Laojun Cave

Location of Laojun Cave

Laojun Cave is situated on a mountain which is two kilometers away from the east of Shangxin Street in Nan'an District of Choangqing. It is one of the scenic spots of Nashan scenic area. To its right, lies the famous Yi Ke Shu Sightseeing Platform.

History of Laojun Cave

Laojun Cave was originally built in Three Kingdoms Period and was formally established in the transitional period from Sui Dynasty to Tang Dynasty, lasting over 1300 years. Its primitive name was Guanghua Temple and was initially a Buddhist temple.

In Ming Dynasty, it was changed into a Taoist temple, called "Taiji Palace" (commonly called Laojun Cave) so as to respect the founder of Taoism – Li Laojun, thus obtaining its name and becoming the palace for the Taoism masters to hold Taoist rituals.

In late Ming Dynasty, it was damaged during the war. Later, it was rebuilt by some Taoists. During Qing Dynasty, it was successively rebuilt.

Scenic Spots in Laojun Cave

Laojun Cave was built based on the landform of the mountain, gradually upwards with dark green trees and tranquil surroundings. Since it lies on the high Nanshan Mountain and faces the Yangtze River and Chongqing City, you can have an overall view of the whole beautiful mountainous city standing on the cave.

There are altogether nine halls in the cave. They respectively are Sanqing Hall, Wenwu Hall, Guanyin Hall, Luzu Hall, Zhenwu Hall, Sanfeng Hall, Qiumu Hall, Doumu Hall and Yuhuang Hall. All of them are of traditional Chinese garden form with overhanging eaves and turned-up edges.

Laojun Cave is abundant in paintings of Buddhism and Taoism stories. Among them are the exquisite stone embossments of famed Jiulong (Nine Dragon) Tablet and Banan Rock. There are also many inscriptions on precipices with high artistic values.