Menglianggu Scenic Area

Menglianggu Scenic Area mainly consists of Menglianggu National Forest Park, the Site of the Menglianggu Campaign, and the Memorial Hall of the Menglianggu Campaign.

Menglianggu National Forest Park, formerly the Menglianggu Forest Farm, was officially approved for establishment by the Ministry of Forestry in September 1992. Covering 12,000 mu, it spans multiple townships including Sunzu, Andi, Daizhuang and Shuanghou. Its southwestern boundary follows mountain ridges, adjacent to Zhongsi Forest Farm of Mengyin County. Rolling mountain ranges stretch across the park, with major peaks including Da’an Top (the main summit), Dagu Top, Eagle’s Nest, Louzi Peak, Menglianggu, Mengyin Summit and Wanquan Mountain. The mountains are densely covered with Japanese black pine, Korean pine, black locust, Chinese arborvitae, alder, as well as moso bamboo, Chinese chestnut, apple and other fruit trees. The park features serene woods, blooming flowers, gurgling clear springs, fresh air, and numerous exotic rock formations and caves. A deep cave lies in Xiangshan Valley east of Da’an Top, named the Water Cave for its perennial flowing streams. A natural stone gate forms the cave entrance. Roughly fifty to sixty meters inside stand stone tables and stone stools; ancient stone carvings once lined the cave walls, yet their inscriptions have faded beyond recognition. Proceeding another twenty meters inward, visitors see a massive fifty-meter-tall flat boulder resembling an immortal’s dwelling. Other scenic spots include the Flagpole Hollow, Sword-Testing Stone, Horse-Racing Ridge and Horse-Tethering Stone. Legend has it that General Meng Liang of the Song Dynasty stationed troops here, hence the mountain’s name. The Sword-Testing Stone stands roadside a short distance west of Horse-Racing Ridge. Over three meters tall, it rises imposingly with a vertical crack split cleanly from top to bottom, said to be cut by Meng Liang testing his treasured sword. Horse-Racing Ridge is a gentle mountain saddle between Dagu Top and Menglianggu Peak, where Meng Liang once exercised his warhorses. Today it has been paved into a wide thoroughfare linking Menglianggu and Dagu Top. Climbing northeast toward Menglianggu, visitors pass jagged precipices and green pines that delight the eye. A cluster of grotesque rocks halfway up the slope marks the legendary horse-tethering spot of Meng Liang. Near the summit of Menglianggu lies a cave spacious enough to shelter horses, running north-south and curving eastward. Named the Horse-Tethering Cave, it served as Meng Liang’s stable in ancient tales. A short ascent past the cave leads to the very summit of Menglianggu, crowned with massive scattered rocks dotted with natural stone hollows known locally as Flagpole Hollows.

Menglianggu stands as a renowned battlefield of the Chinese Liberation War. In May 1947, under the command of Chen Yi and Su Yu, the East China Field Army swiftly surrounded and isolated the Kuomintang’s elite 74th Reorganized Division here on the night of the 13th. After three days and nights of fierce combat, the enemy unit was completely annihilated by 16:00 on the 16th. Lieutenant General Zhang Lingfu, divisional commander of the enemy troops, was killed in action, with a total of 32,600 enemy officers and soldiers either killed or captured. The site was designated a Provincial Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit in 1977. Numerous war relics remain on the mountain to this day: bullet marks are clearly visible on rock faces, and remnants of defensive fortifications can still be spotted occasionally. The summit of Dagu Top is composed of smooth, flat limestone. The Menglianggu Campaign Monument was erected here in 1984. Standing 30 meters high, it is constructed from three grey granite slabs shaped like bayonets, symbolizing the integrated combat system of field army, local troops and militia. It rests on a 1.6-meter-high regular triangular prism base wrapped in red stone panels resembling flower wreaths. Golden characters inscribed on the front face of the monument read “Monument to the Menglianggu Campaign”, handwritten by Hu Yaobang. Its eastern side bears Marshal Chen Yi’s ci poem Dream of the South · On the Road Between Linyi and Mengyin, while its western side carries General Su Yu’s inscription: “Heroic Menglianggu”. The open ground surrounding the monument covers approximately 5,000 square meters. Tourists come in an endless stream all year round to admire the mountain scenery and pay tribute to the fallen heroes.

Five kilometers south of Menglianggu sits the Menglianggu Martyrs Cemetery, built in 1954 by Yinan County with funding allocated by the State Council, later placed under the administration of Mengyin County.