Now, there is only an hour's distance from Hangzhou to Nanjing, but ten years ago, it seemed to have to cross thousands of mountains and rivers. When Nanjing came back and searched through the old photo album, I could still find a photo of a group photo taken in front of the old presidential palace. It can be seen that at that time, the focus was not between the mountains and rivers, let alone understanding this "China's Four Great Maple Appreciation Resort."

One of the four major maple attractions in China

The Red Leaf Festival is being held in Qixia Mountain these days, and the maple leaves are also very red at the right time. However, there are as many tourists in the scenic area as the red leaves. While appreciating the maple leaves, they are looking at people. Who knows? Everyone is here for this time, because if you miss it, you will have to wait another year.

From the map, Qixia Mountain is located on the south bank of the Yangtze River in the east of Nanjing. It seems to be a suburb. There are patches of maple trees in the Fengling on the west side of the mountain. There are many types of red leaves, especially sweet maple trees, maple trees, triangular maple, feather maple, beech trees, pistachia, etc. Every late autumn, the mountains are covered with red, like sunset, which is spectacular. Since the Ming Dynasty, there has been a saying that "the head of the ox in spring and the sunset in autumn", and now it is known as one of the four major maple attractions in China.

The most brilliant red leaves in Qixia Mountain are Hongye Valley, which is located at the junction of Imperial Garden and the southwest mountainside of Fengxiang Peak. It takes about half an hour to climb the mountain along the hiking trail to Hongye Valley. If you don't have much time, you can go to Qixia Temple. There is a battery car on the left hand side of the mountain and drive to the top of the mountain, sit in Hongye Valley and get off, and then slowly descend the mountain along the stone steps and walk through the dense forest. This is both labor-saving and particularly poetic.

Here, strange rocks are jagged, ancient maples stand tall, and old vines are intertwined. Various tree species are intertwined to form a colorful picture scroll that looks like a color palette overturned in autumn.

There are pavilions and pavilions built between them from time to time along the way. Do you stop, take a break, or walk hand in hand in the bright autumn? Do you feel particularly happy?

Going down is a clear water bank and a viewing pavilion named Peach Blossom Stream. The tablet introduced that since the Ming Dynasty, peach blossoms competed for beauty in spring here. Li Xiangjun, a famous prostitute of Qinhuai, once lived in seclusion here and was buried in the jungle by the Peach Blossom Stream after her death. The Taohua Lake in the Peach Blossom Stream is opposite Li Xiangjun's tomb across the road. During the period surrounded by trestle, ancient maple, peach forest, pavilions, lake water, Dielang Rock, Tiankai Rock, and Imperial Garden, this may be the charm of the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties.

Mingjing Lake to the west of the gate of Qixia Temple was built during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. There is a lake-center pavilion in the lake and a nine-bend bridge connected to the bank. It is exquisite in shape and named the "Rainbow Mirror". This rainbow is probably the reflection of the red maple.

Autumn wind rises, Nanjing becomes Jinling

After the political and economic center in Chinese history moved southeast, as the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, the urban area was densely built. Qixia Mountain should be the largest green space in Nanjing. In history, five kings and fourteen emperors once climbed Qixia Mountain. Historical records show that during their southern tour of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Yongle and Wanli visited this mountain. The local government also built a palace on the middle peak behind Qixia Temple. Qianlong traveled to the south of the Yangtze River six times and stayed in Qixia Mountain five times. It is estimated that the only time he did not visit Qixia Mountain, which should not be in autumn.

It is said that in ancient times, Qixia Mountain was rich in Chinese herbal medicines such as wild ginseng, angelica, polygonum multiflorum, tuckahoe, licorice, etc., which had the effect of nourishing and protecting health (that is, maintaining health), hence the name "Shashan". According to the tablet, during the Southern Qi Dynasty, Monk Shao, a native of the plains, gave his house "Qixia Jingshe" to Zen Master Fa. Fa converted the courtyard into a temple and named it "Qixia Temple". Sheshan was also named "Qixia Mountain" after the temple.

Since then, Qixia Temple has become one of the four famous temples in China and the birthplace of the "Three Lun Sects" of Buddhism. During the Southern Dynasties, it was on the same footing as Jiming Temple and Dingshan Temple. During the Tang Dynasty, it was called Gongde Temple. It is huge in scale. It is similar to Lingyan Temple in Changqing, Shandong Province, Yuquan Temple in Dangyang, Hubei Province, Guoqing Temple in Tiantai, Zhejiang Province, and are called the four major jungles in the world.

In ancient China, temples were compared to jungles, which meant that temples were places of rules and practices. However, most temples were built in jungles, and this name was also related to the surrounding environment. Qixia Zen Temple is hidden in the quiet maple forest. The picturesque maple leaves and the temple full of Zen outline a quiet and beautiful picture of autumn. Since ancient times, kings have stepped forward and tourists have been crowded with each other. Perhaps this is the place to escape the mortal world, not be disturbed by the secular world, and meditate in the tranquility of Buddha.

I remember it said in historical books that King Wei of Chu and Xiong Shang built Jinling City in Shitou City, and Nanjing's name of Jinling began. The ancients compared mountain mausoleum to the supreme ruler. The death of an emperor was called "mountain mausoleum collapse." The mausoleum was a mountain. The rock on top of Zhongshan Mountain in Nanjing was red and purple, so Jinling was a golden mountain. Taking its meaning, Nanjing did not have gold mines.

Although Jinling is the elegant name of Nanjing, the autumn wind every year puts Nanjing's Qixia Mountain in golden autumn clothes. Only then does people feel that Nanjing has truly become Jinling.

Delicious wine:

Ma 'an Small Intestine Noodles, a specialty snack in Nanjing Liuhe area