Baoshan National Scenic Area

Known as the Ancestral Mountain of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Baoshan is a national-level scenic area. It lies within Daggan and Yuankeng Towns in northwest Shunchang County, covering an area of 87 square kilometers, 40 kilometers away from the county seat.

It boasts Three Treasures: the ancient Baoshan Temple, thousand-year-old ginkgo trees, and golden Kaiserihind butterfly. Its Five Wonders are Buddha’s Light, sea of clouds, rime, flower tides and exotic rock formations.

The soul of Baoshan lies in its profound culture of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. Natural landscapes recreate classic scenes from Journey to the West, including the Sage Ancestor Peak, Divine Birth Spirit Stone, Water Curtain Cave, natural rock shapes resembling Erlang God and his divine eagle, Sky Hound, and embroidered shoes. There are also pre-Journey to the West cultural sites such as the main hall of Baoshan Temple, the Temple of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Southern Heavenly Gate and Dry Immortal Hut. Complementing these are familiar place names, folk tales, folk beliefs and worship customs that form intangible cultural heritage tied to the Monkey King legend.

Baoshan Scenic Area boasts a long history and abundant cultural heritage. Historical records including Records of the World document ancient Tang Dynasty shrines and a stone temple imitating wooden architecture carved from sandstone built in the Yuan Dynasty.

The all-stone main hall of Baoshan Temple was first constructed in the 23rd year of the Zhizheng reign of the Yuan Dynasty (1363 AD). It is a stone structure fully modeled after timber architecture, with stone components exquisitely carved to mimic wooden beams and frames. Its columns, girders, eaves and tile imitations are all elaborately chiseled from sandstone. Massive thick beams and sturdy columns follow the early architectural aesthetic of robust beams and stout pillars. Featuring rational layout, grand scale, delicate carvings and a distinctive style, the hall holds extremely high cultural, artistic and scientific research value. After field inspections, national experts hailed it as "rare in the world and unparalleled in China". In 2001, the State Council designated it a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.

The Twin Sages Temple stands behind the Southern Heavenly Gate of Baoshan Temple and dates back to the same era as the gate. Inside the temple stand two stone steles serving as spirit tablets for the joint tomb of Sun Wukong and his brother, inscribed with texts such as "Spirit Tablet of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven of Baofeng" and "Spirit Tablet of the Sage Who Penetrates Heaven". The tomb predates Wu Cheng’en’s novel Journey to the West by more than 200 years, making it an invaluable cultural relic and physical evidence for researching local Monkey God culture and pre-Journey to the West literature.

The discovery of Monkey God cultural relics in Baoshan Scenic Area, especially the Twin Sages Temple, has sparked new academic discussions on the birthplace of the prototype of Sun Wukong, with numerous domestic and foreign media releasing special reports on the site.

Wu Archway, Gao Village, Shanghu Village, Ten-Thousand-Mu Bamboo Forest, Jumble of Boulders, Ancient Tree Cluster, Divine Buddha Reaching for the Sea, Fruit and Flower Ridge, Water Curtain Cave, Star-Pattern Stone, Three Turtles Paying Homage, Heart-Testing Stone, Sun-Viewing Rock, Baoshan Temple, Southern Heavenly Gate, Ancestral Monkey of Baoshan, Twin Sages Tomb, Dry Immortal Hut, Twin Breast Peaks

Pilgrimage for the cultural worship of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, azalea appreciation, sea of cloud viewing, ginkgo fruit picking, and farmhouse feasts at Gao Village

Shooting location for outdoor scenes of Gao Village

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