Hangzhou Yellow Dragon Cave, China

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Yellow Dragon Cave

The Yellow Dragon Cave situated on the rear hill of Xixialing (Rosy Clouds Hill) in West Lake tourist zone in Hangzhou City. Although called "cave", it is actually a yard. It is a well-known place of interest in Hangzhou City.

The gate of the Yellow Dragon Cave is very simple, on which inscribed with an antithetical couple.

The scenes in the yard are half-artificial and half natural. The main scenic spot in the yard are Pavilion of Fragrant Snow, Pavilion of Standing Crane, and a dragonhead molded on a cliff. The dragon's head is the hero of the yard. Spring water comes out of the dragonhead and flows into the pond below.

Beside the pond stands a stone, on which inscribed with eight Chinese characters meaning, "If there is dragon in the pond, it will be charming. So, the depth of the pond is unimportant".

The Bamboo Garden, which is opposite the Vermilion Corridor, is unique in the Yellow Dragon Cave. In the garden grows a great variety of bamboo, such as 33-meters high mao bamboo, several-inch-high white bamboo, purple bamboo, green bamboo with golden dots, square bamboo and so on.

While seeing so many kinds of bamboo, you will gasp in admiration for the superlative craftsmanship of the nature.

The Yellow Dragon Cave is simple but elegant yard. It lays out as an antique park by the Hangzhou local government. There are teahouse, wine shop, theater, Terrace of Praying for Rain, and other ancient entertainment.

After visiting the yard, you can also taste the local flavors, such as Tianhua Steamed Stuffed Dumplings, Ten-Flavor Dumpling Soup, Steam Cake, and so on. People said that these flavors were very popular in Song Dynasty (960 ~ 1279A.D.).

You can also listen to the ancient Chinese music in the pavilion. This antique yard can make your travel more interesting.

History

The Yellow Dragon Cave relates with two legendary figures in history. One is Lord Huangshi in Qin Dynasty (248 ~ 207B.C.). The old man saw Zhang Liang coming up and deliberately kick off his shoes and asked Zhang Liang to wear for him. The Cave of Immortal Huang in the yard was specially built for people to commemorate him.

Another figure is the Founder of the Yellow Dragon Cave. According to the legend, the founder was monk Huikai who left Jiangxi Province and came to Xixiashan to expound the Buddhism. Huikai founded the yard so that the devotees to Buddha could come here to listen to him to expound the scriptures of Buddhism.