Xuanyuan Culture Scenic Area 轩辕文化景区

About Xuanyuan Culture Scenic Area

The county government portal sets out a roots-seeking and ancestor-worship route that runs Xuanyuan Ancestral Hall, Xuanyuan Lake Park, Baihe village, Xuanyuan Valley with its Xuanyuan Hall, Shigou village, Sanhuanggu Forest Park and Shidong Mountain at Shanmen. Xuanyuan Valley lies in Baihe village, Shanmen town, 35 km east of the county town, and the portal gives it as the Yellow Emperor's birthplace; among its remains it names Xuanyuan Hill, the Xuanwang platform, a 'sleeping stone' and the play, drill and sun-drying platforms. Baihe village is a provincial rural-tourism demonstration village where, the portal says, a folk ceremony for Xuanyuan Huangdi is held every year, and villagers have built the Xuanyuan Palace and a Xuanyuan opera stage at the valley.

In the county town the same theme is built into the streetscape. Xuanyuan Square covers about 24,000 sq m at the north end of Zhongshan Road, backed by Xuanyuan Lake Park, and the park occupies 87,000 sq m on the north bank of the Niutou River, of which 20,000 sq m is water and 58,000 sq m planting; the two face each other across the river, joined by the Xuanyuan Bridge. The park contains five bridges — Suyuan, Shizu, Zhonghua, Jiuzhou and Longyuan — and a lakeside road, and the Xuanyuan Ancestral Hall is described as a principal feature of it. No cited page uses the name Xuanyuan Culture Scenic Area for a single delimited area, and none of them describes ancient cypresses at these sites.

What to look for

• Xuanyuan Valley at Baihe village, Shanmen town, 35 km east of the county town, with Xuanyuan Hill, the Xuanwang platform, the 'sleeping stone' and the play, drill and sun-drying platforms
• The Xuanyuan Palace and the Xuanyuan opera stage built by villagers at the valley
• Xuanyuan Lake Park on the north bank of the Niutou River, with its five named bridges — Suyuan, Shizu, Zhonghua, Jiuzhou and Longyuan — and its lakeside road
• The Xuanyuan Ancestral Hall, described as a principal feature of Xuanyuan Lake Park
• Sanhuanggu provincial forest park, a 3A-grade scenic area whose features include Xuanyuan Valley, Luzitan, Shidong Mountain, Baihua Bay, Jinliu Shoal and Longtan Gully

Location & getting there

Getting to Xuanyuan Culture Scenic Area

Check which interiors and courtyards are accessible. Active places of worship and protected monuments may have different visitor rules.

• Search for 轩辕文化景区 with 天水市 and 清水县.