Han Yan, known as ‘Han Yan Dong Tian’, is the first and largest cave of Tiantai Mountain. It stands 15 meters high and 18 meters wide. Formerly known as the Fushi Cave, it was renamed ‘Qian Zhen Cave’ after the famous Song Dynasty calligrapher Mi Fu inscribed the characters ‘Qian Zhen’ within the cave.
Han Shan Zi, a renowned poet of vernacular reclusion, who was well-known both domestically and internationally during the Tang Dynasty, once resided here for a long period. The site in front of the cave is the remains of Han Yan Temple. The Han Yan Cave is guarded by natural rock formations resembling a ‘tortoise’ and a ‘snake’. Particularly striking is the stone snake, as large as a thick pillar, emerging from the ground and looking up to the sky. At the cave’s entrance, there is a large rock known as the ‘Yan Zuo Shi’, which is the place where Han Shan Zi used to sit and meditate. On the right side of the mountain above Han Yan Cave, two cliffs face each other with a stone bridge spanning between them. The bridge’s arch is five to six meters high, and there is no water beneath it in winter, hence it is called the ‘Dry Stone Beam’, also known as the ‘Magpie Bridge’. The opening hours and specific business status are subject to the day’s opening conditions.
