Jiaxian County

Jiaxian County lies in the western bank of the middle partion of the Huanghe River in the northeast of Shaanxi province and in the southeast of Maowusu desert. It faces Linxian County of Shanxi province on the east bank of the Huanghe River. It has Mizhi County in the west, Wubao County in the south, Shenmu County in the north, Suide County in the southwest, and Yulin City in the northwest. Additionally, it belongs to the continental monsoon semi-arid climate with an average altitude of 664 meters, a mean annual precipitation of 380 millimeters,, a mean air temperature of 10 degrees, and a non-frost period of 159-days.

Jiaxian county has unique and wonderful tourist resources. Baiyunshan Mountain Scenic District centered around Baiyunshan Mountain integrates humanistic landscape with natural landscape such as Huanghe River Gorge and Hengling Mountain, and it has become one of China’s national scenic spots. It is also the largest scenic spot in Yulin prefecture. The renowned places of historical interest in this area include the mountainous Jiaxian city known as the ‘Iron Jiazhou’ that is rarely seen in the country, the famous Taoist Baiyun Temple which is the largest ancient building group in northwest China, the Xianglu Temple known as ‘The Wonder on the Huanghe River,’ the Yunyan Temple stone grotto built during the Song Dynasty, and the Lingyunding Tower, which is known as the son of a famous gentleman. Baiyun Temple was first established in the Song Dynasty, and during the Ming and Qing dynasties it became a Taoist Holy land made of ancient temples. In the 46th year of the Wanli (A.D.1618) reign during the Ming dynasty, the Ming emperor Zhu Yujun conferred a decree to Baiyun Mountain and bestowed the 4726-volume royally manufactured ‘Taoist Collection,’.Ever since then, Baiyun Mountain has enjoyed widespread fame. Local residents built large scale temples whose construction and renovation continued in successive dynasties. Finally, Baiyun Mountain became the most magnificent temple group in northwest China, occupying an area of more than 200 acres and housing cultural treasures of architecture, sculpture, painting, calligraphy, stone tablets, music, etc. Baiyun Mountain became the largest-scale ancient building groups of the Ming and Qing dynasties in northwest China. Nowadays, it is the most popular religious tourist destination along the Huanghe River. In 2000, the State Council designated Baiyun Mountain one of the most important historic districts in China.

Baiyun mountain has been a famous destination of tourism and pilgrimage for people from Shanaxi Province, Shanxi Province, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia Province and Gansu Province for about 400 years. Travelers come throughout all seasons. In 1947, when Chairman Mao Zedong was battling with the KMT in northern Shaanxi, he climbed Baiyun Mountain twice to view the ancient sites and places of historical interest. There, he appreciated the northland natural scenery and traditional culture and left behind the much-told story about this great man’s sharing of his enjoyment of the Double Ninth Festival with the local populace. The ancient city of Jiazhou is a very famous historical and cultural city in Shaanxi province. It stands on the stone hills along the western bank of the Huanghe River, featuring stone-paved streets, stone walls, and stone cave dwellings as its architectural attractions. This ancient city was first built in the Song Dynasty with the Huanghe River in the east and the Jialu River in the southwest. Its three sides are high cliffs which makes it a strategic place. Thus, it was titled ‘Iron Jiazhou’, which was a stronghold contested by military strategists in all ages. It also became the political, economic and cultural center in Jiaxian County.

Yunyan temple sits on the Qingling Mountain, one kilometer south of the ancient city. As a Buddhist temple, it mainly contains many grottoes that were first excavated in the 4th year of the Xuanhe reign (A.D.1112) of the Song Dynasty more than 800 years ago. There are 48 stone statues of Sakyamuni. With lively shapes and clear lines, they are indeed a god-given art treasure. Yunyan Temple was constructed against cliffs. The rock formations of the cliffs have strange and craggy forms. In front of the temple, the Jialu River flows into the Huanghe River, where one can see the splendid shape of the mountain reflected in the bright colored water. It is a provincial cultural heritage site.