Tianshi cave

Tianshi cave, also known as the ancient Taoist temple, was built in the Daye period of the Sui Dynasty. It is one of the most important Taoist temples in Qingcheng Mountain, and is also famous throughout the country.

At the top of the cave is a niche dedicated to the statue of Zhang Tianshi carved in the Sui Dynasty. Outside the cave, there are also statues of Zhang Jixian, the grandson of the 30th generation of Zhang Daoling and the master of Xujing in the Song Dynasty.

Inside Tianshi cave is an ancient ginkgo tree that has been planted by Tianshi Zhang for more than 1800 years. It is said that this ancient tree is very tall and dense. You must come to see it when you climb mountains to enjoy ginkgo in autumn.

Tianshi cave

Tianshi cave, also known as Changdao temple, is the main Taoist temple in Qingcheng Mountain. In 1983, it was designated as the national key Taoist temple by the State Council. In addition, there are four palaces in Qingcheng Mountain, namely Jianfu palace, Yuanming palace, Yuqing palace and Shangqing palace.

It is said that in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Daoling, the founder of Tianshi Taoism, practiced preaching among the cliffs of the third hunyuanding on the hillside of Qingcheng Mountain in Guanxian County, Sichuan Province, commonly known as Tianshi cave. The original temple was destroyed early and rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. There are three halls, named Sanqing hall, Sanhuang hall and Huangdi temple.

Main attractions

Sanqing Hall

Sanqing hall is the main hall, built in 1923, is a double eaves Xieshan attic style building. In front of the hall, there are 9 stone steps, 6 large stone columns arranged on the front eaves, and 5 halls arranged horizontally. In the middle of the hall, there is a tablet inscribed by Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty: "dantaibi cave". There are several couplets hanging in front of the hall, one of which reads: "life is two, two is three, and three is all things; the earth follows heaven, heaven follows Tao, and Tao follows nature.". This couplet is not only the true spread of Laozi's Taoist thought, but also contains the profound implication of "one Qi turns into three clearness". The three supreme gods of Taoism are worshipped in the Sanqing temple, namely, the Yuanshi God in the Yuqing fairyland, the Lingbao God in the Shangqing fairyland, and the moral God in the Taiqing fairyland. Taoism believes that these three gods are the creators of all things in the world.

Sanhuang Hall

Another main hall in Tianshi cave is the hall of three emperors, in which one stone statue of Fuxi, one of Shennong and one of Huangdi is worshipped. It is about 1 meter high. It was carved in the 11th year of Kaiyuan (723 A.D.) of Tang Dynasty, and all of them are sitting statues. Taoism takes Huangdi and Laozi as its ancestors. It is said that Huangdi followed ningfengzi to learn Taoism in Qingcheng Mountain. Ningfengzi also helped him defeat Chiyou. Later, the Yellow Emperor achieved great success, ascended to heaven by riding the dragon and became an immortal. Ning Fengzi was named the main immortal of Qingcheng Mountain, and the Yellow Emperor also had a prominent position in this mountain. Therefore, in Qingcheng Mountain, not only the Sanhuang hall was dedicated to the Yellow Emperor, but also a yellow emperor temple was built for him.

Huangdi Temple

Built in Sui Dynasty, Huangdi temple is one of the earliest temples in Tianshi cave, so it was called Tianshi cave in Song Dynasty. On the banner of the main entrance, there are four big characters "ancient Huangdi Temple" written by Mr. Yu Youren.

There is a cave on the left side of the Huangdi temple. It is said that it is the place where Zhang Daoling practiced. This is what people call Tianshi cave. At the top of the cave, there is a niche, in which there is a statue of Zhang Tianshi carved in the Sui Dynasty. He has three eyes on his face and looks majestic. The palm of the left hand is straight out, and in the palm is the treasure of the Heavenly Master, which is called "Yangping zhidu Gongyin". Outside the cave, there is also a statue of Zhang Jixian, the 30th generation grandson of Zhang Daoling and Xujing Heavenly Master of Song Dynasty.

Historical legend

Tianshi cave near the beautiful scenery, east of the three islands stone, giant

There are two cracks on the stone, so it is named. According to folklore, when Zhang Tianshi subdued the devil, he saw that the stone was in the way, so he pulled out his sword and split it into three pieces. The stone was engraved with the word "subdue the devil". The spring beside the stone circulates, and the sky is covered with thick shade. Along the stone steps chiseled in the stone gap, you can go down to the side of Haitang stream. The deep wall of the stream is steep, and the vines hang down. It's very quiet. There is a pen throwing groove on the west side of Tianshi cave. It is a valley more than 60 meters deep. According to folklore, it was made by Zhang Tianshi when he subdued the devil. The scenery is very quiet.

Traffic information

Dujiangyan City can take bus No.101 or 102 to the scenic spot, which can be reached on foot.

Address: Mount Qingcheng, Dujiangyan, Chengdu, Sichuan

Longitude: 103.5609439494

Latitude: 30.902490164

Tour time: 1 hour

Traffic information: Tianshi cave is located on the hillside of Qingcheng Mountain, 2 kilometers north of Jianfu palace. View the traffic to Qingcheng Mountain

Ticket information: included in the 90 yuan ticket of Qingcheng Piedmont

Opening hours: 8:00-17:00 (March 2-november 30)

8: 00-18:00 (December 1-March 1)