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Home Travel in Liaoning Qipan Mountain (Chessboard Mountain)
Qipan Mountain (Chessboard Mountain)
Travel in Liaoning

Qipan Mountain
Qipan Mountain (qí pán shān 棋盘山) is the last part of Changbai (cháng bái 长白) mountain range; it is connected to the great mountains in the northeastern China. Qipan Mountain Scenic Area is the biggest natural scenic area in Shenyang (shěn yóng 沈阳) which covers 203,000 square meters. The scenic spots zone mainly includes the plant and animal reserves, the central tourism region, the water sports area, the dynamic entertainment area, the static tourism area, the central service area, the hunting area and the villa area. It is a place combing nature and human sights.

Legend
Legend of Mt. QipanLong long ago,Tian Chi (tiān chí 天池) of Mt. Changbai was a gathering place for celestials to take a bath and enjoy the nature. One day, after departing from Tian Chi, Tieguai Li (tiě guǎi lǐ 铁拐李) and Lu Dongbin (lǚ dòng bīn 吕洞宾), two of the Eight Celestials, were walking on the clouds when they saw a very beautiful snow-covered mountain. They dropped down to the mountain and found a large and smooth stone, which was square-shaped just like a chessboard. “What a nice chessboard!” said Tieguai Li, and they two began to play WeiQi (wéi qí 围棋) from noon to midnight. A young man happened to cut firewood here and was surprised to see them play, so he told the village about them. The old men knew at once they were celestials. Therefore, Qipan, which means chessboard, became the name of the mountain.

Attractions
Qipan Mountain Scenic AreaThe green of spring, the view of summer, the maples of autumn, the snow of winter are the most beautiful scene of the area. Its main part are made up by 3 mountains and 1 lake—Mt. Qipan, Mt. Hui (huī shān 辉山), Mt. Shiren (shí rén shān 石人山), and Lake Xiu (xiù hú 秀湖). It’s famed as “a small fairyland” “a real ideal world” “the origin of Chinese painting”. Its main scenic spots include the forest wild zoo, the arboretum, Nantian Gate (nán tiān mén 南天门), Fairy Cave (xiān rén dòng 仙人洞), Mama Stone (mā mā shí 妈妈石), Dianjiang Platform (diǎn jiàng tái 点将台), Xiangyang Temple (xiàng yáng sì 向阳寺) and so on. The Snow and Ice World of Qipan Mountains is another hot spot for tourism. Shining mountains in fine snowy days is one of the "Eight Sights" of the old Shenyang.

Dianjiang Platform
Dianjiang PlatformDianjiang Platform or Hanwang Dianjiang Platform (hǎn wáng diǎn jiàng tái 罕王点将台), which is on the east side of Lake Xiu, is a 1 meter high stone platform. It is the certain place where Nurhaci (nǔ ěr hā chì 努尔哈赤) deployed troops and started a new dynasty.


Fairy Cave
Fairy CaveFairy Cave is at the foot of Mt. Qipan, it was a limestone cave eroded by acid water 600 millions ago. Now the Fairy Cave have been developed to an adventure cave, and it do have some mysterious past waiting to be discovered. The main hall of the cave can contain hundreds of people. The stones in the cave have various colors and shapes, such as snakes, tigers and so on.

Mama Stone
Mama StoneMama Stone stands at the east side of Lake Xiu. It’s a 5 meters high and woman-like stone. The legend of Mama Stone goes backward to Ming Dynasty (míng cháo 明朝). It’s said that there was a poor hunter whose wife could not be pregnant, he came to Mama Stone and prayed to it hoping to have a baby. After praying, a little stone suddenly dropped out from that big stone! They took it as a good omen. As expected, the wife soon got pregnant and they had twins. From then on, Mama Stone was regarded as a local eudemon by people who lived there.

Xiangyang Temple
Xiangyang TempleXiangyang Temple, which was built in Ming Dynasty, was located in the north side of Mt. Qipan. It’s said that before Nurhaci warred with the Ming, he had chatted with the abbot of the temple and gained a lot. Because of that, he won the wars and established Qing Dynasty (qīng cháo 清朝). The temple has two stories. The upper one has colored wall paintings and sculptures of 18 arhats, and the neither one has oblation platform for the four heavenly kings. A sign hangs upon the door written “Shuangfengcuishui (shuāng fēng cuì shuǐ 双峰翠水)”. The original temple was destroyed and the present one is built according to its primal appearance.

Ice and Snow World
Ice and Snow WorldThe Ice and Snow World, which covered an area of 500 thousands square meters, is the place for the annual Shenyang International Ice and Snow Festival. This area is divided into two sections, the south section has 1000, 800, 600 meters ski fields and 500 meters long exercise zone while the north section has skating rink and ice carvings. It attracts visitors home and abroad every winter.

Location: Northeast of Shenyang City.
Tel: 86-024-88050627
Transportation: Take bus No.330 or No.331
Admission fee: CNY 20 (The Ice and Snow World is not included)
Opening hours: 9:00 to 17:00
Best seasons to go: Winter for snow and ice lovers and April to October for others.
Tip: If you go in winter, be sure you have brought enough clothes with you.