Nanyue District 南岳区

History

The area was carved out of Hengshan County several times before the present district: as the Nanyue Special District (南岳特区) in 1951, the Nanyue Administration (南岳管理局) in 1960 and Nanyue County (南岳县) in 1963. The current district was set up on 22 May 1984. Mount Heng itself became a national key scenic area in the first batch of 1982. Buddhism came to the mountain in 503, when the monk Huihai (惠海) founded Guangfang Temple (广方寺), and in the Southern Song Hu Anguo (胡安国), his sons and his followers taught here, founding the Huxiang school (湖湘学派) of learning.

What to see

The Grand Temple of Mount Heng (南岳大庙), a palace-style temple, stands at the northern end of Nanyue old town at the foot of the mountain. Rebuilt in 1882 on the model of the Forbidden City, it covers more than 98,500 square metres, with nine courtyards on its axis and eight Taoist temples on one side and eight Buddhist temples on the other. The main hall, copied from the Hall of Supreme Harmony, has 72 stone columns standing for the mountain's 72 peaks.

Zhurong Peak (祝融峰), at 1,290 metres the highest of those peaks, carries the Ming-built Zhurong Hall (祝融殿). Below Xianglu Peak (香炉峰), the Nanyue Martyrs' Shrine (南岳忠烈祠), completed in 1943 in the style of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, commemorates Nationalist soldiers killed in the war against Japan; it has been a national key protected site since 1996. Rime ice often forms on the mountain in winter, and in spring Zhurong Peak and the Sutra Library (藏经殿) are known for their flowers.

The Nanyue temple fairs (南岳庙会) have been on the national intangible heritage list since 2021. The Spring Festival fair runs from the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month to the Lantern Festival, with porridge on Laba, the race for the first incense on New Year's Eve, lantern processions, and dragon and lion dances. From the seventh to the ninth lunar month believers from across southern China come to offer incense at Nanyue, peaking on the first day of the eighth month, and the Tianfu fair in the fifth month seeks to drive away plague with processions, hung mugwort and scented sachets.

Highlights

• Grand Temple of Mount Heng 南岳大庙: Palace-style temple rebuilt in 1882 on the Forbidden City model; Taoist and Buddhist temples flank its axis.
• Zhurong Peak 祝融峰: Highest of Mount Heng's 72 peaks at 1,290 m, topped by a Ming-era hall.
• Nanyue Martyrs' Shrine 南岳忠烈祠: Completed in 1943 for soldiers killed fighting Japan; national key protected site since 1996.
• Nanyue Temple Fairs 南岳庙会: Spring Festival, eighth-month pilgrimage and Tianfu fairs; national intangible heritage since 2021.