Stone mule-Dali Luoquan Peninsula

Stone mule

About 165 meters from the shore in front of the present Taizi Pavilion (formerly the site of Tianjing Pavilion) lies a submerged reef, only a small part of which is exposed above the sea surface. This is the legendary Stone Mule. In the Haidong Bai language, it is customarily called "Zhouzhuang" (zoupzuaf), meaning "rock pile". Local gazetteers mostly write it as "Dinghai Zhuang". The Republican-era "Haidong Zhi" includes an entry for "Dinghai Zhuang", stating that "in front of Tianjing Pavilion, Luo Quan stationed the Stone Mule God below it". Legend has it that the hunter Qiaolang, the lover of the Nanzhao princess in the famous mythological story "Waiting for Husband Cloud", was struck down into the sea by Luo Quan's magic here and transformed into a stone mule, pressed down under this rock pile. This reef is called a rock pile because of its shape resembling a stone pillar. The water around the reef is over 20 meters deep. When a strong wind blows, the crevices in the rock emit a sound like the neighing of mules and horses. No wonder people associate it with the Yujufuyu floating clouds—weather clouds—that indicate strong winds, and have created a touching love story. Therefore, Dinghai Zhuang is commonly called Stone Mule in folk tradition, and some also call it the Wife-Waiting Stone.

Keyword:

Dali Luoquan

Luoquan Peninsula

Luoquan Pagoda

Tianjing Pavilion

Category:

Scenic spots

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Spot Description

　　Approximately 165 meters from the shore in front of the present-day Taizi Pavilion (formerly the site of the Tianjing Pavilion) lies a submerged reef, only a small portion of which is visible above the water's surface. This is the legendary Stone Mule. In the Haidong Bai language, it is customarily called "Zhouzhuang" (zoupzuaf), meaning "rock pillar." Local gazetteers often write it as "Dinghai Zhuang." The Republic of China's "Haidong Zhi" includes an entry for "Dinghai Zhuang," stating that "in front of Tianjing Pavilion, Luo Quan stationed the Stone Mule deity below it." Legend has it that the lover of the Nanzhao princess in the famous mythological story of "Waiting Wife Cloud," the hunter Qiaolang, was transformed into a stone mule by Luo Quan's magic and submerged here, pressed beneath this rock pillar. This reef is called a rock pillar because of its shape resembling a stone column. The water around the reef is over 20 meters deep. In strong winds, the crevices in the rock emit a sound like the neighing of mules and horses. No wonder people associate it with the Yujufuyu floating cloud—a meteorological cloud that signals strong winds—and have woven a poignant and moving love story around it. Therefore, Dinghai Zhuang is commonly known as the Stone Mule, and some also call it the Wife-Waiting Stone.

　　It is said that the Nanzhao king once ordered people to inscribe the four characters "National Gate Here" on the part of the reef that was visible above the water, namely Dinghai Zhuang. In April 1965, to ensure the safety of passing ships, the part of the reef that was above the water was blasted away. However, due to fluctuating water levels, safe navigation could not be guaranteed. Later, the navigation authorities poured a concrete pillar on top as a marker to warn passing ships. Now, the square, tower-shaped concrete pillar is covered with tiles and has red markings, making it very conspicuous. Collisions have ceased, but the poignant and moving legend of the Waiting Wife Cloud continues to be passed down.

Recommended Attractions

Yu Hong Bridge

The newly built Tianjing Pavilion is located on the ridge of Luoquan Peninsula, while Guanyin Pavilion remains on the coast at the southern end of the peninsula, with the newly built coastal highway running between them. For the safety of tourists and the integration of the scenic area, a sky bridge was built in 2000 across the north-south central axis of Tianjing Pavilion, Guanyin Pavilion, and Shimulozi in the scenic area, crossing the East Coastal Highway at the foot of Yu'an Mountain. The bridge is 12 meters high, with a clearance (distance between the bridge bottom and the ground) of 5.5 meters, and a span of 12.5 meters. It is covered with glazed tile roofs and is made of reinforced concrete, yet possesses a national architectural style. It is particularly magnificent against the backdrop of blue sky, green mountains, and blue water. Especially in the sunlight, it glitters with golden light, appearing majestic and mysterious. From afar, it looks like a rainbow lying across the ridge, hence the name Yu Hong Bridge.

Prince's Pavilion

The Prince's Pavilion has two floors, both of which house sculpted images of the Sakyamuni Prince. The pavilion is situated to the south of Erhai Lake and faces north towards the Guanyin Pavilion. The upper floor has an open window at the front to facilitate those praying for a son to "hit the Prince". There is a couplet by the window that reads: "Come, come, come, quickly hit my golden sparrow; Go, go, go, quickly embrace your golden boy." The lower floor is mainly for prayer and incense offerings. There is a couplet by the door that reads: "The ancient Buddha understands the past causes, ten lifetimes of emptiness and form; The small river contains the moon's shadow, a hundred flowers bloom with brilliant articles."

Stone mule

Cliff inscription

Many stone carvings originally existed on the coastal cliffs of Luquan Peninsula, but unfortunately, most were destroyed by quarrymen. The only remaining stone carving is a Ming Dynasty inscription on the cliff face near the ancient Luquan ferry. This is less than 100 meters from Guanyin Pavilion at the western end and less than 100 meters from Luquan Temple at the northeast corner. However, there is no access path; to view it, one must look upwards from the beach below the cliff during the dry season. When the tide is high, one can only view it by boat.

Luoquan Pagoda

Behind Luoquan Temple, about 80 meters north of the newly built Tianjing Pavilion on the mountain ridge, stands an ancient tower without a spire, popularly known as the Topless Pagoda. Paired with the temple, the tower takes its name from the temple and is traditionally called the "Luoquan Pagoda". Like the main tower of the Three Pagodas Temple, known as the "Qianxun Pagoda" (its full name being "Fajie Tongling Mingdaocheng Pagoda"), it is extremely difficult to verify its original name. Guo Moruo, a scholar who was a historian, writer, poet, playwright, calligrapher, and archaeologist, visited Erhai Lake in September 1961 and also referred to the ancient tower as the "Luoquan Pagoda". His poem, "Erhai is truly a sea, the Luoquan Pagoda still exists," is now widely known. Sadly, less than five years after Guo Moruo's visit, the ancient tower was destroyed in July 1966 during the Cultural Revolution. Only a pile of rubble and some of the original Taihe stones used for the tower base—a type of riverbed stone from the eighteen streams of Cangshan Mountain—remain at the site.

Luoquan Temple

The Bai ancient history book "Bai Gu Tong Ji" (also known as "Bai Gu Tong" or "Bo Gu Tong"), completed during the Yuan Dynasty, records that "the evil dragon (original note: also known as Rakshasa) was eliminated by a great bodhisattva, but its kind still lurked in the sea caves of the eastern mountains, causing evil winds and white waves that often capsized boats. A divine monk founded Luoquan Temple on the eastern cliff to subdue it, chanting scriptures within." Ming Dynasty records, such as Xie Zhaoji's "Dian Lue", Li Yuanyang's Wanli "Yunnan Tongzhi", and Qing Dynasty records like Shi Fan's "Dian Xi" and Zhou Yue's Yongzheng "Bin Chuan Zhou Zhi", all contain accounts of Yang Dushi founding Luoquan Temple during the Tang Dynasty. The "Chongxiu Luoquan Si Qingfu Changzhu Bei Ji" (Stele Inscription on the Rebuilding of Luoquan Temple and the Restoration of its Permanent Residents), dated to the 28th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1689), states that "on the shore of the East China Sea, there is the ancient Luoquan Temple, founded by the divine monk Daoan during the Tang Dynasty... Tracing back to the Tang Dynasty, it has undergone more than dozens of renovations and modifications." Yuan and Ming dynasty fragments unearthed near the site of Luoquan Temple in 2005 also bear inscriptions such as "the ancient monk Dushi founded the Luoquan Buddhist temple", and "there was a troublesome demonic crocodile that created wind and waves, causing many people to fall ill, and the divine monk Daoan arrived at this mountain... later, Yang Dushi established a Daoist field and made a vow to expand and repair the temple buildings." The above materials indicate that Luoquan Temple was initially built during the Tang Dynasty in the Nanzhao Kingdom. If we take the Jianzhong era of the Tang Dynasty (the era name of Emperor Dezong of Tang, 780-783 AD) as the founding date, it has a history of over 1300 years.

Luoquan Ancient Ferry

Li Yuanyang's poem "Twenty-Four Rhymes on a Trip to Erhai Lake" from the Ming Dynasty contains the lines "A single sail flies across the ancient ferry, a single leaf arrives at Luocuan." Xu Danshan's poem "Luocuan Temple" from the Qing Dynasty also has the lines "Frequently beating the oars with the wind, a single leaf arrives at Luocuan." Ancient poems and writings have long confirmed the existence of the ancient Luocuan ferry.

Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion

Entering the land-based scenic area gate, as you turn sideways to ascend the Yuhong Bridge, you will find a viewing pavilion on either side of the bridge pier at the south end of the Yuhong Bridge, one east and one west, like two guards guarding the bridgehead. No matter which pavilion you ascend, you can see the vast expanse of Erhai Lake and the Stone Mule and Yujufeng Peak. If it is winter or spring, you may also be lucky enough to see the Wangfu Cloud. For this reason, some people have named the pavilion "Longfeng Pavilion" after the protagonists A Long and A Feng in the newly adapted Bai opera "Wangfu Cloud". The pavilion has two floors. The lower floor is for general use, while the upper floor is open on all four sides and has benches with backrests for visitors to sit and enjoy the view. Many visitors enjoy climbing to the pavilion to take photos and leave memories.

Guanyin Pavilion

Li Hao, a scholar from the Ming Dynasty, recorded in his work "Three Yi Essays": "In Hexi, there is a water monster, golden-yellow in color and ox-like in shape. It often transforms into a man to seduce women, causing much suffering. One day, a beautiful young woman arrived, claiming she could eliminate the monster. She went to Erhai Lake and lured the monster out. When the monster saw the woman, it wanted to seduce her. The woman offered it delicious food, saying, 'It's better to eat first and then play.' The monster believed her and ate the food, finding it extremely delicious. The woman then offered a fried dish, shaped like an eel, with a strange aroma. As soon as it was eaten, it moved, its tail like a hook, piercing the monster's nose like a hook, causing it to feel sick and vomit. The vomit landed on the ground and turned into a pile of gold chains, binding its nose. The woman cast a spell, revealing the monster's true form as a golden ox, and chained the golden ox to a rock pillar in the heart of the sea. From then on, the monster ceased its evil deeds. It is said that the woman was actually the incarnation of Guanyin Bodhisattva. During the early years of the Zhao Dynasty, the Meng family built a Guanyin Temple southeast of Luoquan Temple. Inside, Guanyin was sculpted as a young woman, carrying a fish basket, with a golden ox lying beside her, and surging waves surrounding them. This is known as the "Subduing Demon Fish Basket Bodhisattva."

Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon Pavilion

Four viewing pavilions are built at each corner of the viewing platform in front of Tianjing Pavilion. In the center of each pavilion is a stone table, surrounded by benches with backrest. The roofs of the pavilions are uniformly covered with golden glazed tiles, which, together with the vermilion pillars, exquisitely decorated eaves, and neat Dali Taihe stone steps, appear both luxurious and elegant. The painted decorations of the pavilions mainly feature wind, flowers, snow, and moon. The scenery viewed from the pavilions often includes these elements, hence the name "Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon Pavilions".

The First Pavilion of Erhai Lake - Tianjing Pavilion

Among the four famous pavilions of Erhai Lake, Tianjing Pavilion is the most famous. Perhaps it is customary to arrange them in the order of southeast, northwest, people always list Tianjing Pavilion as the first of the four famous pavilions. However, even without relying on the orientation, Tianjing Pavilion deserves to be the number one pavilion of Erhai Lake based on its scenery and realm. Now, Tianjing Pavilion is the only restored and rebuilt famous pavilion of Erhai Lake, so it is naturally the number one pavilion of Erhai Lake. In fact, the scale and craftsmanship of the currently restored and rebuilt Tianjing Pavilion are so magnificent and exquisite that it is not only the number one pavilion of Erhai Lake, but also the number one pavilion of Dali and Yunnan.

Baxian Building

The Bai people are exceptionally adept at absorbing foreign cultures. Their religious beliefs often reflect the characteristics of mutual absorption and tolerance among multiple religions, with a widespread fusion of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. This is also reflected in the Guanyin Pavilion.

Dali Luoquan Tourism and Culture Development Co., Ltd.

Mountains and rivers are full of spirits, and tourism knows no bounds — Dali Luoquan, waiting for you to read the story

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