undergoing large-scale development and construction. Some scenic spots have not yet officially opened; the world's longest Tianmen Mountain cableway and Tianmen Mountain Temple are under preparation.
(Tianmen Cave) On the 1,264-meter-high sheer cliff of Tianmen Mountain, a natural cave gateway pierces through from north to south. From the cave floor to the ceiling it is 131.5 meters high, 37 meters wide, and 30 meters deep. On the northern top edge of the cave hangs inverted dragon-head bamboo, whose roots resemble dragon heads and leaves resemble phoenix tails, hence it is also called phoenix-tail bamboo. On the east side is a groove over 200 meters high, with spring water drifting down from above, scattering drops of plum-blossom rain. It is said that whoever can catch 48 drops of plum-blossom rain with an open mouth can ascend to immortality. At the entrance of Tianmen Cave, one can often see rock swallows flying and mountain eagles circling. With changes in weather, Tianmen Cave sometimes swallows clouds and spits mist, and sometimes is as clear as a mirror, creating a cyclical and ever-changing meteorological spectacle.
So how was Tianmen Cave formed? Geologist Mr. Qin Gongjiong believes it is the result of "funnel" dissolution. He holds that the terrain on the east side of Tianmen Cave slopes slightly westward, and the terrain on the west side slopes slightly eastward, with the core of the syncline directly facing the Tianmen Cave passage. The east and west walls are cut by two joints trending about 320 degrees, and a joint trending 40 degrees intersects with it at Tianmen Cave. Two karst funnels on the cave ceiling also played an important role in the karst process. After rain falls, surface water flows along the ground slope toward the funnels. Part of the water seeping into the soil converges and flows down along interlayer fissures toward the syncline core. The long-term continuous dissolution process caused partial collapse, ultimately merging the two groups of karst caves into one, forming Tianmen Cave.
However, some people raise objections: if Tianmen Cave was formed by this principle, why is the base of the cave a huge platform? Could these rocks have "collapsed" out of the cave so flatly? Therefore, the formation of Tianmen Cave remains an unsolved mystery to this day.
(Tianmen Mountain Temple) Tianmen Mountain Temple was first built in the Tang Dynasty, anciently known as Yunbo Nunnery, Lingquan Courtyard, and Songliang Hall. In the Ming Dynasty, because the site was poorly chosen and the temple was repeatedly damaged by wind and frequently flooded, Tianmen Mountain Temple was moved from the eastern summit to this location. Previously, ancient trees towered here, with dense shade blocking the sun. The lintel of the ancient temple was inscribed with the four characters "Tianmen Immortal Mountain," and the couplet on both sides of the gate reads: "Beyond heaven there is heaven, heaven never sleeps; on the mountain there is no mountain, the mountain stands alone." It is said to have been composed and written by Ye Fu, a subordinate general of Li Zicheng. Entering the gate is the Great Buddha Hall, behind which is the Guanyin Hall, with six single-story rooms on each side, and the last building is the Patriarch Hall, grand in scale. Folk summaries describe it as "three halls deep, six side rooms, brick walls and iron tiles, with a pot like a tomb." The original architecture of the mountain temple was very refined, with upturned eaves and flying corners, carved dragons and painted phoenixes, and enshrined Buddhist and Taoist statues and Bodhisattvas. There was also a large drum, a thousand-catty bell, a seven-story stone pagoda, and a large incense-burning furnace. According to stone inscriptions, during the 163 years from the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty to the fifth year of the Republic of China, Tianmen Mountain Temple was repaired seven times, and incense offerings were once extremely prosperous. Believers from more than ten counties along the borders of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Guizhou came in an endless stream to offer incense and worship Buddha here. Currently, Tianmen Mountain Tourism Co., Ltd. is carrying out large-scale restoration of Tianmen Mountain Temple, and its former prosperity will reappear.
(Dragon Head Rock) This is called Dragon Head Rock. Previously, on the stone platform was installed a stone-carved rotatable dragon head. Dragon Head Rock faces a hundred-zhang cliff. It is said that in the past many pilgrims, to show their sincerity in seeking divine blessings, would embrace the dragon head and circle the cliff. As long as one's heart was sincere, one would be kept safe. Later, the dragon head was pushed off the cliff by someone, and now only the stone pit where the dragon head was placed can be seen. Dragon Head Rock is the best viewing platform for watching the sunrise and the sea of clouds. Li Jing, the prefect of Yuezhou in the Ming Dynasty, wrote a matching poem praising Tianmen Mountain:
From little hills through all to the highest peak, the ten-thousand-fathom Tianmen is within a foot's reach.
Looking up, Penglai is beneath the red sun; gazing afar, Mount Lu stands amid white clouds.
Green cliffs jut out, pines and firs ancient; winding paths stretch far, horse tracks empty.
If you would stand upon the highest peak, to soar aloft you must rely on the heavenly wind.
(Red Pine Peak Golden Water Pool) This small pool is about 1.3 meters long, 0.6 meters wide, and only a few centimeters deep. No matter how severe the drought, the pool water never dries up year-round. It is said that this is the golden water pool where Chisongzi, the rain master of Emperor Shennong in ancient times, refined elixirs. Below the sheer cliff to the north is a peak shaped like an elixir stove called Elixir Stove Peak. The summit is often wreathed in clouds and mist, like green smoke rising from a stove, said to be the stove Chisongzi used for refining elixirs. A predecessor wrote a poem: "In the desolate mist and hidden dew, there once dwelt an immortal. Traces remain at the elixir stove, as if he still comes and goes." Below Elixir Stove Peak are Thunder Cave and Lightning Cave. Legend has it that when Chisongzi refined elixirs, besides using the water from the Golden Water Pool, he also needed the help of thunder and lightning to reach the proper heat.
(Ye Fo's Treasure Hiding Place) Tianmen Mountain has many strange and bizarre things that cannot be explained clearly. Among them are four great ancient mysteries, passed down from generation to generation, that no one has solved. First, the mystery of Tianmen Cave's opening; second, the mystery of Guiguzi's apparition; third, the mystery of water surging from the summit; fourth, the mystery of Ye Fo's hidden treasure. Legend says that under this large zelkova tree is where Ye Fo hid his treasure. The Qing Dynasty Guangxu edition of the "Yongding County Local Gazetteer," in the "Tianmen Mountain" section, contains this passage: "In the late Ming, Ye Fo flew his staff to this mountain from Jiashan Temple. Ye Fo was a remnant partisan of the rebel bandit; when the matter was exposed, he shaved his head and became a monk, and actually escaped the punishment of heaven."
(Guigu Cave) Legend has it that when Li Zicheng's subordinate general Ye Fu went up the mountain, he brought over 100 men and horses and much gold and silver treasure, hired nine wooden boats, and secretly slipped into Dayong territory upstream along the Li River, reaching Tianmen Mountain without anyone knowing. Ye Fu's becoming a monk was not truly to "instantly become a Buddha," but rather to "sleep on his spear awaiting dawn" and "draw his sword and ascend the altar" every day, preparing for the day when he could "restore the Central Plains" and "pacify the realm." But the situation turned sharply downward, the peasant army crumbled, the Qing court was established, and Ye Fu finally fell ill from grief and died. It is said that before dying, he scattered and secretly hid all the treasure he had brought in several secret places in Tianmen Mountain, and poisoned all the workers who hid the treasure with poisonous wine. For hundreds of years, countless pirates, pilgrims, and mysterious monks of Tianmen Mountain have found pretexts to go up to Tianmen to worship, but in reality to secretly survey the terrain and search for the treasure, yet all returned empty-handed. Where exactly is the treasure hidden? It has always remained a mystery.
Standing here and looking far ahead at the hundred-zhang sheer cliff over 300 meters away, there is an inverted-trapezoid cave. At the cave entrance there are trees, and a waterfall sprays outward from the cave, misty as smoke. Legend has it that Guiguzi, a famous scholar of the Warring States period, once faced the wall inside the cave studying the "I Ching," devoted himself to practicing skills, and founded the world-famous "Guigu Divine Skill." He also hid the martial arts secret manual "Tianmen Thirty-Six Heaven-Measuring Rulers," so later generations called this cave Guigu Cave. Guiguzi was the founder of the School of Vertical and Horizontal in the Warring States period. His main work, "Baihe Ce," is called a remarkable book, studying the knowledge of using alliance or division from a political and diplomatic standpoint to bring down the opponent. Historians comment that the entire chaotic history of the Warring States was deduced from Guigu Cave, which shows how extraordinary Guiguzi was. The Qing scholar Luo Fuhai wrote a poem titled "Guigu Cave": "Peach blossoms and flowing water drift away, laughing into the deep clouds to visit the cave heaven. Many recluses buried their names, yet the art of vertical and horizontal produced an immortal. On the cave wall Taoist texts remain in seal script, in the elixir furnace fire transforms lead. All around as if hearing celestial music, a waterfall pours from the peaks' summit." The areas of Xixiping and Guanliping at the western foot of the mountain, which obtained the true essence of Guigu Divine Skill, are famous hometowns of hard qigong. Qigong master Zhao Jishu once accompanied national leaders on visits to European countries many times, winning honor for the motherland.
From ancient times to the present, countless brave men have ventured into Guigu Cave, but none discovered anything of note. From the late 1980s to the 1990s, a retired soldier named Li Guangyu from Chisong Village at the southern foot of Tianmen Mountain successively descended by rope into the cave six times to investigate. During one cave exploration, he incidentally captured with his camera the head image of Guiguzi facing the wall studying the "I Ching." This is a profile image, with facial contours clearly distinguishable, remarkably similar in effect to the widely circulated portrait of Guiguzi. That Guiguzi's image is so lifelike—is it accidental, coincidental, or intentionally arranged by heaven? This has become another difficult mystery of Tianmen Mountain.
(Garden in the Sky) Please take note: on both sides of the walking path there are many stone buds and stone forests exposed on the ground, tall and short, in various shapes, as if lined up to welcome us. This is another prominent feature of Tianmen Mountain's karst landforms. On the summit there are many patches of stone buds and stone forests distributed among the dense woods, forming a unique and primitive garden in the sky. They are like labyrinths, and also like bewildering, ever-changing eight-trigram formations. Tourists walking through them find endless delight. Folk legend says that whoever can smoothly pass through these labyrinths can also unimpededly pass through the forty-eight barriers of sentient beings in Buddhism. Friends, why not try right now? I wish everyone a smooth and unobstructed path in life.
(Li Na's Cabin) This seven-shaped wooden house is the house of famous singer Li Na. In May 1997, Li Na sang "Qinghai-Tibet Plateau"; not long after, she suddenly disappeared. The news media could not find her anywhere. It turned out she had come to Tianmen Mountain. After staying for a few days, she was attracted and deeply moved by this wondrous Tianmen Mountain, and quickly made two decisions: first, to formally transfer her household registration to Yongding District of Zhangjiajie City, where Tianmen Mountain is located; second, to build a house for herself on the summit of Tianmen Mountain. On June 6, 1997, Li Na officially became a resident of Yongding District. Hearing that Li Na wanted to build a house on Tianmen Mountain, the local people were overjoyed. Without a second word, they carried timber and bricks and tiles one by one from the foot of the mountain, from the sheer cliffs, up to the summit over 1,500 meters high. A month later the cabin was completed. In her "nest," Li Na made a third decision that shocked the world: to become a nun! Soon after, Li Na quietly received her tonsure and studied Buddhism at Mount Wutai in Shanxi, and changed her name to Shi Changsheng. Before leaving Tianmen Mountain, Li Na specially sang "Ode to Sister-in-Law" for Auntie Hu, the mountain caretaker who had looked after her for nearly a month. Then she opened her voice and, facing the mountains and ravines, sang "Tianmen Mountain," a song with a range of three and a half octaves created "tailor-made" for her by her assistant, as a farewell to her second hometown and its elders.
"Tianmen Mountain"
Approaching you, for that vow unchanged since ancient times,
Approaching you, for that dream as distant as at the beginning,
What is it that makes my heart so peaceful?
I have finally seen Tianmen Mountain
Friends, as to why Li Na became a nun and why she settled at Tianmen Mountain, this cannot be explained in just a few words. It is better to let you decipher this life mystery of Li Na yourself.
(Hanging Rope Cave) Legend has it that when Guiguzi first went up Tianmen Mountain, he went from Ganziping through Laodao Bay and ascended to the summit by hanging rope along the sheer cliffs, and only then descended into Guigu Cave. Beneath this cliff, a string of iron chains still remains to this day.
(Overlooking Tianmen) Standing here, one can look down at Tianmen Cave facing north, as well as the Tongtian Avenue being built by the Tianmen Mountain company. During the November 1999 World Stunt Flying Grand Prix, CCTV crew No. 6 filmed the astonishing scene of the aircraft flying through Tianmen right here. This spot is more than 200 meters vertically above Tianmen Cave.
(Primeval Secondary Forest) Tianmen Mountain, like Zhangjiajie, belongs to the National Forest Park and has very rich vegetation. About 500 mu of primeval secondary forest is preserved on the summit. According to surveys, 134 families, 353 genera, and 532 species of vascular plants are naturally distributed here. Of these, 95% are broadleaf forests. Rare tree species under state protection include dove tree, fragrant fruit tree, lianxiang, golden maple, blood-bark maple, eucommia, red torreya, and silver pheasant tree. In this primeval secondary forest, walking along this path, we will find many rare tree species. This is blood-bark maple. The surface layer of the trunk is blood-red. In autumn and winter, on slightly older trees, the surface bark cracks in large pieces, attached to the trunk, thin like spread-open scales. This area is hornbeam. Hornbeam is a new family in the world's vegetation types. In 1998 it was first discovered at Tianmen Mountain by Professor Lin Yuanwang of Central South Forestry University, and was named "Dayong Hornbeam" by the authoritative institution of the national forestry department. This is a thousand-year-old tree known as the "King of Hornbeams," requiring two people to encircle it. Hornbeam wood is hard and can be used for farm tools and furniture, can extract tannin, and its seeds can be pressed for oil. It is a treasure from head to toe.
(Dove Tree Bay) The dove tree is called a plant "living fossil" and is an extremely precious tree species in the world. It is especially rare to find it distributed in communities at the summit of mountains over 1,500 meters above sea level, but large-scale dove tree communities have been found at Tianmen Mountain and Badagong Mountain. The patch of dove trees before us has more than 100 trees, so this place is also called Dove Tree Bay. Dove tree flowers resemble doves. When they bloom in June, the branches look as if covered with doves spreading their wings to fly. In the forest there are also precious medicinal plants such as gastrodia, coptis, angelica, and Paris polyphylla. In 1984, forestry workers in this area discovered a unicorn with only one horn on its head, grayish-brown all over, about the size of a small ox. Rice monkeys were also discovered twice on the mountain, about 10–13 centimeters long. Historical records state: the rice monkey, also known as the haba monkey, is small in size and can be hidden in a sleeve.
(Lingquan Courtyard, i.e., Yunbo Nunnery Ruins) Lingquan Courtyard backs onto Yunmeng Mountain and faces southwest, sitting northeast to southwest. The original building had two sections and three rooms, sheltered from the wind and facing the sun, with a very beautiful environment. During the late Tang and Five Dynasties, the recluse Zhou Pu retired here. In 1975, under the ancient tree in front of the ruins, a seven-star bronze sword with a dragon head and an inscription was unearthed. The inscription reads "Tianmen Mountain Xuan Di Zu." Also unearthed were four bronze Bodhisattvas. Appraisal identified them as Tang Dynasty artifacts and national first-class cultural relics. Xuan Di should be Taoist. It is said that the Tianmen bronze sword was hidden by Monk Danzi during the reign of Emperor Suzong Li Heng of the Tang Dynasty, and was a treasure for guarding the mountain. Monk Danzi is said to have been the first abbot of the Tianmen Mountain Buddhist temple, which can serve as evidence that Tianmen Mountain originally had a precedent of integrating Buddhism and Taoism. Puguang Zen Temple in the city is a typical example of the confluence of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism.
(Yunmeng Summit) The east, west, and north sides of Yunmeng Summit are all ten-thousand-zhang sheer cliffs, with three natural viewing platforms at the edge. Looking down from here, the buildings and streets of Zhangjiajie city proper, and the gullies and peaks on both sides of Xianren Stream, are all clearly visible. Also clearly visible are the Three Sisters Peaks of Chaotian Temple to the northwest, and the mountains farther away in Yongshun, Cili, and Yuanling. One truly has the feeling of "all other mountains look small" and "the Li River is thin as intestines." After rain when the sky just clears, viewing the sea of clouds here is a great pleasure. Those constantly rolling cloud clusters, like huge waves sweeping the sky, surging and turbulent, give one the heroic feeling of conquering high mountains and the transcendence of being far from the mundane world.
(Zhou Pu's Tomb) Zhou Pu was a recluse of the Later Jin of the Five Dynasties, a native of Cili. He was deeply learned. To avoid the wars of the time, he lived in seclusion at Lingquan Courtyard on Tianmen Mountain, taking farming and reading as his pleasure. At that time, the Chu kings Ma Yin and Ma Xifan, father and son, who ruled the south, admired his talent and learning and repeatedly invited Zhou Pu to enter public service, but he politely declined each time. Later he grew old and died at Tianmen Mountain. His tomb is surrounded by a ring of naturally formed stone buds, with three stone-built arc-shaped worship platforms in front. Behind the platform is the tomb. Zhou Pu's Tomb is an important ancient site on the mountain. Zhou Pu wrote the "Lingquan Poetry Collection" at Tianmen Mountain, which circulated in the world. One poem in it praises Lingquan Courtyard on Tianmen Mountain:
After visiting Huating, it is the most profound and mysterious; one line can make it pass down through all ages.
Monkeys carry their young back beyond the green peaks; birds carry flowers that fall before the blue cliffs.
Though I know the principles of things have no limit, I fear the vast sea may have its ending year.
To embrace the guests beyond the clouds of the Five Lakes, why not come here to grow old among the woods and springs?
(Great Zelkova Clinging to Stone) Zelkova wood is the preferred material in modern architectural decoration materials and is very precious. This large zelkova grows on a large stone about two meters square. Several huge twisting roots tenaciously extend from the top of the rock in all directions, then insert into the ground. The way the roots tightly embrace the large stone is truly a wonder and also thought-provoking, so someone gave it the name "Great Zelkova Clinging to Stone." Zelkova wood is revered as a sacred tree in Japan.
(Mystery of Water Surging from the Summit) Here is a natural pond about half a mu in area and 1–2 zhang deep. Normally there is no water, and it is covered with trees, flowers, and grass. But on some unpredictable day, a spring suddenly gushes out in the pond, overflows the pond, and flies down the ten-thousand-zhang sheer cliff from the summit of Tianmen Mountain, forming a magnificent and wondrous waterfall spectacle. The waterfall is first urgent then slow, gradually becoming fine as sand, generally lasting about 15 minutes, sometimes as long as half an hour. When the waterfall flies, the roar is like thunder, shaking the earth and mountains. Citizens in the urban area ten li away spread the news and rush to witness the wonder.
Regarding the water surging at Tianmen Mountain, geologist Qin Gongjiong has another explanation. After more than a month of investigation and research at Tianmen Mountain, he believed it to be a natural karst spring surge phenomenon—from the perspective of geological features, because Tianmen Cave is located at the core of a syncline, and the terrain on both sides is higher than the ground at the cave ceiling, there are two karst funnels on the cave ceiling, with thin streams continuously gushing out year-round. When it rains, surface water flows along the slopes on both sides toward the funnels. During heavy rain, surface water carries more mud and sand, which may temporarily block the bottom of the funnels and cause water accumulation, leading to a process of infiltration, siltation, and drainage. Once these processes are completed, the surface water converging from all directions, including the groundwater infiltrating from the karst funnels and accumulated water toward the syncline limbs, will all pour out from the cave ceiling, and thus the wonder of water surging from the cave ceiling occurs.
However, Mr. Qin's theory is still somewhat far-fetched, because the great flood surging from the Tianmen summit basically occurs during severe droughts in the fifth and sixth months, and the examples cited above all occurred at noon when the sun was like fire. Therefore, the mystery of water surging from the Tianmen summit remains unsolved.
The four great ancient mysteries of Tianmen Mountain await people of insight to decipher them!
Friends, the tour of Tianmen Mountain ends here. In the near future, visitors will be able to take the world's highest and longest Tianmen Mountain sightseeing cableway to fully enjoy the beautiful scenery of Tianmen Mountain.