Travel diary: There are temples, tiger pine trees, and shielding lines built by the Japanese on this mountain in Boshan Town.

On October 30, 2020, I biked to Beiboshan Village to visit the Jiulongshan Temple Group. Beiboshan Village was founded in the early Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty. It is a large village with nearly 3,000 people. It was once the seat of the Beiboshan Town Government. We learned from the villagers that this village also has the same fate as mountain villages: all the young people are outside, and the permanent population in the village is very small. Beiboshan Village faces Zi River in the south and Jiulong Mountain in the back. The mountains are winding and the roads are criss-crossing. It is a geomantic treasure land.

I walked through a north-south street in the village and came to the foot of Jiulong Mountain. After walking along Berlin Mountain Road for a while, I saw a group of vermilion temples. Entering the masonry arch, you are faced with a white tile screen wall with the pattern of "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea". There are steps on the left and right of the screen wall leading to the east and west courtyards respectively.

The west cross courtyard is the main courtyard, and the main hall faces south and is called Luzu Hall. The west side hall is the Temple of Wealth. Both temples were built in the 31st year of the Republic of China. Under the left gable of Luzu Hall, there is a life-release pond close to the cliff, which was excavated in the eighth year of the Republic of China. There is a stone plaque embedded in the cliff above the Fangsheng Pond, with the words "Guarantee the Future" engraved on it, and the words "Zhenwu Pond" engraved below it, and the inscription "Thirty-one Years of the Republic of China".

There is a tiger pine tree in front of the Temple of Wealth. Speaking of tiger pine, there is also one in the Sanhuang Temple in Zhujiazhuang. That tree was planted in Hongwu, Ming Dynasty, more than 600 years ago. Tiger pine is very rare and precious in China and can also be used as medicinal materials.

To the west of the East Crossing Courtyard is the Guali Xian Hall, and to the east is the Medicine Master Hall. There is also a life-releasing pool in the courtyard, called the "Xingwen Pool", which was also excavated in the Republic of China. There is "Zhenwu Pool" in the west and "Xingwen Pool" in the east, echoing each other from afar. The cliff behind Xingwen Pool is engraved with three large cursive characters of "Jiulong Mountain", which is very handsome.

Go through the temples and continue climbing up to the Bixia Temple. Bixia Temple has three rooms, with masonry structure and antique style. There is also a Guanyin Hall on the right, which should be newly built.

Climbing up the mountain, a stone wall appears in front of you, winding between the mountains. It is very spectacular. I initially thought it was the Great Wall of Qi, but after checking the information on the Internet, I learned that this was a shielding line built by Japanese soldiers in Boshan in 1942 to prevent the Eighth Route Army from attacking, forcing the common people to capture strong men. On flat ground, blockade ditches were dug to block them.

Standing on the broken stone wall, looking at the black dragon stretching among the mountains, I imagined in my mind: the scene when the people built the stone wall under the oppression of the Japanese soldiers... That should be What a cruel and humiliating scene!

Following the path under the stone wall, I climbed towards the highest mountain. The season has entered late autumn, and the red leaves all over the mountains have become wrinkled and deep red. Obviously, I have missed the most gorgeous Jiulong Mountain, but I am not disappointed because of it - only by taking off its gorgeous coat can its majesty and vastness be revealed.