Jiuyi Mountain Emperor Shun’s Mausoleum Scenic Area
2022-05-27
According to Jiuyi Mountain Records, the earliest Shun Temple was built in the Xia Dynasty, in front of the Baihe Temple. The second Shun temple was built in the Qin Dynasty, and the former site is next to Yuguan Rock. The site was found in 2000, covering an area of 32,000 square meters and about 3 meters deep. The site is fully in line with the system of the ancient imperial mausoleum. It was rated as a cultural relic unit under national-level protection in 2006.
Emperor Shun’s Mausoleum
20 meters to the east of the square in front of the temple is a white marble tablet inscribed “Emperor Shun’s Mausoleum Scenic Area, Jiuyi Mountain”. The north is a long holy walkway with stone people and animals standing on both sides.
There are bell towers as well as wing-rooms on both sides of the walkway in Meridian Gate. The worship hall displays the terrain model of Jiuyi Mountain and a set of antique bronze chimes. You can see the life and achievements of Emperor Shun on three walls of the worship hall with ancient scripts.
Behind the worship hall is the main building of the mausoleum temple, which is magnificent and solemn.
Shunyuan Peak
The Shunyuan Peak, behind the Emperor Shun’s Mausoleum, is a park now with an altitude of 600 meters. As a forbidden place, it’s full of old trees and jagged cliffs. 98.5% of the peak is covered with forests, and the content of negative oxygen ions in the air is up to 48,000 per cubic centimeter. It’s known as a natural oxygen bar.
This peak has a deep relationship with the legend of Emperor Shun. It’s said that the Emperor Shun died when he went to Jiuyi Mountain on a hunting tour in the south. His two imperial concubines wept all the way here after hearing the bad news. Their tears fell on the bamboo and formed spots, from which Hunan spotted bamboo got its name. It also called Xiangfei bamboo.
