Huangling Temple & Sanyou Cavern
Xiling Gorge
Huangling Temple & Sanyou Cavern
Huangling Temple
Huangling Temple, originally called Yellow Ox Temple (Huangniu Temple), boasted the biggest and the oldest ancient architecture in the Three Gorges Region. The temple, it is said, first built in the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC - 476 BC) in the commemoration of the Holy Yellow Ox who helped Yu the Great in dredging through the gorges along Yangtze River. As to the period of Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang (a famous strategist in the Three Kingdom period) ordered it reconstructed and wrote 'Notes of Yellow Ox Temple,' later engraved on a stele outside the Hall. However, Ouyang Xiu (a famous litterateur in the Song Dynasty) changed the name to Huangling Temple because he did not believe the artifact – the Holy Ox.
The temple is located at the base of the Yellow Ox Mountain with the Yangtze River on its south bank. The stark red walls and bright yellow roofs made the temple stunning and magnificent. Visible upon entering the Front Gate via the stone stairway, the Hall of King Yu the Great faces a prominent theater stage. The main hall is supported by thirty-six wooden pillars, among which a Hydrographic Post recorded valuable hydrologic data.
Traditional art of Chinese architectures such as upturned eaves, corbel arches and terracotta are on display in the temple. Two steles hang up on the lintel on which the inscriptions on one of the two were said grant by Cixi (the Empress Dowager of China during 1835 and 1908). To the right of the Hall of King Yu the Great stands a Wuhou Temple (it is not the one in the Chengdu City). It is said a tree with an age of 1,700 years in the backyard of the temple was planted by Zhuge Liang.
Sanyou Cavern
The Sanyou Cavern is found on the north side of the Xiling Mountain, which is back at the mouth of the Xiling Gorge, and faces the Xialao Stream. The Cavern is a major historical and cultural site, and is under provincial protection in Hubei Province.
The cavern is a Karst-type cave shaped in the form of an irregular rectangle. The cave has a depth of 30 meters (98 feet) and a width of about 20 meters (66 feet). Three stalactite pillars divide the cave into two parts. The front of the cave is bright and spacious, while in the back it is gloomy and narrow. Rocks in the cave are full of limestone drapes taking on various shapes.
The Sanyou Cavern was unknown to public until the Tang Dynasty (618-907), when three eminent writers came across this wonderland. The three celebrities were Bai Juyi, Bai Xingjian (Bai Juyi's brother) and Yuan Zhen. They composed poems which were inscribed on the walls to record the beautiful sceneries. Bai Juyi wrote 'Preface to Sanyou Cavern', which literally means 'three people traveled in the cavern'; so we have the name Sanyou Cavern.
During the Song Dynasty (960-1279), many celebrities visited the cavern, and carved poems and texts on the walls and cliffs inside and outside of the cavern. From then on the cavern became a place where literary people came to enjoy the writing through the ages. There are more than 60 inscriptions in and around the cave that are treasured for their historical value, or for calligraphy appreciation. The grotesque natural scene, together with the calligraphy is sure to impress you.
