Yuándài Língguān Diàn, Míngdài Guānyīn Gé; Fènghuáng Shān xià, huādēng yī qǔ. — The Yuan’s Spirit-Officer hall, the Ming’s Guanyin pavilion; below Phoenix Mountain, one song of lanterns.
The Phoenix Mountain Lantern Culture tourism area (凤凰山花灯民俗文化旅游区, Fènghuáng Shān Huādēng Mínsú Wénhuà Lǚyóuqū) is a 4A-rated (December 2018), free-access area three kilometres south of the county seat — the mountain where the county’s lantern culture (花灯) is practiced rather than displayed. The mountain keeps two old religious structures, the Yuan-dynasty Spirit-Officer Hall (灵官殿) and the Ming-dynasty Guanyin Pavilion (观音阁), and the area runs the national-level non-heritage lantern experience (国家级非遗"秀山花灯"体验) at about 40 yuan per person.
The area’s distinction from the lantern street in town is that here the lantern is a practice, not a display: the mountain’s slopes and courtyards are where the tradition is taught, rehearsed and performed, and the visitor’s ticket buys participation — the lantern’s movements, its music, its craft — rather than a view. The two old halls give the mountain its age: a Yuan foundation and a Ming pavilion, the religious layer under the folk one.
The experience session is the point — the 40-yuan ticket buys the doing, and the sessions run on the visitor schedule rather than a fixed timetable, so ask at the entrance for the day’s arrangement. The mountain is an evening-and-weekend trade when the practice sessions and performances run; on ordinary days it is a quiet walk with the county seat below.
flowcloud would say that the county’s lantern is a national heritage and its mountain is where the lantern is learned — and that 40 yuan buys the doing rather than the looking.
Practicalities
- Rating: 4A (graded December 2018)
- Tickets: free access; the lantern experience about 40 yuan per person
- Address: 3 km south of the county seat
- Getting there: a short drive or bus from the seat (checked October 2026, subject to change)
- Time needed: 2–3 hours including an experience session
Words and Names
凤凰山 Fènghuáng Shān — Phoenix Mountain · 花灯 huādēng — the lantern, the folk form · 非遗 fēiyí — intangible cultural heritage · 灵官殿 Língguān Diàn — the Spirit-Officer Hall, the Yuan-dynasty structure · 观音阁 Guānyīn Gé — the Guanyin Pavilion, the Ming-dynasty structure