Qixia Ridge Cave Walk

From the Huanglong Tu Cui 黄龙吐翠 archway, take the right-side lane (not the folk park) and climb the bamboo-shaded path. The first stop is Baisha Spring 白沙泉 — a clear pool of spring water first uncovered during tomb construction in the Ming Wanli era, which a Qing-era gazetteer ranked with Tiger Run Spring 虎跑泉 as the finest on the northern hills. The reformer Kang Youwei 康有为 inscribed the name in 1925; the carving was damaged after the spring ran dry in the early 2000s and later restored, so its legibility varies. At the fork just above, an optional right turn of about 100 m reaches Bat Cave 蝙蝠洞, a natural boulder cave with a wide sky-lit opening — check locally whether it is open (some recent accounts report it closed). Otherwise continue uphill, then descend the stepped lane beside Tiger Cave 老虎洞 to Golden Drum Cave 金鼓洞: a quarry cave whose name, legend says, came from phantom drumbeats that made quarrymen abandon the cut. In 1666 (Kangxi 5) the Quanzhen Daoist master Zhou Tailang 周太朗 settled here, founding Helin Daoist Academy 鹤林道院 and the Golden Drum branch of the Longmen lineage — the lineage's southern ancestral seat, whose disciples numbered over a thousand. Inside, the pale-blue pool of Jingu Spring 金果泉 is dotted with goldfish, and incense is still offered at the shrines below the cliff. Beside it on the same lane, Silver Drum Cave 银鼓洞 is the smaller, shallower twin with its own cold pool (old name Guiyun Cave 归云洞); name it only if you can confirm the sign on site.

Photo suggestion: Baisha Spring's clear pool, with the Kang Youwei inscription above the stonework.

Climb back up the other fork of the lane toward Purple Cloud Cave 紫云洞. You pass the Tiger Cave 老虎洞 fork — a fenced opening with stone rails that looks bottomless and is genuinely cool, with a stone bench where locals sit (point it out, do not enter). Purple Cloud Cave is the ridge's headline cave: the largest on Qixia Ridge, roughly 100 m long and aligned north-east to south-west, with two halls joined by a one-person-wide passage formed by a rockfall — the overall shape is like an overturned gourd. A Qing-era gazetteer, 《湖山便览》, called it the most extraordinary of the ridge's five caves; older texts describe it as 'hung in mid-air, chill to the bone'. The rear hall holds three Western-Saints stone statues and the 云根净土 inscription (now the 紫云宝殿 hall), and Seven Treasures Spring 七宝泉 at the rear never runs dry. On the cliff walls look for the inscriptions 倚石看云 ('lean on the rock, watch the clouds') and 云崖 ('cloud cliff'). Enter by descending about 20 steps from the gate 紫云胜境 (built 1918, inscription by Zhang Zaiyang 张载阳). The cave stays around 15 °C all year; on clear days sunbeams fall through an opening in the roof — you may catch god-rays (volumetric light) around midday. The Qianlong Emperor visited on a southern tour: he sweated on the climb, shivered inside, and wrote 《紫云洞口号》 — 'Climbing in the spring warmth, sweat runs in streams; step into the grotto and the cold strikes at once. Barely a few paces back up the stone stair, it turns warm again and he reaches for his clothes.'

Caution: Cave floors and the stone steps can be wet-slick near the spring pools. The interior is far colder than the summer air outside — carry a light layer and give yourself a minute at the cave mouth to acclimatise.

Photo suggestion: Purple Cloud Cave's interior — the sunbeam through the roof is most visible on clear days around midday.

A short walk from the cave brings you to Niu Gao's Tomb 牛皋墓 at Jianmen Pass 剑门关. Niu Gao (1087–1147), style Boyuan 伯远, was a Southern Song general and a trusted subordinate of Yue Fei 岳飞; legend (in 《说岳全传》) says he died laughing at the enemy, while history records he was poisoned at a banquet after Yue Fei's execution. The original tomb was demolished in 1955 during a clearance of Gushan tombs; the current circular, grass-capped mound — about 3.5 m across, ringed with stone blocks and facing east — was rebuilt in 1983 and renovated in 1987, with a stele reading 'Tomb of Niu Gao, Marquis Fuwen of the Song' 宋辅文侯牛皋之墓 and a two-pillar stone archway whose couplet is attributed to the Ming painter Xu Wei 徐渭. It is free, bamboo-shaded, and quiet. From the tomb, continue south along the ridge, passing Qixia Cave 栖霞洞 (a sealed shrine opening discovered by the Southern Song chancellor Jia Sidao — a passing sight, not enterable), Foshi Yan 佛石岩 (a rock face with three gilded Buddha reliefs), and the small white-walled gate pavilion of Shuangling Pavilion 双灵亭 (rebuilt 1900). The descent leads to Quyuan Fenghe 曲院风荷 (Wind–Lotus Park), one of the Top Ten Scenes of West Lake: originally a Southern Song official wine works ringed by lotus ponds, renamed by Kangxi in 1699, and now China's largest lotus garden with 200+ cultivars. Finish with the no-backtracking loop: East Gate 东门 → Nine-Bend Bridge 九曲桥 → Zhanbi Pavilion 湛碧楼 (the best lotus vantage, facing the inner lake) → Qinglian Fang 青帘坊. In July the blooms peak, and in the evening the lake breeze and fading light are at their best.

Photo suggestion: The lotus loop at Quyuan Fenghe — Nine-Bend Bridge and Zhanbi Pavilion in late afternoon light.

A rough, unsignposted track below Purple Cloud Cave climbs to Wushi Peak 乌石峰 (also written 悟石峰), a dark-rocked summit with open views over the lake. The footing is rougher than the main path. From the summit you can return the same way or, on a clear day, continue toward the west-lake vista before rejoining the main route.

Caution: Unsignposted and rougher than the main ridge path. Skip it after rain or if hiking alone — the rock slabs are slippery when wet.