[2025 Jinyun Attraction] Travel Guide for Niweng Cave (Updated Mar)

🚄 Travel Through Time to a Wonderland: As soon as you step out of Jinyun West Railway Station, you'll embark on a journey to a celestial realm. Just a 20-minute drive away lies the enchanting Jinyun Xiandu Scenic Area! Whether you prefer the freedom of a self-drive tour, the convenience of public transport, or the ease of an electric scooter, you'll quickly find yourself transported to this dreamlike world. 🌈 The Perfect Route Through Breathtaking Scenery: Ready for a true fairyland adventure? Follow our footsteps, starting at Dinghufeng Peak, and journey through Zhutan Mountain, Xiandu Temple, Niweng Cave, Yandang Study, and finally, to Little Red Cliff. From the morning mist to the sunset glow, every scene is picturesque, making you feel like you've stepped into a world of immortals. 💥 Must-See Attractions: 💎 Dinghufeng Peak: While the entrance fee is 90 yuan, the round-trip cable car ride is only 40 yuan. The spectacular view from the top is definitely worth it! 🌿 Zhutan Mountain: This is the filming location of "The Legend of Shen Li." The scenery is even more poetic on rainy days. Imagine the picturesque scene of an old man leading a cow. 📜 Niweng Cave: The cliff carvings in Chuyang Valley will take you on a journey through thousands of years of history, allowing you to experience the rich cultural heritage. 📚 Yandang Study: This unique cave-style study offers coffee, an artistic atmosphere, and is a great spot for taking photos. 🍃 Xiandu Temple: A perfect summer retreat, offering coolness, tranquility, and harmony. 🌅 Little Red Cliff: The filming location of "Joy of Life 2," the red and white cliffs create a stunning silhouette at sunset, making it a truly unforgettable sight. 🍜 Don't Miss the Culinary Delights: Jinyun baked cakes, tofu soup, Tushuang noodles, stir-fried bamboo shoots… these local delicacies will tantalize your taste buds! 😇 Come to Jinyun Xiandu and fill your weekend with surprises and joy! In this picturesque wonderland, you can not only admire the stunning natural scenery but also experience the rich cultural heritage and unique culinary delights. It's sure to be an unforgettable trip!

Wenyu Pavilion is built on a huge rock shaped like a lotus petal, surrounded by water. The rock is shaped like a lotus, called Qinglian Stone. The ancient pavilion on Qinglian Stone has a double-eaved octagonal spire, carved beams and painted buildings, and a double fish decoration on the top. It is 5 meters long, 7 meters high, and a great place to rest and fish by the stream. During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, a man named Lu Xian, who was known as "Lu Xian of the Stream," visited Fan Xianke, the imperial censor who lived in seclusion in Niweng Cave, and got lost. He asked a fisherman for directions, and the fisherman led him to meet. Lu Xian recorded this in a poem: "The water cave is deep and the clouds are thick, and the old man sits and talks about chess. Suddenly lost on the way, the fisherman leads him into the flowers." Later generations built a pavilion to commemorate this, hence the name Wenyu Pavilion. Next to Wenyu Pavilion, there are inscriptions such as "Wenyu Pavilion" and "Junzi Stone." "Wenyu Pavilion" was written by Lou Cun, a famous calligrapher and seal engraver from Jinyun during the Republic of China, and an early member of the Xiling Seal Engraving Society. Junzi Stone was originally a stone screen that extended into the stream along with Chuyang Mountain. According to the "Record of Visiting Xiandu Peak" by Yuan Mei, a famous literary writer of the early Qing Dynasty, there were inscriptions on the stone screen from the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, a poem about "Visiting Xiandu" by Wang Shiheng, the champion of the Ming Dynasty, and a poem about "Lu Xian Visiting Dou Mountain" from the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. In 1958, when the highway was built, the stone screen was blasted and the inscriptions on the stone wall, including those by Wang Shiheng, the champion of the Ming Dynasty, were shattered, which is a pity. In March 1991, the highway was widened. The inscriptions on the cliffs, including "Lu Xian Visiting Dou Mountain," collapsed directly, and several of them were chiseled and stored in Duofeng Academy.

The alarm rang at 6:30, and I got up to wash and go downstairs for breakfast. The B&B provided breakfast at a shop called Zhuangzhuang, which was a bit of a walk away. Not knowing if it was good or not, my nephew and I decided to try any breakfast place we encountered first. If it wasn't enough or we wanted more, we would continue to Zhuangzhuang. We saw a place with a few locals chatting and working around a stove. We asked if they served breakfast and ordered two bowls of wonton soup and two Jinyun pancakes. The dining area was inside, where we could see the household's smelly shoes and various daily items scattered around. This was probably the essence of authentic local life. After eating, we still felt hungry, so we continued to Zhuangzhuang for two sesame balls, a bowl of tofu pudding, and a basket of soup dumplings, which used up our two breakfast vouchers. While waiting, I looked around and saw posters on the wall introducing local foods. The three local delicacies included Jinyun pancakes, Shuang noodles (also called local noodles), and Qiaorou soup. It is said that Jinyun pancakes were invented by an emperor while refining elixirs, and although the emperor ascended to heaven, the pancake recipe was passed down. This legend seems far-fetched, much less believable than the story of an imperial relative inventing tofu during the Han dynasty. After breakfast, we returned to the hotel to rest and checked out at 8:30 to start our day. The first stop was Yandang Book House, which wasn't mentioned in Ctrip's introduction but became a popular spot recently due to online hype. The site was a redesigned and decorated former quarry, grandly named a book house, but there wasn't much to see. Taking photos up and down took only about ten minutes. The second stop was Ni Weng Cave, which was more interesting. Ni Weng was a famous figure from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, known for his talents and strategies. Fan Li used Ni Weng's strategies to help Goujian defeat Wu. The scenic area has a natural stone cave with a stone statue of Ni Weng lying on his side reading a book, accompanied by an engrossed white ape. The nearby stone walls feature inscriptions by famous people from the Tang and Song dynasties, showcasing a rich cultural heritage. There is also a cultural heritage site: Dufeng Academy. The entrance has a couplet in seal script, which reads, 'Dufeng stands firm, the place where the ancients once recited and studied; Xiandu remains intact, scholars today offer fragrant tributes.' If it weren't for the lady at the gate, I wouldn't have been able to guess even three characters. Inside, there was another couplet. I guessed the first two characters on the right side correctly, so I confidently asked the lady if the left side started with 'descendants.' She said it was 'millennia.' I was immediately embarrassed and quickly moved on to another area. Ni Weng's strategies led to hegemony, Confucius' Analects can govern a nation. I fancy myself a cultural traveler, but here I am full of shame. A couplet is just two lines of text, but I could barely guess a few characters. I now believe my reading is insufficient, lamenting half a lifetime in vain.