Daoma Cliff and Zhanlong Stone

In the winter of 208 AD (the 13th year of the Jian'an reign), Cao Cao retreated to Baling (present-day Yueyang) after suffering defeat at the Battle of Chibi. He burned his remaining ships on Dongting Lake and marched westward on land. When he reached Daoma Cliff on the Huarong Trail, his army was blocked by Guan Yu. Cao Cao was spared out of righteousness by Guan Yu and then withdrew to Jiangling (present-day Jingzhou).

The place features sheer precipices, with only one narrow gorge passing through. It is a strategic pass where one warrior could hold off ten thousand troops. It is one of the rare north-south passages across the forty-five-li Peach Blossom Mountain range, which separates the Dongting Lake Plain from the Jianghan Plain.

Fangyu Shenglan, the earliest and most authoritative geographical encyclopedia compiled in the Southern Song Dynasty, records that "the Huarong Trail lies to the west of Baling". Both the Yueyang Prefecture Chronicle compiled in the Hongzhi reign and the Huarong County Chronicle compiled in the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty confirm Daoma Cliff as the exact site where Guan Yu spared Cao Cao.

Scattered around Daoma Cliff are relics dating back to the Three Kingdoms period, including Wangfu Mountain, Empress Temple, Lord Guan Temple, Zhushagang Harbour, Zhanlong Stone, the ancient ginkgo tree and Emperor Liu Bei Temple. According to legend, Zhanlong Stone was split open by Guan Yu’s blade, leaving a flat surface as smooth as a tabletop.