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Dayü Crossing (National AAAA-level Scenic Spot)
Issue time:2021-09-07

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Dayü Crossing, one of the Yellow River Scenic Areas, is located 10 kilometers southeast of the county town of Ruicheng, the “South Gate” of Shanxi Province. Situated near the cliff and by the river, Dayü Crossing, covering an area of 650 hectares, boasts its beautiful and pleasant scenery and enjoys the reputation of “pearl of the Yellow River” and “warm south in the Northland”. In a word, integrating the Yellow River culture, Dayü culture, Buddhist culture and modern water conservancy culture, it is a Yellow River Scenic Area well worth visiting.

As the saying goes, “One would be bound to visit Dayü Crossing if he wandered along the long Yellow River in his dream.” From ancient times up now, Dayü Crossing has been the only thousand-year-old crossing named after Dayü (Yü the Great, a legendary ruler in ancient China who was famed for his introduction of flood control) around the entire Yellow River basin. Here a variety of touching legends and stories about Dayü taming the flood spread among the local people. Besides, the superior ecological environment earned the place a good name of “natural oxygen bar” as millions of trees here are luxuriant all year round so that the high content of negative oxide ions in the air is beneficial to people’s health. Furthermore, the clean, refreshingly sweet and ever-flowing mineral water here is rich in strontium, zinc and other microelements according to the water quality testing conducted by the Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources. Taking full advantage of the natural spring water resources, local people have built distinctive regional brands for local specialty water, wine, vinegar and tea. You may enjoy a wonderful tour by hovercraft — an amphibious vehicle known as “water aircraft” serving a tourism project unique to Shanxi Province among the Yellow River tourist attractions and causing quite a sensation at Shanxi’s first Tourism Expo as a major travel brand. You may fly from the Zhuangyuan Ridge down 110 meters to the tidal flats on the opposite side across the river by a gliding airship. You may admire the Main Hall of the Yüwang Temple, the largest pilgrimage center for people who come over to pay respect to Yü the Great, and on the steps of the temple you may hear the sounds of water-dripping similar to the mysterious sacred sounds at the Kukulkan Pyramid in Chichen-Itza, Mexico. A CCTV camera crew made a special trip here to conduct field observation, shooting a feature program titled Mysterious Sound in Ancient Temple which was later broadcasted on Light of Science, a program of CCTV 10. You may have the opportunity to observe China’s first major dynamic statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva – “Buddha Nature Revealed When Lotus Blooms” appears realistic, sprinkling around Holy Water and making visitors feel as if they were in a fairyland. What’s more, a large-scale Buddhist cultural performance will be held with the statue as a backdrop. You may also feel relaxed and refreshing as if walking upon the air when you set foot on the renovated Zhuangyuan Bridge built in the prosperous Tang dynasty (Zhuangyuan was a title given to the scholar who achieved the highest score of the Imperial Examination in ancient China). The Yellow River Diversion Project conducted in the area is one of the ten great achievements in China’s socialist construction process in the 1970s. You may experience the thrills and excitement of water park items which also enhance your intelligence, endurance, and confidence. You may place yourself in artificial landscapes constructed with real stones, and inside them there are also waterfalls, ponds, streams, and stepping stones. You may appreciate laser shows and human landscapes such as the statue of Yü the Great, the sculpture of the Goddess of River Stabilization as well as the megalith in the shape of a book. You may enter the Buddha Park which integrates cultural landscapes, tourism and exhibition, and gives full expression to the feature of loess cave dwellings on the Loess Plateau. Thousands of acres of mulberry trees are planted here, along with lavenders and peonies all over hills and the rose valley, making the place a multi-functional flora and fruits garden.

Besides the scenic area are the best five-star hotels in the Yellow River Golden Triangle Region. There are comprehensive hotels integrating accommodation, catering, business, conference, leisure and entertainment. It is one of life’s pure joys for you to sit in a room with a view of the Yellow River, have a feast of fish from the river and enjoy a fine view of the river, comprehending the profound cultural connotation of the river and its history. In recent years, Dayü Crossing has been named one of the ten must-go-to destinations in Shanxi by five mainstream media including Shanxi TV station and Shanxi Ribao (Shanxi Daily Newspaper). In short, Dayü Crossing is the best place for sightseeing and vacationing. You will always receive warm welcome here!

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[Water Conservancy Project]

The construction of Dayü Crossing water-lifting project began in 1970 and the project, as part of China’s Yellow River Diversion Project, began to carry out water lifting irrigation in 1974, covering an irrigation area of about 320 thousand mu (over 50 thousand acres). The project is famous for its three distinctive features: firstly, the first-level water intake pumping station adopts movable pump truck to draw water; secondly, the two-van sand basin is a good solution to the tricky problem of the sediment in the Yellow River; thirdly, the single head of the second-level pumping station can reach 200 meters, beating the limit of 100 meters before. The remarkable success with worldwide concern won it the title of “one of China’s ten major socialist construction projects” in foreign media.

The first-level pumping station employs mobile pumps. The station standing near the Yellow River draws water directly from the river. The place where the first-level pumping station is located is an inundation area of the Sanmenxia Reservoir, and therefore the river here retains water every winter and spring, and consequently the water level varies a lot after the impoundment. The mobile pump was designed to cope with the change. The water pump house beneath the station was built on the steel rail beams pulled by the winch line. When the Yellow River rises, the pump house is pulled up, and when the river falls, it is put down. It is a pioneering invention across China to devise the pump station based on the water level variation.

The first-level pumping station pumps not only the water but also the sediment from the Yellow Rive which is noted for its huge sediment load. Given the water pumped is used for agricultural irrigation, the untreated river water would lead to abrasion of the second-level pumping station, siltation of the passage, and most seriously, soil desertification of the cropland. To solve this problem, the two-van sand basin was devised to let the silt settle so that the clean water on the surface of the deposition can be drawn for irrigation. Based on the principle of the two-van sand basin depositing the mud, the procedure is: when water pumped by the first-level pumping station enters the sand basin, the flow of it becomes gentler as the water grows wider, and the gravels and pebbles carried by the water settle; the clean water flows through an overflow weir into a braiding channel leading to the second-level pumping station and was pumped up through its sloping pipe; and the desilting valve is opened for the first-level pumping station to pump the deposition in the sand basin away. Thanks to the application of the sand basin, the problem of the river sediment difficult to dispose is scientifically settled. The two vans of the sand basin can be used interchangeably (220m in length, 4.2m in depth at one end and 8.6m the other end, 4.5-6m in breadth, the capacity of each van 21 thousand cubic meters able to accommodate 8 thousand cubic meters deposition).

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[Goddess of River Stabilization]

Goddess of River Stabilization is the name of the marble sculpture here, the main body of which is a human body of a nursing mother. What it conveys is that by virtue of the water-lifting project the Yellow River has been nursing people living along its banks and giving them its profound loving care just as a mother. Situated in the semi-mountainous region, the climate of the Ruicheng County is generally arid. Before the pumping station was built, people living by the Yellow River had long suffered from drought and could do nothing with the water resource but only to watch the water flow eastward. It also reveals people’s permanent desire for water and its preciousness as the source of life. The name “Goddess of River Stabilization” derives from an old story. In ancient times, sudden devastating floods repeatedly battered the people living on the banks of the Yellow River, ravaging their homes and destroying their families, but the inhabitants of Dayü Crossing could often survive the disasters. It turned out some day before the flood a few old men in the village always dreamed of a woman with a baby informing them of when the flood would come and where to go to escape the disaster. Her words always came true. The villagers felt blessed by a goddess, so they often prepared offerings to worship the goddess at this place.

Yü the Great used to have a rest on the cliff of Dayü Crossing. The cypress on the cliff was planted by him as a mark when he was dedicated to flood control and prevention. It was under the cypress that Yü the Great was inspired by the Carp God in the Yellow River and then figured out a good idea to tame the river. Thus, he made his way north to cut through Mount Longmen and an immense stone blocking the channel in the south. Eventually, the watercourses were dredged and the river was harnessed. Hence, Dayü Crossing gained its name because Yü the Great once took a ferry across this place, and the cypress serves as the only witness of the historical event.

After Yü the Great calmed the disastrous floods, the goddess allegedly dropped a hint to the Yellow River to make its main stream flow close to the north bank in order to benefit the people around Dayü Crossing. There is a saying in China: “The Yellow River changed its course repeatedly, so people who lived on the east bank thirty years ago may settle down on the west bank now”, just as the saying in English “The pendulum has swung back.” However, the river reach in Dayü Crossing has never deflected, always keeping its flow close to the north bank. Because of its unique geographical location, the water conservancy project was sited here. The local people believe it is by the grace of the goddess that the river reach in this place never deflected, so they named her “Goddess of River Stabilization.”

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[Hovercraft Tour]

Dayü Crossing Tour of the Yellow River is China’s first Yellow River water tourism project started in 1986, known as “the first stop of the journey to the great Yellow River.”

The Yellow River is the cradle of the Chinese nation. The two sides of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River are the birthplace of ancient and brilliant Chinese civilization. Several storied sites in Chinese history are located beside the river, such as the famous Hedong Area which belongs to todays’ Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province, and the Xiaohan Area which is located mainly in today’s Sanmenxia City, Henan Province. There is a proverb saying “in the Yellow River basin, the custom popular in the Tang dynasty are still retained and the remains of the Xia dynasty could be vaguely found.” The Yellow River, surging and roaring, has been flowing for thousands of years and breeding an ancient nation as well as its history and cultural heritage. As far as five to six thousand years ago, large tribes had already occurred in this area, together with primitive agriculture, animal husbandry, and handicraft industry such as ceramics and knitting. Yü the Great established his stronghold here during his fight with the flood, leaving an ancient tribute passage which later became the main channel of immigration and territorial expansion of the Huaxia nation. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the Yuncheng area belonged to the State of Jin, and the Sanmenxia area the regional state of Guo; but in the warring states period the two areas were under the jurisdiction of the State of Wei and the State of Han respectively. After China was unified under the rule of Qin, Hedong County and Sanchuan County were established here. The change of dynasties after Qin brought about multiple systems of administration as talents came out in succession from whom the emperors took advice in governing the country. The rise of Chang’an and Luoyang, two major ancient civilization capitals, made this place a competitive battlefield of great military importance. Hence, this place is the site quite a few Chinese historical events took place, and the stories were passed down in the form of idioms.

The Yellow River is considered as the mother river of the Chinese nation. Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province and winding its way through nine provinces, the river, like a male lion poised to leap, with his back arched and head up, goes through high mountains, over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, across the Hetao Plain, runs in deep valleys, breaks through Mount Longmen, bypasses Fenglingdu at the foot of Mount Hua and then turns around, heading east. Just then the river converts its temperament from wild and untamed to gentle and cultivated, more like a tender and placid mother with broad mind. Right here the water flows gently on the open and flat riverbed and ancient Chinese people hailed this place as a “treasure land” among the areas the Yellow River passed through, so it is the most ideal place to enjoy the natural scenery of the Loess Plateau and to view the grand picture of the Yellow River. In summer and autumn, standing on the bank here, you can feast your eyes on the magnificent momentum of the churning water coming in torrents, dashing and surging, as if a large number of mounted and foot soldiers rushing over. Its vigorous and firm manner stirs feelings of excitement in your gut, overwhelming you with pride and ambition. In winter and spring, with the Sanmenxia Dam impounding the upstream water, a beautiful natural lake is formed in this area, dignified and quiet, with the enchanting graceful bearing of the southern scenery. You can make your way north by luxurious hovercraft to the confluence of the Fenhe River, the Weihe River, and the main stream of the Yellow River, and along the way you can visit the renowned Tong Pass, the mausoleum of Nüwa (a goddess highly regarded as the creator of the Chinese race), the transport hub Fenglingdu, the site of China’s legendary ancient emperor Shun farming on Mount Li, the archeological site Xihoudu Ancient Ruin where the evidence of human knowing earliest how to use fire was found, holy land of Taoist immortal Lü Dongbin, and Yongle Palace, the architectural gem built in the Yuan dynasty. You can also head south to the Sanmenxia Dam Scenic Area, along the way you can tour China’s largest national wetland reserve Shengtianhu wetland and the so-called First Pass under Heaven, Hangu Pass, as well as the city of horses and chariots of the regional state of Guo with important research value for China’s history of the vehicle development in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The saying “to know China, you have to visit the Yellow River first” has become a consensus among domestic and foreign scholars and visitors who would like to learn about and enjoy the sight of the Yellow River. It’s a great pleasure for tourists to admire the scenery of the Yellow River on a sightseeing boat, listening to the stories about the river and having a feast of fish from the river. There is another saying: “Ambition never dies until one reaches the Yellow River, but his emotions get stronger when he finally meets it.”

In order to ensure that the Yellow River tourism industry is not affected by the variation of water level, Dayüdu Yellow River Tourism Development Co., Ltd. purchased several hovercrafts developed jointly by Shanghai Shipyard Co., Ltd, the 708 Research Institute of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), and Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Company. Combining aircraft technology with marine technology by virtue of hi-tech means, the amphibious hovercraft has such properties as operation flexibility, favorable applicability and wide application, gaining the name of “water aircraft”. In operation, the hovercraft is able to sail safely and smoothly under the joint action of the air’s buoyancy and impetus. Besides, it can cross over a 3-meter-wide brook with ease, jump down from a 1.6-meter-high scarp, go up a slope with an angle of 30 degrees, and rotate 360 degrees on mud flat wetland. Capable of moving freely on land, in swamps and in water at a top speed of 60 kilometers per hour, it can ensure visitors a secure and happy tour around the Yellow River.

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[Statue of Yü the Great]

The Statue of Yü the Great was rebuilt in 1990 on the cliff by the Yellow River. It is 12.33 meters high, carved on stacked bluestones whose entire volume reaches 175 cubic meters. The three beautiful Chinese characters “Dayü Xiang (Statue of Yü the Great)” inscribed on the statue is the handwriting of Zhao Puchu, late president of Chinese Buddhist Association. Wearing a bamboo hat and black silk court dress, the statue of Yü the Great is overlooking the Yellow River with his bright piercing eye, holding a Lei (a tool for water control) in his right hand, his left arm stretching out. As the largest stone statue of Yü the Great in the Yellow River basin, the statue is crafted so vividly and exquisitely that it has become a symbol and landmark of Dayü Crossing.

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[Yüwang Temple]

Yüwang Temple, located at the Dayü Crossing (Da Yu Du) of the Yellow River, is built to worship Yü the Great (Da Yu)—the great hero who first successfully tamed floods in Chinese history.

Yu dedicated thirteen years to controlling floods and completed water projects in the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and other small rivers, turning a country soaked in water into a country founded on the basis of agriculture. It is believed that "Without Yü the Great, the Chinese people would not have survived and this country would not exist."

The Dayü Crossing is the central area where Yü the Great controlled the floods in the Yellow River basin.

In 2100 BC, the Yellow River basin was stricken by rampant floods, which brought great calamities to the people. Yu's father, Gun, also known as Chongbo, was tasked by Emperor Yao with taming the floods. However, Gun focused on blocking the flow of water by building a number of dikes and dams along the riverbanks, which only ended up being battered down by water and causing more disastrous floods. Nine years later, all of Gun's efforts turned out to be ineffective and the situation became even worse, so Emperor Shun ordered Zhurong to kill him at the Feather Mountain (Yü Shan). On the recommendation of the Four Mountains (Si Yue), his four advisers, Shun appointed Yu as Sikong (an official title in ancient China) and entrusted him with the task of controlling the floods. Yu followed the order, as well as his mother's wishes, and resolved on controlling the floods and living up to the expectations put on him. From then on, by following the course of the hills and cutting down the trees, Yu made a careful survey of the afflicted areas. In order to come up with a strategy, he also went to the affected people for information and advice. On a cliff side of the Dayü Crossing, Yu planted a cypress tree to mark the highest hills and largest rivers. Under this cypress tree, Yu got revelation from Holy Water Guanyin (Sheng Shui Guan Yin) and came up with the dredging method. So he gathered his soldiers there and pitched camps. He ordered to cut the Mount Longmen (Long Men Shan) in the upper reaches of the Yellow River and the Mount Sanmen (San Men Shan) in the lower reaches. During the backbreaking thirteen years, he was so dedicated that it was said that he had for three times refrained from entering the door of his own home when he was passing by. At last his efforts paid off and the floods were tamed. Yu's efforts to tame the floods left this area with precious relics and numerous legends. In deep admiration of Yu's spirit and merits, local people referred to the campsite where Yu got the revelation from the deity as "Dayü Crossing", the cypress tree that Yu planted to mark the highest hills and largest rivers as "Shenbai" (literally meaning a cypress tree with divinity), and the valley below the cypress tree as "Shenbai Valley" (Shen Bai Yu). To eulogize Yu's illustrious virtues and to pray for blessings on suppressing floods and pacifying rivers, people built the Yüwang Temple near Shenbai, where the statue of Yü was enshrined and worshiped. It was written in the annals of Ruicheng County that "Yu was stationed here to dredge the rivers. Appreciating his illustrious virtue, posterity built a temple in the valley and referred to the crossing as Dayü Crossing to sing the praises of Yu and forever commemorate his feat." For thousands of years, eroded by wind and rain and plagued by famines and weather disasters, the Yüwang Temple was for several times damaged and then rebuilt. Today, under Shenbai there remains a stone monument, which was erected in 1824 (the fourth year under the reign of Emperor Daoguang in the Qing dynasty), with an inscription titled Inscription of Rebuilding the Yüwang Temple in Shenbai Valley.

The Yüwang Temple we see today was last renovated in 2005 on its original site. The temple is laid out on a north-south axis featuring three halls standing on three platforms at different altitudes. Ascending stairs lead visitors through the Mountain Gate, the Middle Hall and the Main Hall. The three halls are well-spaced, majestic and awe-inspiring. The steps ascending from one hall to another are all made of jade, which is rarely seen in other temples. In front of the Main Hall lies a commodious square. Towering on one side of the square is the old Shenbai, the perimeter of its trunk at breast height being six meters. Its sprawling branches reach high up to the sky, adding an air of divinity to the temple.

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[Mountain Gate]

The Mountain Gate is located on the lowest platform in the Yüwang Temple and faces south. It has five bays, a Qing-dynasty-style suspension roof with glazed tiles, carved beams and painted rafters. Standing in front of the gate that faces the Yellow River and looking far into the distance, visitors will see an immense forest of leafy cypress trees, like a sea with rolling green waves. The east, west and north of the Mountain Gate are surrounded by mountains, forming a pleasantly quiet, elegant and invigorating atmosphere.

[Middle Hall]

The Middle Hall is located, higher than the Mountain Gate, on the middle platform below the Main Hall. It looks like a pearl embedded in the hillside. Built on the cliff, the Middle Hall has five bays, a saddle roof with glazed tiles, carved beams and painted rafters. There are 106 steps in front of the hall and 99 steps behind it. Sauntering along the steps behind the Mountain Gate into the Middle Hall, visitors will be impressed by Yu's efforts and his miraculous feat. Statues of Yu and the crowd he led in controlling floods are set up in the Middle Hall. The legendary story of Yu unfolds on the walls embossed with mud through a special technique. In addition to appreciating beautiful works of art, visitors will learn about the hardships that Yu went through when taming the floods, his admirable spirit and his extraordinary life experiences. Moreover, visitors will apprehend the profundity of the time-honored Yu culture, including its connection to the history of the Dayü Crossing and significant meanings carried in the ancient relics.

[Main Hall]

The Main Hall is located on the highest, spacious platform in the Yüwang Temple. It has a Qing-dynasty-style double-hipped roof with glazed tiles, five bays, carved beams and painted crafters. Being magnificent, splendid and majestic, it is also the largest main hall among those of all Yüwang Temples in China. The square in front of the Main Hall, covering an area of 20,000 square meters, is paved with stone bricks and looks elegant and graceful. Yu was one of the earliest emperors and the first person to succeed in controlling floods in Chinese history. His statue is enshrined in the Main Hall accompanied with statues of his four close subordinates. The statues are finely decorated in a grand and lifelike style, inspiring visitors with awe. The east and west walls are embossed with mud through a special technique, showing visitors Yu's feats in farming and sericulture and governing the country around the beginning of the Xia dynasty. Aside from his feat in controlling floods which has been benefitting generation after generation, Yu also established the first country in Chinese history. For thousands of years, Chinese people have always been holding him in great admiration. Especially in those time periods when the country is prosperous, the administration functions well and people live in peace and harmony, people tend to think about their ancestors and have even greater respect for Yu. Therefore, there have been constant sacrifice activities since Yu was buried at Mount Kuaiji (Kuai Ji Shan). In 2006, sacrifice activities at the Dayü Mausoleum (Da Yu Ling) and sacrifice activities at the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor (Huang Di Ling) were both registered on China's National Intangible Cultural Heritage List by China's State Council. It remains an unremitting aspiration and pursuit of all Chinese people, both at home and abroad, to promote the spirit of Yu and preserve the soul of the Chinese nation by holding sacrifice activities at Yüwang Temples.

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[Shenbai]

Shenbai (literally meaning a cypress tree with divinity) stands at the top of a cliff in the southeast of the square in front of the Main Hall. It is over 4000 years old. In 2100 BC, Yu was ordered to control floods. He planted the cypress tree here as a mark for identifying the highest hills and largest rivers and surveying the afflicted areas. He came up with a great method under this cypress tree and then ordered to cut the Mount Longmen in the upper reaches of the Yellow River and the Mount Sanmen in the lower reaches. Finally he successfully tamed the floods.

The tree is a majestic presence, tall and straight, with green and lush foliage. The perimeter of its trunk at breast height is more than five people's arm spans combined. Its crown makes the tree look like an umbrella, covering an area of over half a Mu (a unit of area equal to one fifteenth of a hectare). It is no exaggeration to call it the king of cypress trees. The tree is a witness of the history of Yu taming the floods, and also a deity protecting people. The tree is 14.6 meters tall and its projected area is 27.3 square meters. The diameter and perimeter of its trunk at breast are 1.53 meters and 6.8 meters respectively. Because the tree has two branches extending diagonally westward, as if a dragon is raising its head, it is also known as the "Dragon Head Shenbai" (Long Tou Shen Bai). After having braced the storm of thousands of years, Shenbai still stands majestically and flourishes with luxuriant foliage. Local people often light incenses or firecrackers under Shenbai to pray for blessings and worship deities. Especially on Chinese traditional festivals, there is an endless stream of visitors worshiping and making offerings or donations. Throughout all dynasties, writers and poets wrote plenty of articles and poems about Shenbai, of which many are well-known to people today.

[The "Dripping Steps" in the Yüwang Temple]

The Dripping Steps in the Yüwang Temple are actually 106 steps connecting the Mountain Gate and the Middle Hall. They are also known as "Longevity Road" steps because they were built to celebrate Yu's 106th birthday. However, there was something uncanny. When people walked or stood on the steps, sounds of water dripping came out from the steps. There had been much speculation, most of which was wild imagination.

To find a scientific explanation for this phenomenon, the staff team of a program on CCTV-10, "Light of Science", shoot a video about the dripping sounds in the Yüwang Temple. Then they invited several experts to conduct research collaboratively, including Professor Yan Xiang, an expert in architectural acoustics from Tsinghua University and his graduate student, Wang Xuguang. They measured the steps with professional acoustic instruments. The test result showed that this phenomenon originates from a special phenomenon of acoustic fluctuations, which is called "evanescent wave". It is very rare. At present, only in the Mayan pyramid in Mexico a similar phenomenon has been discovered.

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[Helin Temple]

Helin Temple in Dayü Crossing, also known as Helin Temple in Shenbai Valley, is one of the ancient temples with far-reaching influences in the Hedong Area (the southwest of Shanxi Province). Helin Temple was first built during the reign of emperor Shenzong in the Northern Song dynasty and rebuilt in 2006. According to historical records and inscriptions on stone monuments, in ancient times, people built two statues of Holy Water Guanyin and Yü the Great facing the Yellow River on its bank. They also built the Guanyin Temple and the Yüwang Temple to worship and pray for happiness and peace, timely rainfall during a drought and no destroying floods. "Pray in spring and offer thanks in autumn. People who make constant offerings are blessed with peace and happiness." Travelers and merchants who cross rivers gather here. People come here frequently to pray for blessings and colorful activities are held. Incenses here never die out. People come here to worship from Ruicheng, Pinglu, Yongji, Haizhou, and Lingbao, Shanzhou, Tongguan, Sanmenxia and other surrounding areas in the south of the Yellow River. There are a number of monks managing and living in the temple. The total number once exceeded 300. Because the Yüwang Temple and the Guanyin Temple are adjacent, all monks live in harmony and trees in the two temples constitute a forest. Therefore, the two temples are collectively called Helin Temple, in which "Helin" means the trees constituting a forest.

Enshrined in the Guanyin Temple, the main building in the Helin Temple, are a white marble statue of Guanyin sitting in meditation and eighteen statues of incarnations of Guanyin helping suffering people. These statues from the Buddhist kingdom of Burma satisfy the demand of people for saying various prayers and making wishes. In addition, a standing statue of Holy Water Guanyin is erected on the square in front of the Guanyin Temple with an air of kindness, solemnness and divinity. Beautiful seats in the form of a lotus flower, lifelike statues, fountains and forests, sparkling rivers and mountains, sonorous bell chimes, clouds of incense smoke, holy water, sutra chanting, monks' pilgrimage: this is a fairyland where visitors are overwhelmed with happiness, quietness, enlightenment, goodliness, fortune, auspiciousness and bliss.

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Address:

Ten kilometers southeast of Ruicheng County

Opening Hours:

Peak season (March 1 to October 31): 8:00—19:00

Slack season (November 1 to February 28/29): 8:00—18:30

Ticket Price:

1. Admission ticket:

Adults: ¥48 per person;

Children under 1.2m in height: free; Children 1.2m-1.4m in height: 28 RMB per person

Entertainments covered in admission ticket: Main Hall of Yüwang Temple, Dragon Head Shenbai, Jiujiu Ladder, Middle Hall, Dripping Steps, Helin Temple, Holy Water Guanyin, Zhuangyuan Bridge, Thousand Fairies Cave, Goddess of River Stabilization, Water projects.

2. Discounts:

Ticket for visitors with special identifications (Senior Citizen Card, Disability Card, and Military Officer Card) are priced according to relevant documents issued by tourist administrations.

3. Entertainments with additional fees:

Hovercraft: 80 RMB per person;

Sheepskin raft: 60 RMB per person;

Speedboat: 60 RMB per person;

Sheepskin & Speedboat: 100 RMB per person.

4. Tour guide service: 80 RMB

5. Transport service inside the scenic area: 10 RMB per person

Transportation

1. Self-driving Routes:

From Yuncheng: Yuncheng Beltway – Yunbao Expressway – Caofeng Line – Jiandong Crossroads – Destination

From Linfen: Linfen – Binhe West Road – Yingbin Avenue – G5 Jingkun Expressway – S75 Houping Expressway – S7501 Yuncheng Beltway – Yunbao Expressway – Caofeng Line – Jiandong Crossroads – Destination

From Taiyuan: Taiyuan Beltway – Jingkun Expressway – Houping Expressway – Yunfeng Expressway – Yuncheng Beltway – Yunbao Expressway – Ruicheng East – Caofeng Line – Jiandong Crossroads – Destination

From Sanmenxia: G209 – Caofeng Line – S239 - Caofeng Line – Jiandong Crossroads - Destination

From Lingbao: G310 – Lianhuo Expressway – Caofeng Line – Dongbin West Street – S337 – Yongle South Road - Destination

From Xi'an: Xi'an Second-Ring East Road – Lianhuo Expressway – Xitong Expressway – Qindong Expressway – Caochuan Line – Dongbin West Street – Yongle South Road – S337 – Destination

2. Coach Routes:

From Yuncheng: Yuncheng Station – Ruicheng Station

From Taiyuan: Yinbin Station – Ruicheng Station

From Sanmenxia: Sanmenxia Station – Ruicheng Station

From Xi'an: Sanfuwan Station – Ruicheng Station

3. Bus Routes:

602 Line – Yüwang Temple

Ticket Office and Inquiry Hotline

Inquiry Hotline: 18735960055 3306555   Ticket Office: 18735960055 18735960066

Notice to Visitors:

1. Each ticket is only for one person and valid only on the day of issue. Admission tickets do not grant re-entry to the area after exiting. Tickets are non-refundable.

2. Please maintain a clean and comfortable environment.

3. Please protect public facilities in the area. Scribbling on public facilities is prohibited.

4. The scenic area has the right to claim damages if visitors damage the green landscape when visiting and taking photos in the area.

5. Outdoor fire use is prohibited.

6. Please take care of the elder and children. Children shall be accompanied by adults. The scenic area and relevant companies will not be responsible for any accident caused by violation of this term.

7. The scenic area and relevant companies will not be responsible for any accident caused by visitors due to their violation of safety regulations or their own carelessness.

8. Visitors are regarded approval upon buying ticket of all content concerning Notice to Visitors. Please consult a staff member if you have any questions.

The right of final interpretation of the above terms is reserved by Shanxi Hengshengtong Dayü Crossing Tourism Development Co., Ltd.