The Shimen Cave scenic area is located in Qingtian, Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, on the banks of the Oujiang River. The total area of the scenic area is 25.6 square kilometers. It is composed of five major scenic areas: Shimen Waterfall, Reminiscing about Liu Bowen, Kaiyun Linggu, Scenic Area of the Prince, and Shigu Sea of Grass. There are more than 200 scenic spots distributed. It is a national AAAA-level tourist scenic area, a national forest park, a provincial-level scenic spot, and a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit.
The scenic area was discovered in the Southern and Northern Dynasties and flourished in the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is even more widely known because Liu Ji, the founding father of the Ming Dynasty, studied here as a teenager and has rich cultural connotations. It is known as a ‘fairyland of caves and heavens’ and a ‘utopia’. The five major scenic areas are comparable to each other and each has its own characteristics: The wonder lies in Shimen, the tranquility in the cave heavens, the grandeur in the waterfall, the soul in culture, the spirit in the landscape, the sentiment in the ancient village, the mystery in Linggu, the Tao in the prince, and the seclusion in the sea of grass. It is a tourist destination with multiple functions such as sightseeing, leisure vacation, exploring ancient and secluded places, and cultural experience. Currently open scenic spots in the scenic area are Shimen Waterfall and Liu Bowen Ancient Village. By the Tang Dynasty, Shimen Cave had become the 12th cave heaven among the famous Taoist mountains in China. The description by Li Qian in the Ming Dynasty, ‘High enough to overlook, clear enough to wash, deep enough to hide, secluded enough to be comfortable, fragrant enough to pick, and strange enough to chant’, is exactly a true portrayal of the scenery of Shimen. Since the Southern Dynasties, through the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing Dynasties and modern times, literati and poets have left precious ink marks here, and tourists flock here. The cliff inscriptions in Shimen Cave are a group of cliff inscriptions with a long span of time (from 423 to 1964 AD) and a high density of carvings in Zhejiang Province. There are a total of 107 cliff inscriptions. Opening hours: Open all year round from 08:00 to 17:00. Supplementary note on preferential policies: The above information is for reference only. For specific information, please refer to the disclosure on the same day at Suichang Qianfoshan Scenic Area.
