Baodu Zhai (), or Baodu Village, is an ancient fortified hilltop settlement located in the outlying

Luquan District Luquan (), formerly Huailu CountyThe character has the pronunciation "huái" specific for this place name instead of "huò" in normal cases. () until 1994, is one of the eight districts of the prefecture-level city of Shijiazhuang, the capital of ...

about from central

Shijiazhuang Shijiazhuang; Mandarin: ; formerly known as Shimen and romanized as Shihkiachwang is the capital and most populous city of China's Hebei Province. A prefecture-level city southwest of Beijing, it administers eight districts, three county-le ...

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

, China. It is located on top of Baodu Mountain, which is said to resemble a

reclining Buddha A reclining Buddha is an image that represents Buddha lying down and is a major iconographic theme in Buddhist art. It represents the historical Buddha during his last illness, about to enter the parinirvana. He is lying on his right side, his h ...

. According to legend, the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

commander

Han Xin Han Xin (; ? – early 196 BCE) was a Chinese military general and politician who served Liu Bang during the Chu–Han Contention and contributed greatly to the founding of the Han dynasty. Han Xin was named as one of the "Three Heroes of the ...

ambushed 2000 soldiers at the site, and in the Wei dynasty, an uprising by Ge Rong forced local villagers to flee to the mountain carrying their calves, hence the name "Baodu" ("bao" means "to carry" and "du" means "calf").ChinaHotel article
/ref> The settlement is completely encircled by a fortified stone wall, much like

Chengde Mountain Resort Chengde Mountain Resort (; Manchu: ''Halhūn be jailara gurung'') is a large complex of imperial palaces and gardens situated in the Shuangqiao District of Chengde in northeastern Hebei province, northern China, about northeast of China's capi ...

. The main entrance is Nantianmen (). Inside the wall there are several important cultural sites, which have earned Baodu Zhai a national AAAA rating as a scenic spot, as well as a large area of vegetation and gardens. These sites include the Hall of 500 Luohan, which is a large underground chamber containing 500 carved stone luohan, each in a different pose, and presided over by three golden

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

s. Baodu Zhai can be accessed by a

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as Motor vehicle, motorized vehicles, bicycles and horseback, horses. They ...

leading up from the southeast, or a

cable car Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems: * Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable ** Aerial tramway ** Chairlift ** Gondola lift *** ...

with a middle station.

References

External links

Chinese architectural history Buildings and structures in Hebei Tourist attractions in Hebei Shijiazhuang AAAA-rated tourist attractions {{Hebei-geo-stub