Chonglong Mountain—The cliff carvings right at our doorstep

Chonglong Mountain, located in Zizhong County, Sichuan Province, has been a famous place I knew since childhood. In recent years, I have traveled thousands of miles to visit many of the great landscapes of our motherland, but I have never visited the famous mountain and stone carvings right at my doorstep. Perhaps this is what the saying means: 'What we have, we do not treasure, and we become blind to it.' For this reason, I must climb this mountain, which is not very high in altitude, but rich in cultural charm. As soon as I entered Chonglong Mountain, not far along the way, what caught my eye were the cliff carvings from the Sui and Tang dynasties, with more than a hundred niches and over a thousand statues. Although damaged, they are still stunning. Next to the carvings, there are many inscriptions by famous people. The Yongqing Temple on Chonglong Mountain is very famous and spectacular, located on the south side of the mountain top, rebuilt during the Ming dynasty. The temple complex is grand and the houses are neatly arranged. This is also a great place to climb high and look into the distance. Standing in front of the temple and looking out, the scenery of Zizhong city is all in view, especially the old buildings of the old city, which show historical traces and let people understand the past and present of this city. In front of Yongshou Temple stands a statue of Guanyin, which is very shocking, facing the direction of the city, with a sense of the Buddha watching over and blessing all beings. There is a stone archway in front of the temple, with 'Chonglong Ancient Site' written on it, and couplets on both sides. On the back of the archway is written 'Famous Shu Temple'. Behind the archway is the 'Wenming Danfu' archway, followed by the Heavenly King Hall of Yongqing Temple, and behind the hall is a double-eaved octagonal pavilion. Behind the hall is the 'Heavenly Pond', which never dries up even in severe drought. Behind the Heavenly Pond is the Mahavira Hall, with the Moon Pond on the right. The Thousand-Handed Guanyin inside the temple is truly breathtaking; the Guanyin Bodhisattva in the hall with a thousand hands and eyes watches every direction, each hand holding different ritual instruments or treasures. Looking around the entire Guanyin Bodhisattva, one can't help but marvel at the profoundness of Buddhist culture and the exquisite craftsmanship. This kind of standing in the hall, being able to look around the entire Guanyin, and being more closely touched than the one-sided Thousand-Handed Guanyin on the Dazu Rock Carvings wall, is more moving. Tips: The entrance fee for Chonglong Mountain is 2 yuan, which is cheap, but I don't know if there is an annual pass. Chonglong Mountain is surrounded by ancient trees and greenery, a natural oxygen bar, suitable for climbing high and looking into the distance, praying to Buddha and enjoying the scenery. A treasure mountain. On the Hundred-Step Cloud Ladder of Chonglong Mountain, there is the Chonglong Pavilion, which is also the highest point of the mountain. Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to climb the pavilion, probably due to the protection of cultural relics, but looking up at the Chonglong Pavilion, it still feels very imposing. According to the introduction, Yongqing Temple has more than 1700 collections, including calligraphy steles by famous people such as Su Dongpo and Huang Tingjian, as well as paintings and calligraphy by Yuan Mu, Zeng Guofan, and Zhang Daqian. Huang Tingjian's 'Youlan Fu' stele is the most precious, a rare treasure, but I toured in a cursory manner and did not take a close look to see if there was Huang Tingjian's stele, which is really a pity, but I will make up for it next time. To go to Chonglong Mountain, you can drive directly to the mountain gate, and taking a taxi is also very convenient and not expensive.