Mount Cangyan is a scenic area in Jingxing County, Hebei
Province, China, famous for its combination of natural mountain scenery with
historical man-made structures. It is located approximately 50 kilometers
southwest of the provincial capital Shijiazhuang and close to the border with
Shanxi Province.
Mount Cangyan forms the eastern tip of the
Taihang Mountain Range, its tallest peak has an altitude of 1,000 meters. The
scenic area covers 63 square kilometers (180 square kilometers according to
other counts). The vegetation of the area is a forest of cypress and blue
sandalwood trees.
The most famous building complex on Mount
Cangyan is the Fortune Celebration Temple. It was first erected during the Sui
Dynasty and is said to have been the place where Princess Nan Yang, the
daughter of the Sui Emperor Yang, practiced Buddhism. The various structures of
the Fortune Celebration Temple (the Tablets House, the Hall of the Heavenly
Kings, the Hall of the Giant Buddha, the Bridge-Tower Hall, the Buddhist Canon
Depository) are well integrated into the mountain topography. The central
landmark of the complex is the Bridge-Tower Hall. As the name suggests, it is
supported by a stone arch bridge spanning a narrow gorge. The bridge has a span
of 15 meters and stands 52 meters above ground, it is constructed from 365 stone
blocks. Under the bridge a stone staircase with more than 360 steps leads up to
the summit.
Mount Cangyan was used as setting for
filming some scenes in the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which
according to the movie's story take place on the Wudang Mountains. It was also
featured in the opening sequence of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.