Feng Qiaosong

The Phoenix‑Crest Pine stands on the eastern cliff face of Wansong Temple. With an age of 500 years, its branches and trunk stretch out horizontally from the rock, resembling a colorful phoenix lifting its tail as if about to take flight, or a peacock spreading its plumage—hence its name, “Phoenix‑Crest Pine.”

Wansong Temple Pagoda Grove

The Stone Pagoda Grove at Wansong Temple houses ninety-nine pagodas. Nestled against the mountain and adjacent to the temple, the grove stands tall and imposing, its solemn presence and grand scale serving as the crowning touch to this profound cultural landscape—a sacred site dedicated to the salvation of all beings. With the exception of the “Pagoda of Master Taiping,” most of the other pagodas were originally scattered across various monasteries on Panshan Mountain. Over time, torrential floods and historical upheavals wrought extensive damage, leaving the foundations and individual components of the pagodas strewn throughout the mountain’s many corners. In 2006, the Panshan Administration mobilized considerable manpower and resources to painstakingly recover the fragments of these pagodas from every corner of the mountain and reassemble them in front of Wansong Temple. Following restoration and reconstruction, the grove now comprises a total of ninety-nine stone pagodas. These structures are fashioned in square, hexagonal, or lama‑style forms.

Mountain tranquility and scenic community

This residential complex comprises a harmonious ensemble of landscape architecture and natural vistas. The buildings, with their dark-tiled walls and verdant roofs, rise in varied, dramatic forms, creating a richly layered composition that is both visually striking and pleasing to the eye. Key features include the paifang archway, the central plaza, the mountain gate, the lotus pond, the “Mountain Serenity, Harmonious Scenery” pavilion, and the Yecheng Pavilion, among others.

Like a pond

“Ruru,” a Buddhist term, denotes a sublime state of perfect harmony and fluidity, free from stagnation. Here, to the north rises Cuiping Peak, flanked by the east–west‑extending Fuxing Ridge; three sides are encircled by rolling hills, coalescing into an intimate, secluded natural setting. To the south, the vista opens wide, offering an expansive panorama—a scenic haven where seclusion and openness blend, and where the flow is unobstructed yet not stifling, making it an exceptional feng shui treasure that gathers and nurtures the earth’s vital energy. A poem captures its essence: “Ruru—just as if the six sense organs had been transplanted, all five realms dissolve into the verdant screen; auspicious clouds recline upon the pavilion, drifting through the windows, while a single spring fills the pool, teeming with mountain fish.”

Fei Bo Jian

To the west of the Ancient Buddha Relic Pagoda lies “Feibo Gully.” In summer and autumn, the gully’s waters cascade down from Cuiping Peak, their flow resembling flying silk—hence the name. As one poem puts it: “Waterfalls and springs pour beneath the peak, their forms like strands of white silk gently drifting.”

Pagoda of Master Puzhao

The Pagoda of Master Puzhao stands to the east of Wanghai Tower and was constructed in the second year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty. It is a hexagonal brick-and-stone structure, comprising a base, a body, five tiers of densely eaved cornices, and a finial. The base is a Sumeru pedestal built of stone, while the body is constructed of brick in a hexagonal plan; its eaves are adorned with carved bracket sets, and tower‑like finials are sculpted at the corners. In front of the pagoda stand two steles that document the temple’s setting and history: one is the “Stele of the Life and Deeds of Master Puzhao,” inscribed by Zhipu on the Mid-Autumn Festival in the thirty-second year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty; the other is the “Stele Erected to Reaffirm the Sect,” also known as the “Stele Commemorating the Continuation of the Tradition,” erected in the sixteenth year of the Daoguang era (1836). On May 16, 1992, the People’s Government of Jixian County designated it as a county‑level cultural relic protection site.