Overview of Jinyun County
Jinyun County, belonging to Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, is located in the central southern part of Zhejiang Province, with a total area of 1494.24 square kilometers. Due to its location at the intersection of Lishui City, Wenzhou City, Taizhou City, and Jinhua City, it was known as the “Wenzhou Chuzhou Tongqu” in ancient times. The name Jinyun County comes from Jinyun Mountain, which has a deep connection with the Yellow Emperor culture. According to legend, the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan once cast a cauldron and refined pills here, and eventually flew up with a dragon. Therefore, Jinyun Mountain is also known as Xiandu Mountain and is the center of worship for the Southern Yellow Emperor.
Jinyun County is mainly composed of Zhongshan and low hills, with Haoxi as the boundary. The eastern part is the Kuocang Mountains, and the western part is the remnants of Xianxia Ridge. The county has 346 peaks with an altitude of over kilometers, among which the main peak of Dayang Mountain has an altitude of 1500.6 meters and is the highest peak in the Kuocang Mountains. The main rivers in the county include Haoxi, Xinjian Creek, and Yong’an Creek, which belong to the Ou River, Qiantang River, and Lingjiang River systems respectively. Haoxi is the largest river in the county, originating from Dabanshan in Pan’an County, running through the county from northeast to southwest, and finally flowing into the Oujiang River.
History of Jinyun County
In the fourth year of Jian’an in the Eastern Han Dynasty (199 AD), Songyang County was established in Nanxiang of Zhang’an County, and the Jinyun area was divided into Wushang and Songyang counties.
In the eighth year of the Chiwu reign of the Three Kingdoms period (245 AD), Wushang County was divided and Yongkang County was established. The northern part of Jinyun area is now part of Yongkang County.
In the ninth year of the Kaihuang reign of the Sui Dynasty (589 AD), Kuocang County was established in the eastern part of Songyang County. The present-day Jinyun area is divided into Yongkang County and Kuocang County.
In the fourth year of Tang Wude (621 AD), Jinyun County was separated from Yongkang County. Four years later, Jinyun County was abolished and still belonged to Yongkang County.
In the first year of the Tang Dynasty’s Wansui Dengfeng era (696 AD), Kuocang County and Yongkang County were divided to establish Jinyun County, which was named after the Jinyun Mountain within its borders and belonged to Kuozhou.
Jinyun County Tourist Scenic Area
Xiandu Scenic Spot: a national 5A tourist attraction, famous for its unique rhyolitic volcanic rock landform, known as “the beauty of Guilin, the wonder of Mount Huangshan Mountain, and the danger of Huashan Mountain”. The total area of the scenic area is 5.23 square kilometers, consisting of five major attractions: Dinghu Peak, Xiaochibi, Xiandu Temple, Niwengdong, and Zhutan Mountain.
Among them, Dinghu Peak is a landmark attraction of the scenic area, shaped like spring bamboo shoots, piercing straight into the sky, with a height of 170.8 meters. It is considered the tallest pillar stone in the world and is known as the “number one peak in the world”, “number one stone in the world”, and “number one bamboo shoot in the world”. According to legend, the founder of the Chinese nation, Xuanyuan Huangdi, erected a tripod here to refine pills. When he crossed the dragon and ascended to heaven, the tripod collapsed into a lake, hence the name “Dinghu”. Ni Weng Cave, also known as Chuyang Valley, is said to be the hiding place of Ji Ni, a student of Laozi and a teacher of the Grand Master of Yue, Fan Li. There are more than 60 cliff carvings from the Tang, Song, Ming, Qing and other dynasties in the cave, making it the most concentrated place of cliff carvings in the Xiandu Scenic Area.Heyang Ancient Residential Scenic Area: a national 4A level tourist attraction located in Xinjian Town, Jinyun County. This scenic area was originally chosen by Zhu Qingyuan, the secretary of King Qian Wusu of the Wu Yue Kingdom, and his brother Zhu Qingyuan to settle down to avoid the Five Seasons Rebellion. Due to their ancestral home in Xinyang, Henan, they named this place “Heyang”. Most of the buildings in the scenic area were built during the Ming and Qing dynasties, covering an area of 0.4 square kilometers. They preserve a group of ancient residential buildings in the style of ten clans’ manors, fifteen ancient ancestral halls, and hundreds of old buildings.Huanglong Scenic Area: A national 4A level tourist attraction. According to legend, the third prince of Donghai Dragon King was once guarded here and transformed into a mountain. Therefore, this mountain was named Huanglong Mountain. The Huanglong Temple on the mountain, built in the Tang Dynasty, is a famous Buddhist temple in southern Zhejiang. In addition, there are also scenic spots such as Golden Monkey Holding Peach Rock, Six Teeth White Elephant Rock, Slightly Comb Rock and Eighteen Arhats Stone.
Jianchuan Flower Sea Scenic Area: a national 3A level tourist attraction, covering an area of about 600 acres, famous for its diverse flower varieties throughout the four seasons. In addition, the scenic area also has the province’s first “Huanhua Sea” sightseeing train. Jianchuan Village itself has a long history, dating back over 1400 years. There are a large number of old houses from the Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as ancestral halls, ancient temples, and ancient buildings preserved in the village, such as the Shi Clan Ancestral Hall, the Eighteen Altars, and the Twenty Eight Rooms.
Yanxia Stone Village Scenic Area: a national 3A level tourist attraction. The scenic area is located deep in the Kuocang Mountain, upstream of the Tangxi River Basin, in the ancient city of Xiaotaoyuan. There is a flying spring in the scenic area that is dozens of meters high, and it is one of the most exciting attractions in Xiaotaoyuan with flying pearls and splashing jade all year round. In addition, there are also scenic spots known as the “Four Wonders and Four Excellences”: including Cangfei Waterfall, Shimenxia Bare Rock Area, Lime Cave, and Jiejiu Millennium Ancient Tree Cluster.
Jinyun Jiaolong Grand Canyon: a national 3A level tourist attraction, with main attractions including cliff boardwalks, watchstones, Titanic, Phoenix Listening Spring, etc. In addition, the cool spring water of Xianshui Cave and 360 glass walkway are also a highlight of the canyon. Walking on the glass walkway can overlook the magnificent canyon scenery and experience the perfect combination of excitement and beauty.
Jinyun County Historical Sites
Inscription on Xiandu Cliff: National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit. These cliff inscriptions began during the Three Kingdoms period, flourished during the Wei and Jin dynasties, and continued into modern times, spanning over 1000 years of history. There are a total of 125 existing cliff inscriptions, including 2 in the Tang Dynasty and 55 in the Song Dynasty. The earliest ones are the three character seal script left by Tang Dynasty calligrapher Li Yangbing in Ni Wengdong and a travelogue from the first year of Tang Jianzhong.
Rural architecture in Heyang Village: a national key cultural relic protection unit. Heyang Village was founded during the Five Dynasties period by Zhu Qingyuan and his brother Zhu Qingyuan to avoid the Five Seasons Rebellion. There are a large number of historical relics existing in the village, including ancient dwellings, ancestral halls, ancient bridges, water systems, ancient streets, tombs, etc. from the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is worth mentioning that there are over thirty courtyard style ancient residential buildings and fifteen ancient ancestral halls in the village, totaling more than 1500 rooms. The large number and scale of these buildings are truly rare.
In addition, Jinyun County also has the Daxitan kiln site group, Daomen Jinshi Mansion, and Jiujin Hall located in Huzhen Town; The carving stone of Shuanggangqiao Zhenjie Fang in Xinjian Town; The historical sites of Xiandu Shiliang Bridge and Dufeng Academy in Wuyun Town.
Huangdi Festival (Jinyun Xuanyuan Festival)
The Huangdi Festival (Jinyun Xuanyuan Festival) in Jinyun County is a national level intangible cultural heritage project, originating in the early Western Han Dynasty. The festival is held twice in spring (Qingming Festival) and autumn (Chongyang Festival), and its forms include worship in the Huangdi Temple and the main hall, worship in various ancestral halls, or worship in one’s own temple (courtyard of residential courtyards).
Zhangshanzhai Qiqi Meeting
Zhangshanzhai Qiqi Festival: it is a folk belief and custom activity held by Zhangshanzhai in Zhaoxu Village, Huyuan Township, Jinyun County on the Qixi Festival of the lunar calendar, and is listed as a national intangible cultural heritage. This activity began in the early years of the Ming Wanli era and has a history of hundreds of years. The main activities of the Zhangshanzhai Qiqi Festival include setting up altars, welcoming sedan chairs to the village, praying for blessings, offering plays, guarding the night in the village, performing at the festival, and worshipping and returning to the throne, reflecting the people’s faith in the local deity Chen Fourteen Niangniang in southern Zhejiang and Fujian.
