Yaoshan Mountain

This guide to Yaoshan Mountain in Guilin opens with an outline pressed into the eastern cliff face that locals read as a reclining Buddha, shaped by nothing but wind, rain and limestone. It traces the mountain's older name, honoring the legendary sage king Yao, who is said to have passed his throne to the most capable stranger he could find rather than to his own son. Then it turns to the foot of the mountain, where more than three hundred Ming dynasty tombs make the opposite argument about power and blood.