★ Tourist location: Suzhou Dayangshan National Forest Park

Dayang Mountain's reputation is a low-key existence among many scenic spots in Suzhou. However, with the completion of the renovation of Taihu Avenue and Tianchi Mountain Expressway entrances and exits, transportation to Dayang Mountain is now quite convenient. Although it is not a holiday, it is a weekend and there are still many tourists. There are no parking spaces in the parking lot. Fortunately, there is a long place along the road where you can park your car.

The gate of the scenic area is very interesting. Two phoenixes hold their heads high and guard one on the left and one on the right. The main mountains of Dayang Mountain include Jilong Mountain, Dahuangshan Mountain, Fenghuang Mountain, Guanshan Mountain, Huoshao Mountain, Qingshan Mountain, Yangshan Mountain, etc. It seems that Fenghuang Mountain among them should still retain the legend of Phoenix.

There is a pond at the foot of the mountain, and Qinyu Tower is built next to the water. There is a scenic spot here called Qinyu Snow. However, it is really not easy to see rain in Suzhou. There is a big stone on the ground engraved with "Town of Wu", which means guarding the Mountain of Wu. Gou Jian, King of Yue, was once imprisoned here. Later, the King of Wu was defeated and committed suicide in Yangshan. There are several houses nearby, but their doors are all closed.

You can see the continuous green mountains here. The park winds from Jilong Mountain into 15 peaks, six ridges, six docks, three streams, four rocks, and seven springs. Of course, the area open to visit in Dayang Mountain is not that large now, but the forest coverage rate is very high, close to 90%. It is Suzhou's urban green lung.

There are several areas on the left side: barbecue area, grass skiing area, and camping area. However, the barbecue area is relatively close to the pond, so I am afraid of polluting the fresh air here.

On the way into the mountain, there is an archway with the inscription "Manjusri Awakening Wisdom". It used to be the gate of Manjusri Temple, where Maitreya and Weituo Bodhisattva were enshrined, and on both sides are the Four Great Heavenly Kings Halls. Because there is a huge stone nearby that looks like a dog, it is also called Tiangou Temple. We looked around but couldn't find this giant stone that looked like a tengu.

Behind the mountain gate are Guanyin Hall and Ksitigarbha Hall. The temple itself was destroyed during the Great Leap Forward. The temples we see now, including the main hall on the mountain, Manjusri Hall, were rebuilt later.

Climbing along the mountain road, it is said that this stone step road is still an ancient road from the Ming Dynasty. The little friend also brought a companion here today. Both of them like to walk on the mountain road next to the steps, and they also glorified that walking this way saves effort.

There is a pavilion in Banshan, named Banshan Pavilion. It was built to commemorate Gongsun Sheng, who was unjustly killed by King Fuchai of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period. Gongsun Sheng was a fortune-teller in the Wu State during the Spring and Autumn Period. He was especially good at interpreting dreams. Fu Chai, the king of Wu, wanted to attack, but Gongsun Sheng explained his dream and was not suitable to attack. Fu Chai probably felt that his answer would shake the morale of the army, so he ordered him to be killed with a hammer. Gongsun Sheng looked up to the sky and sighed before his death: "My soul is deep in the mountains, and future generations are echoes." Later, the Wu army was defeated, and Fuchai fled to Yuhang Mountain and called Gongsun Sheng three times. The mountain really responded with "Gongsun Sheng" three times. At that time, it was thought that something was strange, but now it seems that it is not an echo of someone else in the mountains. However, Fuchai felt guilty and regretful, which was probably true. If he listened to Gongsun Sheng's words and did not conquer the border, wouldn't he still be his king in the King's Palace of Wu? How could he have been chased by the Vietnamese army and fled away!

Manjushri Hall should be the main hall of Manjushri Temple, dedicated to Manjushri Bodhisattva. The four Bodhisattva sit high on the back of the four-headed green lions facing in all directions. The heads have three floors in total, but the direction is slightly deviated, as if the Bodhisattva faces in all directions. Another statue of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva riding a white elephant is also like this. I don't know what the explanation is.

Manshu Temple has a history of more than 1,600 years. It is one of the earliest Buddhist temples in Suzhou and a place where Buddhist culture and Yangshan culture blend. The gate is at the foot of the mountain, and the main hall is almost at the top of the mountain. The architectural front of this Manshu Temple is really long. Generally speaking, the distance between the mountain gate and the main hall is not so far. Most temples will have a lower house at the foot of the mountain. However, Manshu Temple was not the same. It directly opened the gate to the foot of the mountain.

Manjusri is one of the four major Bodhisattva Bodhisattva in Chinese Buddhism. It is famous for discussing the theories of "Prajna nature emptiness" and "Prajna convenience", which means "wonderful virtue" and "wonderful auspicious". In the temple's Daxiong Hall, it is on both sides of the statue of Sakyamuni with Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. Piluzhana Tathagata, Manjusri Bodhisattva, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva are respectfully known as the "Three Sages of Huayan". It is said that Manjusri Bodhisattva's Taoist temple is located in Wutai Mountain, Shanxi Province.

There is a glance at the Manjusri Spring next to the Manjusri Hall. In fact, the spring water is not so clear, and tourists have not been seen here to collect water. It is mainly fine fallen leaves floating on the water, which is probably not directly drinkable.

The Manjusri cliff surface is as sharp as cutting, with cliff stone carvings made by predecessors. There are five more famous ones: Wang Ao, Gu Yuanqing, and Xia Yuxi in the Ming Dynasty, XiBailong monk in the Qing Dynasty, and Li Genyuan in the Republic of China. When I was looking at the stone carvings, I even made a joke. I immediately thought Xia Yuxi was Liu Yuxi, and I was very surprised at that time: "Tang Dynasty stone carvings? Has Liu Yuxi actually been to Suzhou?" Liu Yuxi and Suzhou have no fate. The difference of one word is several dynasties.

The cliff in front of the temple is called the Sacrifice Platform. It is said that you can sacrifice your body here to jump off and die, so it is named the Sacrifice Platform. The stones below are like carp jumping over the dragon gate, so the peak below the stage is called carp peak.

There is a wooden plank road coming out of the Manjusri Hall. Looking at the schematic diagram, you can lead to Phoenix Temple. There is a fork road halfway to the bathing pavilion. With the original intention of not wanting to miss the attractions, our group still stopped at the bathing pavilion. Judging from this name, it should be a place to watch the rising sun and setting sun. It is said that in the Ming and Qing dynasties, many literati came here to watch the wonderful sunrise. According to historical records, at 5 a.m. on the 30th of the ninth lunar month, you can see the sun and the moon rising together here, but it seems that I have never heard of it now, and I don't know if I can still see it. It is said that the wonders of the sun and the moon rising together can only be seen in Geling, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Jiulong Mountain in Pinghu, and Yunqu Mountain in Haiyan.

Bathed in the sun, the scenery should be very beautiful. Unfortunately, the sun is rising early and it is not even dusk. We have no idea of waiting here just to wait for a sunset.

Fenghuang Temple is located on East Fenghuang Peak. During the Republic of China, there were two temples in the north and the south. Fenghuang Temple in the north and Tianyun Temple in the south. However, they were both damaged during the Cultural Revolution. The current Fenghuang Temple was rebuilt in 2004. On the mountain, there are Tianwang Hall, Daxiong Hall, General Hall, and Fenghuang Pavilion Tea House, and the gate and Fenghuang Courtyard are at the foot of the mountain. However, when we walked all the way down the mountain, we didn't see the mountain gate. Maybe there was another fork in the road.

Green willows dance on the bank of the river, and the flowing clouds are scattered in front of the flowers.

Let's keep your mind in the spring breeze, and don't let the sun shine in March.

--Seven Wonders