About 20 kilometers to the north of the Shiqiao Mountain, the 6.5-sq km- Stone-Beam Waterfall Scenic Area integrates rare landscape in the world. Underneath the entrance are the Golden Stream and the Green Valley. Go upward along the stream and you will find yourself amid the fairyland dotted by green hills, towering old trees, grotesque rock formations and perilous peaks. 

The 1,800-meter green valley is best known for attractions such as "rhino watching the moon", "the old monk in deep thought", "the lion in a thousand-year sleep", "10,000-year turtle-elephant rock", "virgin schima superba" and "arhats' bath pool". Viewed from the Waterfall-watching Pavilion once visited by Xu Xiake, the Golden Stream and Daxingkeng Stream converge at a 3-cascade waterfall with a drop height over 30 meters and width over 10 meters. It rushes down to a naturally-formed stone-beam about 7 meters long and 0.17 meters wide, which amazingly lies across the cliffs of two hills, seeming as a dragon’s spine. 

Stone-Beam Waterfall [Photo/en.zjtz.gov.cn]

In addition to the dragon-like stone-beam, the waterfall, 50 meters from the upper riches of the river, looks like a dragon’s tail. Next to the stone-beam, there stands the Middle Fangguang Temple. Inside the temple, there is the burnt Epiphyllum Pavilion. It was originally built by Prime Minister Jia Sidao of the Song Dynasty (420-479) and was renovated in 1982. At the foot of the waterfall, the Lower Fangguang Temple, home to the statutes of 500 arhats, lies hidden in dense bamboos.

Ticket price: 60 yuan ($8.7)

Transportation: take shuttles, at the North Tiantai Station

Accommodation: Waterfall-Listening Villa and Cloud-Riding Villa