Yingtan and Mount Longhu

Yingtan, written as 鹰潭 in Mandarin Chinese and Yīngtán in Pinyin means Eagle Pond, it is a third or fourth tier city located in the east of Jiangxi province, about 140 km east of the provincial capital of Nanchang. It is close to the point where Jiangxi province borders Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, it location has meant it has become a strategically important city for many centuries. With the arrival of the railway system to China in the late 19th century Yingtan became an important railway hub with lines running northwards into Anhui province, eastwards to Shanghai and Hangzhou, south east to Xiamen, south to Guangzhou and Shenzhen and westerly to Nanchang and beyond.

​

Yingtan has a population of over 1 million as of the last census taken in 2010, since that time there has been a period of building and extending the city so the population figure now is well above the official one.

 

Yingtan’s History

The area around what is today Yingtan was an important centre for the production of ceramic products from the middle and late Shang Dynasty in the 16th until the 11th centuries BC. During the Tang Dynasty of 618 until 907 it was a small settlement known as Yingtan Fang, it became a town during the Qing Dynasty of 1644 until 1911, then with the emergence of the railway it developed into a city.

 

The city is close to low mountainous areas to the south and hilly areas of northern Jiangxi, the city and its surrounding areas are predominately flat and traditionally it has been a farming community, with rice production being the chief crop. Yingtan has four distinct seasons, hot and humid during a long summer, inconsistent weather during the mild spring, lots of rain particularly from April until June and a relatively warm winter, although the city does get some occasional snow.

​

Longhushan

​

Around twenty kilometers to the south of Yingtan is the resort area of Mount Longhu 龙虎山 in Mandarin Chinese and Lónghŭ Shān in Pinyin. There are strong claims that this was the birthplace of Taoism and so it now has great symbolic values to followers of Taoism. Within the resort area are several interesting temples, mountains, traditional villages and cave complexes.

​

Birthplace of Taoism

Longhushan literally means Dragon Tiger Mountain, it is known as one of the Four Sacred Mountains of Taoism. It is of particular importance to the Zhengyi Dao or Way of Orthodox Unity that began worshipping here during the Tang Dynasty from 618 AD. The descendents of the original followers still live in the Taoist temples that are dotted around the mountainside. In Shangqing Town is the Shangqing Temple and the Mansion of the Taoist Master, the headquarters of the Taoism movement.

​

The temples of Immortal City and Zheng Yi were founded by Zhang Daoling, the first Celestial Master of Taoism, he is often portrayed as riding on the back of a tiger and his age when he died was said to be 121 or 122.

​

Mount Longhu is culturally significant as the burial site of the Guyue people, the Guyue no longer exist but they are remembered for burying their dead in hanging coffins. These hanging coffins were placed into caves within the mountainside accessible only by the river. It was thought that they used this method of burial to protect the deceased away from any wild animals. In 2010 Mount Longhu was added the UNESCO World Heritage List.

​

Visiting Mount Longhu

To get to Mount Longhu, there is a tourist bus K2 that leaves from the bus station adjacent to Yingtan Railway Station, it takes less than 30 minutes and costs 3RMB. The bus stops across from the entrance to the resort area. It costs 260RMB for a ticket and in my opinion you need at least a full day to see everything. Buses run regularly between each of the main attractions in the resort and no private cars are allowed.

​

I would suggest going directly to the bamboo raft, the bus drops you off a short walk from the start point and there are lots of people trying to sell gifts to you. The raft is very relaxing as you are gently moved down the river, lots to see and photos to take. Any commentary is in Chinese but using your eyes you can see the caves where hanging coffins were once placed and wonder how they were placed there more than 2600 years ago. The raft trip ends with a short walk through the forest, the paths are well maintained and most of the information boards are in English and Chinese.

​

You can watch an aerial display of a coffin (not a real one) being placed into the mountainside, have lunch in a traditional village or watch displays of traditional handicrafts. There are two walkways taking you deep into the countryside, in sections one of them is very steep but well worth it for the views across the countryside, there is a lot of climbing up and down steps. The second walkway is less strenuous, but is an elevated walkway attached to the side of the mountain. There are plenty of places to buy food or snacks, or you can bring your own.

​

When I visited Longhushan I left going to Shangqing Ancient Village to the end of the afternoon, it takes a few minutes on the bus as it is at the far end of the resort area from the entrance. The village has over one thousand years of history, I chose to walk along the village street and see some of the ancient crafts still being used today, you can just get the bus to the Shangqing temple if you so wish. The village street is 2km long and runs alongside the river. Lots of the houses are built on stilts to keep them above the level of the river and many of them have their own small wharf.

​

There is a small exhibition area and museum at the entrance, which is well worth a visit and gives you more information on the area and its historical significance.

​

My opinion on Yingtan and Longhushan

I have been visiting Yingtan regularly since about 2011, my wife has lived there for most of the past 15 years or so and she is why I keep returning there. The city itself is not that entertaining, there are very few foreigners there but the people are friendly and want to get to know you and become their friend, I have lots of friends in the city.

​

Longhushan is like a well kept secret, outside of China there are not too many people that have heard of it. I enjoy visiting there and would recommend it to anyone, just don’t go on a rainy day.

​

Thanks for reading this article, leave a comment below, it would be great to hear from you.