Nanwutai Scenic Area

This guide to Nanwutai Scenic Area near Xi'an follows a coiled stone shape sealed inside a mountain cave that villagers still call the dragon, and the story behind it: a rogue dragon said to have poisoned the local water, and a traveling monk who arrived alone to wrestle it into the rock. It traces what happened after the district's governor built the monk a monastery on the peak in gratitude, through the year he stayed, and the pagoda raised over his ashes once he died. You'll hear about the Cloud Ladder steps pilgrims still climb today, chasing the same luck people have sought here for centuries. Take the steps slowly; the cave sits partway up.