Fenghuang Mountain () is a low mountain range located east of the mouth of the

Pearl River The Pearl River (, or ) is an extensive river system in southern China. "Pearl River" is often also used as a catch-all for the watersheds of the Pearl tributaries within Guangdong, specifically the Xi ('west'), Bei ('north'), and Dong ( ...

, in

Bao'an District Bao'an District () is one of the nine districts comprising the city of Shenzhen, Guangdong province. It is one of the districts formerly lying outside the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. History Bao'an was the historical name of Bao'an Coun ...

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The ridge forms a crescent shape, and its highest peak reaches an altitude of about 376 meters. It is protected as a

forest park A forest park is a park whose main theme is its forest of trees. Forest parks are found both in the mountains and in the urban environment. Examples Chile * Forest Park, Santiago China * Gongqing Forest Park, Shanghai * Mufushan National Fore ...

of Bao'an District. Partway up the western part of the mountain, at an altitude of 190 meters, there is a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

, Fengyan Temple (凤岩古庙), which receives many worshippers on public holidays. At the foot of the mountain to the southwest is

Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport — formerly Shenzhen Huangtian Airport — is an international airport serving the city of Shenzhen in South Central China’s Guangdong province. It is on the east bank of the Pearl River in Bao'an Di ...

as well as some of Shenzhen's main transportation arteries, National Highway 107 and the Guangshen Expressway. To the southeast is Tiegang Reservoir (铁岗水库), a source of drinking water for Bao'an District. On a 300-meter peak at the southern end of the range is a television transmission tower.

Geography

Fenghuang Mountain is a mountain range that runs roughly north to south, located in the northwest of

Shenzhen Special Economic Zone The Shenzhen Special Economic Zone () is a special economic zone (SEZ) of China. One of four special economic zones (SEZ) established in May 1980, it was the first SEZ created by Deng Xiaoping, and, like the other three zones, was modeled afte ...

. It covers an area of 29.7 square kilometers and is about 40 kilometers from Shenzhen's city center (

Futian District Futian District () is one of the nine districts comprising the city of Shenzhen, China. The district is home to the government and Municipal Committee of Shenzhen, as well as one of the city's central business district (CBD). Name There are two ...

). At the south end is the only tunnel on the Guangshen Expressway: Hubei Hill Tunnel (虎背山隧道). At the north end is a plain on the east bank of the mouth of the Pearl River. The surrounding area includes the towns of Fuyong, , , and , as well as

Dongguan Dongguan,; pinyin: alternately romanized via Cantonese as Tungkun, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou t ...

's Chang'an Town. At the southwest foot of the range there were once fish ponds and farmland that went up to the banks of the Pearl River, but in the late 1980s, the city of Shenzhen began to fill in the fish ponds and fields and replaced them with Bao'an International Airport. South of the southern end of the range is the central urban part of

Noteworthy stones

Although Fenghuang Mountain is not a very tall mountain, it has lush vegetation and is celebrated for its remarkable stones. One natural boulder is known as the "nodding oriole" (莺石点头) as it resembles an oriole's mouth. The stone's name was recorded by the 1676 ''

jinshi ''Jinshi'' () was the highest and final degree in the imperial examination in Imperial China. The examination was usually taken in the imperial capital in the palace, and was also called the Metropolitan Exam. Recipients are sometimes referre ...

'' Wen Chaoling (文超灵), and the stone is inscribed with verses written by a number of famous people. In addition, to the right of Fengyan Temple are two boulders folded together like clasped hands, known as the "clasped hands stones" (合掌石). In the crack between the two boulders is an inscription: "Phoenix feathers transform into a dragon" (凤毛神化度云龙). According to legend, on the cliff there is also a trace of the last Song emperor

Zhao Bing Zhao Bing (12 February 1272 – 19 March 1279), also known as Emperor Bing of Song or Bing, Emperor of Song (宋帝昺), was the 18th and last Emperor of China, emperor of the Song dynasty of China, who ruled as a minor between 6 and 7 years of ...

dragon robe Dragon robes, also known as gunlongpao ( zh, t=袞龍袍, s=袞龙袍, p=gǔn lóng páo; hangul: 곤룡포) or longpao for short, is a form of everyday clothing which had a Chinese dragon, called ''long'' (龍), as the main decoration; it was ...

, and it was therefore named the "cliff of the hanging dragon robe" (龙袍挂壁).

Buddhist culture and visitors

Wutong Mountain Wutong Mountain (; Hong Kong Hakka: ''Ng2tung2san1'') is a mountain located near the border of Luohu and Yantian in Shenzhen, China. At 943.7m, it is the tallest mountain in Shenzhen. The mountain is also source of the Shenzhen River. Wutong Mo ...

, Fenghuang Mountain is a major site of Buddhist culture in Shenzhen. Fengyan Temple is influential in Bao'an District and the surrounding area, with

incense Incense is an aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremonial reasons. It ...

left burning throughout the year. Construction of the temple began in 1297 during the

Southern Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, endin ...

; it was built by descendants of

Wen Tianxiang Wen Tianxiang (; June 6, 1236 – January 9, 1283), noble title Duke of Xin (), was a Chinese statesman, poet and politician in the last years of the Song dynasty#Southern Song, 1127–1279, Southern Song dynasty. For his resistance to Kublai K ...

. Today it attracts many worshippers from other parts of the

Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area in official documents, ...

, who come to burn incense and pray to

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 ...

to bring good fortune to themselves and their families. In terms of visitor amenities, Fenghuang Mountain has a road that leads up to the temple, as well as many walking paths which go up to the summit. To provide parking for the huge numbers of cars driven by worshippers, the foot of the mountain has an extra-large parking lot with a capacity of 800 cars. On holidays such as

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...

Qingming Festival The Qingming Festival or Ching Ming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day in English (sometimes also called Chinese Memorial Day, Ancestors' Day, the Clear Brightness Festival, or the Pure Brightness Festival), is a traditional Chines ...

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

, National Day, and the

Double Ninth Festival The Double Ninth Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday observed on the ninth day of the ninth month in the Chinese calendar. According to Wu Jun, it dates back to the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 AD). According to the ''I Ching'', ''nine' ...

, the temple bustles with the activity of visitors who come to pray. According to ''Shenzhen News'', in February 2011, Fenghuang Mountain received as many as 300,000 visitors on Chinese New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, making it the most popular visitor attraction in Shenzhen for that period. File:Parking of tourist area in Fenghuangshan.jpg, Green parking lot File:奇石.JPG, A boulder with an inscription File:凤凰广场.JPG, View from the foot of the mountain File:凤凰山登山公路.JPG, Road leading up the mountain File:古寺.JPG, Fengyan Temple

References

{{Shenzhen Bao'an District Mountains of Shenzhen