Daytripper: Fenghuang Shan Forest Park
Daytripper is a regular column that aims to help people get the most out of their PRD experience by proposing fun excursions that can be made in a single day to explore the local culture and nature of the region.
Shenzhen is a city’s city. With its tall skyscrapers and the never-ending rush, late dinners, working weekends and the pell-mell pace at which the city is expanding, many have accused it of being too urban. The young metropolis has also been blamed for lacking its own history or culture and, effectively, no meaningful place to visit when your family flies in for a long weekend.
Well, it’s time for a rebuttal. China’s Silicon Valley is proud to present Fenghuang Shan, or Mount Phoenix – a breathtaking scenic spot and the home of timeworn relics.
Though notorious for its brief resume as a major urban center, Shenzhen’s natural landscape has, obviously, been around for millennia. Making one’s way up the grand staircases of Fenghuang Shan, an ancient shrine creeps into view. Known as Fengyan Temple, the rustic architectural feat dates back nearly 1,000 years to the early Yuan dynasty.
According to locals residing at the foot of the mountain, visitors still journey to the site to make wishes, as legend has it that hundreds of years ago, Fenghuang Shan was home to a majestic phoenix.
At the end of the Song dynasty, a man named Wen Yinglin erected a tower on the mountain after fleeing the fierce wars between Han and Mongol China. Standing hundreds of meters above sea level, Wen was able to observe neighboring villages, which he promised to protect from the throes of battle.
One day, Wen had a dream in which a goddess came to him and told him to build a temple on the mountain – a temple worthy of a phoenix. And so he did. The sanctuary was rebuilt in 1983 and is now a sight to behold, with a fair share of rumors and excited whispers amassing at its base.
No phoenix sightings have yet been reported, but judging by the number of visitors on the weekends, there are still plenty who believe.
At 678 meters, Fenghuang Shan won’t take you too much time to conquer. Unlike most peaks in China, ascending to the summit is less about burning calories and more about relishing picnics at sunset or wandering in forests of ancient legend.
Others venture to the mountain to snap photos of the interesting rock formations adorning either side of the path. Lions and lotuses are among the sculpted stones that fill Instagram accounts after a sunny afternoon stroll.
Fenghuang Shan is not as easy to get to as Nanshan Mountain and lacks the overall prestige of Wutong. Yet there’s something almost mystical about the way its wild grasses ripple effortlessly in the wind at daybreak, like the mighty wings of a phoenix fluttering in flight.
How to get there
The mountain is quite far away from the city center – past Shenzhen Bao’an Airport. If you’re heading there by public transportation, take bus 650, 782, M335 or B711. The total journey takes around two hours.
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