Lulin Mountain 绿林山

About Lulin Mountain

Lulin Mountain (绿林山) is a hill area in Jingshan (京山), a county-level city of Jingmen (荆门) in Hubei, and the base that gave its name to the Lulin Army (绿林军), which rose against Wang Mang (王莽) at the end of the Xin dynasty. The Jingmen Culture and Tourism Bureau lists the Lulin Mountain Scenic Area (绿林山景区) as a national AAAA tourist attraction.

In AD 17 famine hit Xinshi (新市), in what is now northeast Jingshan, and starving farmers led by Wang Kuang (王匡) and Wang Feng (王凤) rose in revolt with Lulin Mountain as their base. In AD 21 they beat an army of 20,000 sent by Wang Mang. An epidemic around the mountain the following year forced the rebels to split up and leave, and in AD 23 the reunited forces made Liu Xuan (刘玄), a member of the Han imperial clan, emperor. The phrase "greenwood heroes" (绿林好汉), used for bands who hold out in the hills against authority or rob travellers, comes from this rising. Where the historical mountain lay is disputed: the Book of the Later Han (后汉书) puts it northeast of Dangyang (当阳), while modern works such as the China Military Encyclopedia place it in today's Dahong Mountain (大洪山). Jingmen's tourism plan groups Dahong Mountain, Lulin and Kedian (客店) into one landscape tourism zone.

The Jingmen bureau describes a scenic area that links hills, water, forest, springs and caves. It includes the Lulin Stockade (绿林寨), which the bureau calls the only well-preserved group of ancient military stockades in China, and the Meiren Valley (美人谷) waterfalls, nicknamed "the new Jiuzhai of Hubei" (湖北新九寨). There are also stretches of primeval forest, the China Great Han Culture Village (中国大汉文化村), rafting on Yuanyang Creek (鸳鸯溪) and the stone chime formations of Kongshan Cave (空山洞). Chinese Wikipedia places the rafting and Meiren Valley in Lulin Town (绿林镇), at the same spot as the old stockade remembered as the rebels' camp for gathering and drilling troops.

What to look for

• Lulin Stockade (绿林寨), a group of old military stockades linked to the Lulin rebels
• Meiren Valley (美人谷) and its chain of waterfalls
• Rafting on Yuanyang Creek (鸳鸯溪)
• The stone chime formations in Kongshan Cave (空山洞)
• The China Great Han Culture Village (中国大汉文化村)
• Primeval forest within the scenic area

Location & getting there

Getting to Lulin Mountain

• Search for 绿林山 with 荆门市 and 京山市.