On the afternoon of October 21, 2020, I had lunch in Weishan Ancient City, Dali City, Yunnan Province, and went to a place about 10 kilometers southeast of Weishan County
Tour of Weibao Mountain. The mountains are empty, and Nanzhao's past is all in the misty rain.

Weibao Mountain has a total area of 19.4 square kilometers, with an altitude of 2509 meters at the top of the mountain. It is majestic and majestic. It runs from northeast to southwest and stretches for dozens of miles. The peaks are undulating. The mountain looks like a squatting lion looking back and overlooking Weishan County. In 1992, it was listed as a National Forest Park. It is one of the four major Taoist mountains in China. It is a famous mountain that integrates natural scenery, Nanzhao root culture and Taoist culture. Weibao Mountain was opened in the Han Dynasty. Taoist temples began to be built in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, Taoist temples were spread all over the mountain. Since it was the birthplace of Nanzhao State, the Taoist temples here were somewhat imprinted with Nanzhao culture.

After driving up the mountain, I got off the bus at the entrance of the Weibao Immortal Zong Mountain, but I saw ancient trees on the mountain, lush shades, Dingdong streams and springs, and lush flowers and grass. Under the cover of the misty rain and fog, Weibao Mountain had a trace of Ethereal artistic conception.

Weibao Mountain is the birthplace of Nanzhao State and the place where the Yi people, the ancestor of Nanzhao, cultivated, grazing and made their fortune. When you entered Deshan, the first temple you saw was Nanzhao Tuzhu Temple.

Entering the temple gate, you will face a Xieshan-style hall dedicated to Xinuluo, the first generation king of Nanzhao.

Nanzhao Tuzhu Temple is also known as the "Mountain Patrol Hall" or "Mountain Patrol Tuzhu Temple". According to legend, it is known as the Xinu Luojia Temple, the earliest and largest Tuzhu Temple in the country. It is the center and source of Yi Tuzhu worship. It is said that on the 15th and 16th days of the first lunar month every year, the Yi people go to Tuzhu Temple to kill pigs and sheep to sacrifice their ancestor Xinulu. Starting from the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the local Yi people held temple fairs at the Tuzhu Temple in Weibao Mountain every year from the first day of the second month to the 15th day of February of the lunar calendar.

There are murals in the temple where a Bodhisattva inspired Shinu Luo, but there is also a Taoist legend in Weibao Mountain that "Laojun inspired Shinu Luo". It is said that the Taishang Laojun inspired Shinu Luo to become King Nanzhao. After his death, he was named the mountain patrol master and became the "mountain patrol god" of Yunnan Taoism, which is a major god of Yunnan Taoism. These show that during the introduction of both Taoism and Buddhism to Yunnan, Yunnan's native primitive religions merged, rooted in the Yunnan nation's primitive religions, absorbed nutrients, and transformed into one.

Leaving Tuzhu Temple, continue along the forest mountain road to Wenchang Palace.

Walking through the majestic mountain gate, you will find the front hall where Guan Yu is dedicated.

Passing through the Front Hall, there is a clear spring in front of it called the "Dragon Pool".

There are bluestone fences built around Longchi. The stone railings are beautifully carved, the stone lions are vivid, and the mottled impressions on the stone railings are evidence of the ancient historical relics.

The weeping willows are leaning beside the pool. It is like spring. The willow shadows reflect the pool water like smoke, and the flowers are beautiful and the branches are quiet. The landscape of "Dragon Pool Smoky Willow" is one of the eight famous scenic spots in Weibao Mountain.

In the pool, there is a hexagonal pavilion named "Wenlong Pavilion" built in the 24th year of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1795). There is an arch bridge leading to the bank of the pool.

The tour guide pointed me to the pavilion pier on the west side of Wenlong Pavilion, where there is a mural called "Tage Tu" on the wall of the water-facing pier.

This painting was painted when the pavilion was built in the 24th year of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1795 AD). It is about 1.2 meters long. The upper part is clear and intact, and the lower part is a little blurred due to water stains. The picture shows: 40 people stepped on the ground and sang, and 34 people danced hand in hand in a circle; 3 people inside the circle danced and played the sheng flute, which was the center of the dance venue; there were also 3 people outside the circle, blowing and waving fans, as if to add to the fun. Most of the dancers in the picture are dressed in Yi costumes. Most of the men wear long robes with a collar, and the women wear vests and black waists. The whole painting has a full layout, bright lines and a sense of flow. It truly reproduces the scene of the Yi people in Weishan singing and celebrating two hundred years ago. It is not only a precious picture of the Yi people singing songs in the Qing Dynasty, but also the earliest discovered in Yunnan so far. The ancient Yi folk singing murals are known as the treasure of Weibao Mountain Town.

Wenchang Palace was originally a place where local indigenous Yi people sacrificed sacrifices to the Dragon King, so the hall behind the pavilion was named "Longtan Hall". During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the Longtan Hall was changed to Wenchang Palace. The main hall was dedicated to Emperor Wenchang, and the front hall was dedicated to Emperor Guan Sheng.

There is a crescent-shaped divine spring well in Wenchang Palace. Legend has it that Meng You, the brother of Meng Huozhi, a Yi teacher in the late Han Dynasty, once lived here to cultivate. When Zhuge Liang captured Meng Huo for the seventh time, the soldiers could not speak because they mistakenly drank dumb spring water. Zhuge Liang once personally went to the palace to visit Meng You's antidote to save the soldiers.

After leaving Wenchang Palace, I remembered seeing a book about the scenery of Weibao Mountain in the hotel in the morning. It mentioned that there was an ancient artificially cultivated camellia tree in Yunnan that was 18 meters high and 39 centimeters thick. It had been growing for more than 400 years. The tour guide told me that he was nearby, so I wanted to go and have a look, but my companions had no interest in traveling, so the tour guide accompanied me alone.

Not far ahead, we reached the Zhujun Pavilion (Spirit Palace). When we entered the temple, we looked up and saw the graceful and graceful ancient camellia tree.

This tree is a "cinnamon leaf silver-red" camellia tree planted in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. Because it towers over the house and is close to the main hall, it is full of red flowers when blooming, shining on the temple red, so it is also called "Zhaodian Red". If the flowers bloom in early spring and February, hundreds of ancient camellia blossoms, the flowers are as big as bowls, red as rouge, and the camellia flows red, making it a spectacle.

I really want to walk in the majestic mountain again, but team activities are not fun, so I can only return.

Weibao Mountain is famous for its birthplace of Nanzhao and a sacred place for Taoism. Since the Han Dynasty, Taoist priests have sought this place to cultivate, and Taoism reached its peak in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Many Taoist priests entered Weibao Mountain to cultivate in seclusion and recruit disciples to preach. There are more than 20 palaces and temples built on the north and south sides of the main peak against the mountains. These Taoist palaces and temples are strictly laid out, complete in format, and magnificent. Their architectural shapes have distinctive ancient ethnic minority architectural characteristics and local characteristics, completely retaining the legacy of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and reflecting the long-term charm of Taoist culture through the ages. The mural carvings in the palace are rich and colorful in content, lifelike in image, and are of great historical relics value.

Weibao Mountain has beautiful peaks and beautiful valleys, clear streams flowing back, and many scenic spots. Drinking tea before the rain in spring, watching the clouds of clouds and mist in summer, enjoying the osmanthus and full moon in autumn, the warm sunshine on the winter solstice, listening to the water flow adjusting bamboo and stone at night, and watching the clouds rising in front of you during the day. It is also an elegant thing. If you have the opportunity, it is worth visiting Weibao Mountain to visit the ancient scenery, clarify your heart, and wander carefully.