Baodu Zhai (), or Baodu Village, is an ancient fortified hilltop settlement located in the outlying

Luquan District Luquan (), formerly Huailu CountyThe character has the pronunciation "huái" specific for this place name instead of "huò" in normal cases. () until 1994, is one of the eight districts of the prefecture-level city of Shijiazhuang, the capital ...

about from central

Shijiazhuang Shijiazhuang (; ; Mandarin: ), formerly known as Shimen and romanized as Shihkiachwang, is the capital and most populous city of China’s North China's Hebei Province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about southwest of Beijin ...

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

, China. It is located on top of Baodu Mountain, which is said to resemble a reclining Buddha. According to legend, the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

commander

Han Xin Han Xin (; 231/230–196 BC) was a Chinese military general and politician who served Liu Bang during the Chu–Han Contention and contributed greatly to the founding of the Han dynasty. Han Xin was named as one of the "Three Heroes of the ear ...

ambushed 2000 soldiers at the site, and in the

Wei dynasty Wei or WEI may refer to: States * Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States * Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...

, an uprising by

Ge Rong General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energy ...

forced local villagers to flee to the mountain carrying their calves, hence the name "Baodu" ("bao" means "to carry" and "du" means "calf").ChinaHotel article
/ref> The settlement is completely encircled by a fortified stone wall, much like Chengde Mountain Resort. The main entrance is Nantianmen (). Inside the wall there are several important cultural sites, which have earned Baodu Zhai a national AAAA rating as a scenic spot, as well as a large area of vegetation and gardens. These sites include the Hall of 500 Luohan, which is a large underground chamber containing 500 carved stone

luohan In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...

, each in a different pose, and presided over by three golden

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

s. Baodu Zhai can be accessed by a

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide ...

leading up from the southeast, or a

cable car Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems: * Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable ** Aerial tramway ** Chairlift ** Gondola lift *** Bi ...

with a middle station.

References

External links

Chinese architectural history Buildings and structures in Hebei Tourist attractions in Hebei Shijiazhuang AAAA-rated tourist attractions {{Hebei-geo-stub