Guoyan Mountain

Guoyan Mountain is located in Lanxia Township of Shunchang County. Standing at an altitude of 1,383.7 meters, it is the highest peak in Shunchang. It integrates diverse tourist attractions including ancient wild tea bushes on Guoyan Mountain, Taoist cultural relics, the site where Zhu Xi delivered lectures, the premier official temple in northern Fujian, as well as former battle sites of the red guerrillas.

Stretching for over a hundred li, the rolling mountain range encompasses Huangyan Mountain and Longyan Mountain. Its sheer towering cliffs are magnificent and graceful, earning it the laudatory title of "Heavenly Pillar".

According to legend, Guo Dongyang lived in seclusion here in the 2nd year of the reign of King Zheng of Qin (245 BC), cultivating vital energy to preserve his essence, hence the mountain’s name. Relics still preserved on the mountain include an alchemist’s altar dating back to the Han Dynasty, the Full-Moon Pond, an ancient well, and a stone pagoda where a monk was laid to rest.

Ziyun Temple halfway up the mountain was first built in the 4th year of the Kaiping reign of the Later Liang Dynasty (910 AD). It boasts scenic spots such as Golden Rooster Cave and Immortal Footprints, worthy of being called a fairyland on earth.

The mountain boasts abundant forest resources, vast stretches of ornamental bamboo, and rare giant salamanders. From the autumn of 1963 to the summer of 1964, Shanghai Haiyan Film Studio shot the movie Love for Green Mountains here.