Yaolingshan Mountain in Songming County, Kunming
Overview
Yaolingshan Mountain (药灵山) is located in Xiaojie Town (小街镇), Songming County (嵩明县), Kunming City (昆明市). The mountain features a winding and undulating terrain, captivating numerous visitors with its majestic and beautiful scenery. The main peak, Dayaolingshan (大药灵山), stands at an elevation of 2,627 meters, covering an area of approximately 10 square kilometers. The mountain’s steep slopes give way to a broad, flat summit resembling an inverted golden bell or the seated figure of Maitreya Buddha (弥勒).
The area is richly vegetated, hosting a variety of medicinal herbs, with over 140 species of wild medicinal plants documented in “Yunnan Materia Medica” by Jianbao Lan (兰茂). In addition to its natural beauty, Yaolingshan boasts a rich history, featuring numerous ancient relics, including the Xijia Pool (洗甲池) and Shouguo Temple (寿国庵).
Honors and Cultural Significance
Xiaojie is honored as the “Hometown of Chinese Folk Art,” and the local tradition of “Little Foot Grandmother Dance with a Dragon” (小脚老奶舞大龙) is a unique cultural spectacle worth witnessing.
Yaolingshan consists of two main parts: Dayaolingshan (大药灵山) and Xiaoyaolingshan (小药灵山). According to legend, during the Ming Dynasty, a temple called Heyou An (何有庵) was established on Xiaoyaolingshan. The abbot, Master Baizhai (白斋), was renowned for his exceptional skills, attracting many monks to seek refuge at the temple.
Nearby, on a stone cliff, there is a cave known as “Tangmi Cave” (淌米洞), which famously does not flow with water but with rice instead. Every day, the rice flowing from the cave is just enough to feed the monks in the temple, neither more nor less. Even during temple fairs, the amount of rice flowing is sufficient regardless of the number of visitors, and there is never any surplus.
Development History
In those days, Master Baizhai had to travel to Tujie (兔街) from the temple, a journey that took a week round trip. He would always carry a broom, sweeping the path clean with every step he took, which made the journey lengthy. One day, while Master Baizhai was out, a greedy little monk saw his opportunity and secretly gathered tools like a hammer and chisel. He enlarged the entrance of the cave, hoping to increase the flow of rice and sell any surplus.
However, after he opened the cave, it stopped flowing rice and instead poured out white stones. From then on, the monks in the temple had no rice to eat and had to beg for food to satisfy their hunger.
