Out of Guangzhou City, 30 kilometers south, on the west bank of the Lion Ocean at the mouth of the Pearl River in Shilou Town, Panyu District, there is a Lotus Mountain with an altitude of 108 meters. There is also a Lotus Tower 50 meters high standing on the mountain. The Lotus Pagoda was built in the 40th year of Wanli of the Ming Dynasty (1612) and has a history of nearly 400 years. Viewed from afar, the Lotus Tower is the commanding height of the Pearl River Estuary.

Shiziyang is the only place connecting Lingdingyang and the Pearl River. Therefore, since ancient times, the Lotus Tower has been a navigation mark for ships heading for Guangzhou, and has been known as the "Provincial Capital Huabiao".

In early winter, Lianhua Mountain in the south is still full of green trees and shady flowers. Unfortunately, it was a small step too late and the fifth "Golden Autumn Water Lily Festival" in Lianhuashan had ended, so we couldn't see the grand occasion of the festival. It is said that during the Lotus Festival every year, more than 4000 vats and more than 100 varieties of lotus flowers decorate the Lotus Mountain to make it particularly gorgeous, holy and aloof.

Lianhua Mountain is named after a huge stone shaped like a lotus flower on the mountain. It is said in the mythical story that there was once an unruly dragon that often came to the Pearl River Estuary to stir up trouble, subvert boats and flood the fields. The people along the coast were miserable but helpless. Nanhai Guanyin cruised here. Seeing this scene, she threw the lotus she was riding on into the water and suppressed the demon dragon. This lotus flower has since turned into a huge stone, guarding the Nantian Gate, and becoming a demon-suppressing stone that will always ensure peace.

Today, looking northwest from the Nantian Gate, through layers of green trees, you can clearly see the Guanyin Temple, Lotus Tower and Wanghai Guanyin built by the world to thank the Bodhisattva. Every day, in the Holy Land of Guanyin over there, good men and women are extremely devoutly asking for incense and laying flowers to bless this life.

To the northeast along the scenic road is the ancient quarry site. Lianhua Mountain consists of 48 low red sandstone mountains. The red sandstone produced in Lianhua Mountain in Danxia landform is of excellent quality, high density and fine sand. The ancients often used it as a whetstone. These red sandstone are also a good material for wall foundations. According to expert appraisal, 8 of the 12 types of stones built in the tomb of Zhao Tuo, King of Nanyue, built more than 2100 years ago, were collected from Lianhua Mountain. According to historical records, this site had entered the mining period during the Qin and Han Dynasties.

What people didn't expect was that the quarry that had been abandoned since the Qing Dynasty had no intention of planting willows into the shade. Now, with a little sorting, it has become a dazzling 4A scenic spot where "artificial labor has no intention of seizing the natural work" and a key tourist attraction in Guangdong Province. The Lianhuashan Ancient Quarry and the Daye Ancient Copper Mine Site in Hubei are both known as the two major ancient mines in my country. In 2001, it was rated by the State Council as the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

The total area of the Lianhuashan Quarry reaches more than 300,000 square meters. Mining is carried out using cutting drilling method. The average height of the remaining quarry surface reaches 25 meters, the highest point reaches 40 meters, and the lowest point is 13 meters underground, leaving behind many majestic red sandstone cliffs, dangerous peaks and stone pillars, forming a thousand-meter-long stone forest and cave landscape. The most essential attraction should be Yanzi Rock.

Every spring, countless swallows fly over, flying, chasing and playing among the forest of stone pillars standing on the wall, making this ancient and simple relic full of joy and peace.

Wandering through ancient ruins, craftsmen have no intention of leaving pictographic shapes, which will arouse your endless imagination to match the words engraved on the stone wall.

There are also some mined relics that are still in an unstable and dangerous state. They can only be watched from a distance and cannot be seen carefully inside. It is said that there are many wonderful things hidden, such as Guanyin Rock, Baxian Rock, and Splash Jade. They are all blocked by railings, and it is impossible to get close enough to see the true colors.

However, the huge Flying Eagle Cliff and the opposite Flying Eagle Tunnel make people feel curious. Walking through the tunnel that is more than 100 meters long, people feel like traveling through time and space, but they still can't figure out the mystery. I don't know whether the two-story tunnel is a place for craftsmen to take shelter from the wind and rain, or whether it is a place for transporting stones. Channels, or the best stones, must be mined in the belly of the tunnel.

This is the Lianhua Mountain I have been to. A lotus flower is in full bloom in Panyu, half Zen and half mountain work.