Mount Xuedou

Overview

About

The Mount Xuedou national park lies 8 km north-west of Xikou, Fenghua District, Ningbo, Zhejiang, 85 km² in three parts: Xikou town, the mountain and Tingxia Lake, famous for its old temple, the home of the Chiang family and its waterfalls.

Xuedou, 800 m, is the highest peak of the Siming spur, “the first mountain of Siming”; its name, “snow cave”, comes from a milk-white spring issuing from a hollow in the peak. Its sights are Xufu Rock, the Three Hidden Pools, the Miaogao Terrace, the Qianzhangyan waterfall, the Imperial Calligraphy Pavilion and the old China Travel Service lodge. Xuedou Temple, founded in the Jin, is counted among the “ten great Chan monasteries under heaven” with the Tianning Wanshou Yongzuo Temple of Hangzhou and the Taiping Xingguo Temple of Nanjing.

Before the temple the Qianzhangyan waterfall carries the Milk Spring through Jinjing Pool and under Guanshan Bridge to plunge 186 m from the cliff into a deep pool. The Miaogao Terrace west of it, about 270 m by 500 m, is ringed by cliffs; Chiang Kai-shek built a villa there.

Xikou is a thousand-year-old town with the Fenggao House, the Western Villa, the Yutai salt shop, the Wenchang Pavilion, the Wuling Gate and Chiang Kai-shek’s family home. Tingxia Lake is a large reservoir on the Shan River with seven times the area of Hangzhou’s West Lake.

According to tradition, Emperor Renzong of Song dreamed of a mountain and, comparing painted maps, identified it as Xuedou; Emperor Lizong later wrote the four characters “Yingmeng Mingshan” (the mountain of the dream), which the monks carved on a stone in the Imperial Calligraphy Pavilion.

It is in the third batch of national parks of China (national scenic areas) named by the State Council in 1994.

Travel tips

Getting there: go first to Ningbo, which has an airport and a railway station; from Ningbo it is about an hour by road to Xikou town, and Xuedou Mountain lies about 8 km northwest, reached by park bus.

Xikou old town: the Chiang family residence, Fenghao Fang, Wuling Gate and Wenchang Pavilion are in town, an easy walk along the Shan stream; half a day is enough.

Going up: park buses run from Xikou to the mountain, and sights are linked by buses or a cable car; the Qianzhangyan waterfall lies in front of Xuedou Temple.

Main sights: Xuedou Temple, the Qianzhangyan waterfall, Miaogao Terrace, Sanyintan, Xufuyan and the Jinjing Pool; the waterfall and the terrace are the most visited.

Tingxia Lake: downstream of Xikou, with boat tours that need to be arranged separately.

Time: the town and the mountain can be covered in a day; two days allows a slower visit.

Season: spring and autumn are more comfortable; summer is misty with more water in the falls, winter is colder on the mountain.

Where to stay: Xikou has hotels and guesthouses; there is little lodging near Xuedou Temple on the mountain.

Nearby

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