Things to do in Mizhi

Palace of Li Zicheng

Li Zicheng Palace is located on Panlong Mountain in the north of Mizhi County, and is now included in the campus of Mizhi No. 1 Middle School. In the sixteenth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, after Li Zicheng established the Dashun Kingdom in Xi'an, he ordered people to build a palace and an ancestral tomb here, and the name of the mountain came from this. The palace is exquisitely conceived and unique in shape. The main buildings are Le Lou, Plum Blossom Pavilion, Pengsheng Building, Yuhuang Pavilion, Qingxiang Hall and Beiqing Palace, etc. It is a unique palace garden tourist area in northern Shaanxi. There is also an exhibition of the revolutionary history of Mizhi women in the palace. Panlong Mountain was formerly known as Ma'an Mountain. During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, Zhenwu Patriarch Temple was built in the mountains. In the 16th year of Chongzhen (1643), after King Li Zicheng established the Dashun regime in Xi'an, he sent his nephew Li Guo back to Mizhi to sweep the tomb. Li Guo led 30,000 troops to station at the foot of the mountain, and expanded the Zhenwu Patriarch Temple on the mountain into a palace. In November of the same year, Li Zicheng personally led an army back to Mizhi to attend the funeral. He was very happy to see the majestic building of the palace, so he named the mountain Panlong Mountain, the main hall of the palace was Qixiang Hall, and the rear hall was Zhaoqing Palace. After the failure of Li Zicheng's uprising, the local people built a statue of Zhenwu Patriarch to protect the buildings, and the palace was turned into a temple. In recent years, the local government has repaired the palace, restored its original scale and landscape, and established the Li Zicheng Memorial Hall to introduce his life and deeds. In the main hall, there is a FRP statue of Li Zicheng. At present, the Mizhi County Museum is also located in the palace, and the museum displays the Eastern Han Dynasty stone and other historical relics unearthed in Mizhi. From the front building that rises from the sky, you can see the mountains and rivers from afar.

No. 4 of Night Attractions in Yulin

Mizhi Yaodong Ancient City

The Mizhi Cave Ancient City is located in the southeast of Mizhi County, covering a total area of ​​about 2.4 square kilometers. The ancient city was built in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, and was later repaired and expanded by the dynasties. It is a historical and cultural city that has lasted for more than a thousand years. The entire ancient city is surrounded by mountains and water, and overlooked by two mountains, which conforms to the traditional settlement site selection. The ancient city is mainly based on four main streets in the east, south, west and north. Thirteen alleys such as Confucian Alley, Shipo and Sikou Alley are distributed on both sides of the streets, forming an overall pattern of "two mountains surrounded by three waters, and four streets with ancient charm" that looks like a phoenix spreading its wings. Professor Jin Zhilin of the Central Academy of Fine Arts praised the ancient city as "the soul treasure of the Chinese nation." Mizhi Cave Ancient City, a historical and cultural city that integrates the architectural features of the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Republic of China, has formed three sets of ancient city patterns, showing rich historical changes and folk customs. The ancient city is about 1.5 hours' drive from Yulin City. Tourists can choose to drive or take public transportation.

Jiangshi Manor

Jiang's Manor is located in Qiaohecha Township, 16 kilometers southeast of Mizhi County. It was built during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. Jiang's Manor was designed by the village's richest man, Jiang Yaozu, with experts from Beijing, and it took thirteen years to build it by recruiting skilled craftsmen in the county. Jiang's Manor is ingenious in design, meticulous in construction, compact in layout, and integrated from top to bottom. It is strict with the outside world, and the hospital communicates with each other. It is a rare manor building in northern Shaanxi. The whole manor is divided into 3 parts from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain: the first floor is the lower courtyard, which was built with a stone wall up to 9.5 meters, and the upper part of the building is like a city wall. Along the road on the southwest side of the first floor, go through the door to the second floor, that is, the middle courtyard. In the southwest of the courtyard, there is a wall of about 8 meters high and more than 10 meters long. Walk along the stone steps to the upper courtyard on the third floor. It is the main house of the whole building. It is located in the northeast to the southwest, with a 5-hole stone kiln in the front line. There are symmetrical double courtyards on both sides. Side to the lower academy. There is a Walled City behind the entire courtyard, and there is a Walled Gate that leads to the back mountain.

Wanfo Cave

Wanfo Cave is located in Wangshagou Village, Yinzhou Town, Mizhi County, so it is also called Wangshagou Grottoes. The grottoes consist of 27 grottoes of various sizes, including the Hall of Our Lady of Nine Heavens, the Hall of Infinite Life Buddha, and the Hall of Guanyin. It is uncertain when the grottoes were built, but it is generally believed that they were built in the Song to Yuan dynasties. From the escalator to the grotto, it can be seen that there are incomplete stone carvings of one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas in the grotto. What is even more amazing is that there are more than 5,800 statues of Buddha statues on the left and right sides of the hall and the two giant square pillars in the hall, which are exquisite in shape and huge in number. In addition, there are more than 1,200 Buddha statues on the back stone wall, and there are more than 100 small Buddha statues dug in the caisson on the top of the cave. In addition to the remaining 26 Buddha statues in the caves, the total number of Buddha statues in the entire cave exceeds 10,000, so it is called Wanfo Cave.

Yangjiagou Revolution Memorial Hall

Grottoes of Xuankong Temple

Located on the cliff of the Western Xia Luowu City ruins, west of Mo'yadi Village. Backed by mountains to the southwest and bordering the Wuding River to the east, the site features steep terrain and beautiful scenery. The grottoes were originally an outpost pass for the Western Xia Luowu City, where both the Western Xia and Northern Song dynasties once stationed troops for defense. Later, statues were carved and temples were built within these grottoes. To this day, 11 grotto temples remain, including Wanfo Cave, Sanxiao Hall, the Holy Mother's Palace, Guanyin Hall, and the Zhenwu Patriarch Hall. Among them, Wanfo Cave is the largest in scale, and its historical relics are relatively well-preserved. A square stone pillar supporting the ceiling is carved inside the cave. On the front of the pillar are 2 painted portraits of the monks and Taoists who founded the temple, while the other three walls are painted with landscapes, featuring exquisite composition. The four walls of the cave are painted with 10,000 Buddha statues, each with a different expression. On the front of the cave, there are 5 large clay statues, including a static Buddha, the Zhenwu Patriarch, and the Holy Mother, each approx. 3m high. It is evident that this has become a temple that integrates Buddhism and Taoism. The Hanging Temple was once a shelter for local residents to escape war. Today, tools such as stone rollers and stone plates still remain inside Wanfo Cave, and there are many holes carved into the outer wall of the grottoes. In addition, there is a rare tree with a peculiar posture in the temple that has not yet been identified. Like the history of the grottoes themselves, it has also aroused great interest from tourists and relevant parties.

2026 Asia 100 - Family-friendly Attractions

Jinci Temple Museum

Jinci Temple Museum is located at the foot of Xuanweng Mountain by the banks of the Jin River. It is an ancestral temple built to commemorate Tang Shuyu, the founding feudal lord of the State of Jin, and is also one of the earlier surviving royal sacrificial gardens in China. There is a saying that "you have not truly visited Taiyuan until you have visited Jinci." The ancient buildings in the museum are arranged in sequence along the central axis, among which the Xian Hall, the Flying Bridge over the Fish Pond, and the Hall of the Holy Mother are known as the "three treasures," while the Zhou Cypress, the Never-Aging Spring, and the Song dynasty attendant statues are known as the "three wonders"—these are the core highlights of any visit. The "Three Treasures" are located on the central axis and can be visited together. Xian Hall is the place where sacrificial offerings are placed. The hall is surrounded by railings instead of walls, making it well-ventilated and bright, and its beam structure is simple and lightweight. The Flying Bridge Across Fish Pond is on the west side of Xian Hall. It is a cross-shaped ancient bridge built over a square pond, resembling a modern overpass in form, and this type of bridge structure is extremely rare among surviving ancient buildings. The west end of the bridge connects to Shengmu Hall, the oldest surviving building in the museum. Wooden carved dragons coil around the porch columns in front of the hall, making them relatively early surviving examples of wooden coiled dragons. The hall interior was built using the reduced-column method, creating a rather spacious interior. It houses dozens of Song Dynasty colored sculptures, with the main statue of Shengmu seated in the shrine and the remaining attendants arranged on both sides with varied expressions. One attendant statue is half joyful and half sorrowful, vividly lifelike and moving. With Shengmu Hall as the center, you can also seek out the "Three Wonders." The Zhou Cypress is located on the north side of Shengmu Hall. It is said to have been planted in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and its trunk leans south like a reclining dragon, full of ancient majesty. The Never-Aging Spring is located on the south side of Shengmu Hall and is the main source of the Jin River. The museum also houses the Stele of the Inscription and Preface to Jinci, composed and handwritten by Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, whose running-script calligraphy is vigorous and forceful. In the southern part is the Shifang Fengsheng Zen Temple, said to have originally been the villa of the Tang Dynasty general Yuchi Gong. In the Futu Courtyard, the Sarira ShengSheng Pagoda can be climbed for a distant view. The Jinci temple fair has been passed down to the present day and has been included in the national-level intangible cultural heritage list. The Water Mirror Stage, an ancient theater stage in the museum, is an important venue for activities during the temple fair.

Yangjiagou Village, Mizhi County, Yulin City

No. 4 of Best Things to Do in Shanxi

The Hukou Waterfall Scenic Area

The Hukou Waterfall Scenic Area is located in the Jin-Shaan Grand Canyon in the middle reaches of the Yellow River and is the Shanxi-side section for viewing Hukou Waterfall. As the Yellow River rushes here, its surface suddenly narrows from several hundred meters wide to just a few dozen meters. The water, laden with silt, churns and pours down like water being poured into a giant kettle, which is how the name "Hukou" (Kettle Mouth) came to be. This is a rare yellow waterfall on the Yellow River, with muddy waves surging skyward and a roar like thunder, displaying magnificent momentum. The attraction is located on the east side of the waterfall, where the bank is relatively low, allowing visitors to look up and take in the full panorama of the Yellow River plunging downward. Below the waterfall, mist rises and fills the air, appearing like smoke or clouds from afar and creating the wondrous sight known as "smoke rising from the water"; on clear days, sunlight refracts through the mist to form a rainbow arching across the river, called "rainbow reaching the heavens." Within the attraction, Dragon Cave is a natural stone cave; following the stone steps down leads to a viewing platform close to the waterfall, where you can look up as the river pours down from above—an ideal spot to feel the force of the waterfall up close. Downstream from the waterfall, the Ten-Mile Dragon Trough is a deep channel formed by the river's long-term erosion of the riverbed; in the dry season, the trough floor is wide and flat, and ancients once used this terrain to haul boats along the bank, leaving behind the unique scene known as "sailing on dry land." Further downstream is Mengmen Mountain, where two huge rocks in the river split the Yellow River in two before the streams merge again; carved on the rock face are the four characters "Wo Zhen Kuang Liu" (Resting Here, Quelling the Raging Flow). The view of Hukou Waterfall is distinctive in each of the four seasons. Every year between April and May, peach blossoms bloom and the ice melts, coinciding with the "March peach blossom flood," when the abundant water volume makes the waterfall particularly spectacular. From September to November, the air is crisp in fall, and rainbows often appear in the mist, a phenomenon known as the "Hukou fall wind." Water volume is greater in spring and fall, and the sound of the water striking the rocks is like thunder, making these the best periods to admire the waterfall. The image of Hukou Waterfall once appeared on the CNY 50 banknote of the fourth series of the renminbi, making it a widely recognized classic symbol of Yellow River culture.

2026 Asia 100 - Night Attractions

Pingyao Ancient City

Pingyao Ancient City is one of the best-preserved ancient cities in China and, along with Lijiang Ancient City, is one of the two ancient cities in China to have successfully been designated as a World Cultural Heritage site in its entirety. Pingyao was once the financial center of China during the late Qing dynasty. Walking into this once-prosperous ancient city, you can feel the atmosphere of Shanxi merchant culture everywhere. The streets, shops, and residences within the ancient city still maintain their traditional layout and appearance. The overall street pattern is in the shape of the Chinese character 'tu', consisting of four main streets, eight small streets, and seventy-two lanes. The ancient city has six city gates in total, and the areas around the south gate and west gate are where visitors are concentrated. When touring, you usually enter the city through the lower west gate and walk along West Street to Rishengchang Exchange Shop, where you can learn about the development history of ancient banking and experience the legend of Shanxi merchants conducting business across the world. South Street, which runs north-south through the city, is the central axis of the ancient city. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, South Street gathered more than half of the country's financial institutions and was known as the "Wall Street of China" at the time. Today this street is called the Ming and Qing Ancient Street, and most of the ancient city's attractions are concentrated here. Centered on the landmark Market Tower, attractions such as Xietongqing Exchange Shop, Weitaihou Exchange Shop Museum, and the Chinese Escort Agency Museum are distributed around it, and a large number of shop buildings from the Ming and Qing periods are preserved along the street. At the Pingyao County Government Office in the south of the ancient city, you can see a large number of ancient documents and instruments of torture, and there is a daily performance of the county magistrate holding court; the City God Temple and the Confucian Temple in the east of the city have grand and refined architecture. The ancient city wall is very well preserved, and climbing the wall offers a panoramic view of the ancient city. The gate tower of Yingxun Gate at the south gate is especially exquisite, and watching the sunset from the city wall in the evening is a magnificent sight. In addition to the ancient city itself, the Zhenguo Temple and Shuanglin Temple outside the city are also part of the World Cultural Heritage. The Ten Thousand Buddha Hall of Zhenguo Temple is entirely made of wood, assembled with mortise and tenon joints without a single nail; Shuanglin Temple preserves painted sculptures from the Yuan to Ming dynasties, which are exquisite in form and renowned as a "treasure house of Eastern painted sculpture art."