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Snake legend leaves a scenic legacy

By Wing Tan | May 17, 2013, Friday | Print Edition

SHANGHAI is flat, delta country, so it's not surprising that one of its highest points - Sheshan Hill in the Songjiang District - has an altitude of only 98 meters.

But what a magnificent 98 meters!

Sheshan is not just one peak but a range of 12 jutting hills that stretches for 13 kilometers and encompass 400 hectares of Shanghai's only natural mountainous forestland.

Small wonder that it is such a popular tourist attraction.

The picturesque area is studded with scenic sites, including the Sheshan Hill National Forest Park, the Sheshan Cathedral, an observatory for astronomists and pedestrian stargazers and a Buddhist shrine.

Nearby are the Chenshan Botanic Garden, the Moon Lake Sculpture Park and the Happy Valley amusement park.

A legend popular with locals says that in ancient times, before Shanghai was around, Emei Mountain in the southwestern province of Sichuan was home to two giant boa snakes that had practiced Taoism for 1,000 years and finally became immortal. As such, they were allowed to participate in a birthday party for the Queen Mother of the Heaven.

The two snakes sneaked over to a pond of wine and secretly drank the celestial brew. Suddenly, they were turned into dragons. On hearing this, the Queen Mother burst into a great rage. She expelled the snakes and ordered the gods of thunder and lightning to kill them.

The dishonored reptiles fled to what is now the East China Sea and tried to defend themselves in a three-day battle. In the end, they were killed by the Dragon King of the East Sea.

They fell from the heavens to the earth and were turned into a ridge of high hills. Locals called the terrain she, which is homophonous with "snake" in oral Chinese.

In more modern times, Sheshan Hill has been nicknamed "the garden of bamboo shoots and orchids," after its most famous flora.

Bamboos shoots found there are prized for their unique light fragrance of orchids. There's a story behind that, too.

In the days of yore, orchids abounded in the area, only to be trampled by too many sightseers.

To protect the flowers, local villagers planted bamboo forests, and in time the two plants became happy bedfellows.

The western part of Sheshan boasts the most beautiful scenery and the most cultural relics. A narrow stone path flanked by lush old trees meanders to the top, dotted by little kiosks selling bric-a-brac, with the temple near the top.

Hidden even further to the west of the hills is the area's only tea garden, which serves Shanghai Dragon Well Tea each spring.



How to get there: Sheshan Hill Station of Metro Line 9

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