Xiantai Mountain Scenic Area lies at the junction of northwestern Jingxing County, where the borders of Pingding and Yu counties in Shanxi meet Jingxing. It is more than 80 kilometers east of Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital of Hebei, and 40 kilometers from Weishui, the seat of Jingxing County.

A comprehensive scenic area integrating natural scenery and cultural landscapes, it features peaks, karst caves, forests, mountain springs and valleys. Covering over 60 square kilometers, it is a provincial forest park. The mountain range winds on with rolling peaks and beautiful scenery. Its main peak stands at 1,120 meters above sea level, the highest in northwestern Jingxing. The mountain ridges mostly run east-west, with the terrain higher in the southwest and gradually sloping down to the northeast.

The scenic area comprises 100 attractions across four smaller sections: Xiaosi, Lianggou, Zhusha Cave and Pine Ridge. Highlights include the Ten-Mile Gallery Grand Canyon, large karst caves of varied styles, lush pines and cypresses, primeval secondary forests that blot out the sun, gurgling mountain springs, ancient bridges spanning cliff edges, winding ancient Great Wall, imposing ancient passes and fortresses, man-made lakes blending with mountain views, and the thousand-year-old Huguo Temple.

Renowned for its serene, elegant, exotic and precipitous natural scenery, Xiantai Mountain has an average annual temperature of around 20°C, making it an ideal summer retreat. In golden autumn, the hillsides are ablaze with the fiery red leaves of smoke trees.

When autumn comes, all grasses wither—only the smoke trees stand firm against wind and frost, their leaves turning vivid red. Slopes and valleys stretch on in a sea of red as far as the eye can see, earning it the title of China’s largest red leaf scenic area. A poem praises: “If you seek red leaves, no need to go to Xiangshan; come to Xiantai, where fiery leaves blaze.”

Originally named Hongyan Temple, it was renamed in 883 AD. During the late Tang Dynasty, Emperor Xizong summoned Li Keyong, a Shatuo noble, to suppress the Huang Chao Uprising. The Prince of Jin, third son of Emperor Taizu Wuhuang, heard that Master Jingsi, a monk at Hongyan Temple on Xiantai Mountain, “could predict fate”. He asked the monk for divination, who foretold: “You will triumph and capture the capital.” Li Keyong later defeated Huang Chao’s forces, and Emperor Xizong renamed the temple Huguo Yuan (Nation-Protecting Monastery).

Located beneath the northern cliff of Huguo Temple, this karst cave is about 10 meters high, 50 meters wide and 10 meters deep. On the left inside the cave, stalactites form a lifelike elephant head with its trunk touching the ground and ears drooping. On the right, a 30-centimeter-wide plank path leads to the cave’s midsection, where a 50-centimeter-diameter concave stone basin sits.

Climbing westward, one reaches the Lotus Pond: a perfectly circular pool one meter in diameter clinging to the cave wall, surrounded by 36 crescent-shaped smaller pools arranged like lotus petals. Behind the pond, a straight narrow entrance leads to a 10-meter-deep inner cave furnished with a stone table, stools and bed. In rainy seasons, the pond fills with water over one meter deep; in dry seasons, visitors can cross to view the stone basin and bed.

Carved on the stone wall by the pond are four lines of regular script (21 characters total): “Rebuilt by people of the Ming, Dashun and Qing dynasties, 3rd year of Shunzhi, 12th month”. Inscribing Li Zicheng’s Dashun Dynasty alongside the Ming and Qing is extremely rare. Nearby are 36 carved Bodhisattva statues (40–50 cm tall) in three rows. All but three wear crowns and double halos, with full faces, clear features, exposed chests, lotus-petal necklaces and lotus pedestals. They hold flowers or ritual instruments, their wide sleeves trailing ribbons—exuding elegant ancient charm.

Xiantai Mountain’s primeval forest spans over 20 square kilometers, dominated by pine, cypress, black locust, lacquer tree and smoke tree. Wildlife includes leopards, roe deer, wild cats, deer, wild boars and goats. Developed trails wind through the dense forest, where fresh air abounds with negative oxygen ions—several times higher than in other areas. It is a captivating destination for forest bathing.

A stone-and-wood courtyard house in the upper part of Honghecao Village within the scenic area served as a military headquarters. In August 1940, Nie Rongzhen, Commander of the Jincha Ji Military Region, stationed here to command the Hundred-Regiment Campaign’s battles along the Zhengding-Taiyuan Railway (Shijiazhuang-Pingding section).

From this site, he planned strategies that secured victories far away. He rescued the Japanese sisters Mihoko and her sibling here, and shared hardships with local people, leaving an indelible memory. Today, the former headquarters is a revolutionary education site. Yang Chengwu inscribed: “Hundred-Regiment Campaign Jingxing Exhibition Hall”. Inside hang photos of Marshal Nie and revolutionary predecessors, alongside historical materials, his desk and night patrol lantern. Exhibits also include the carrying pole and baskets used to escort the Japanese girls, landmines and homemade guns against Japanese invaders