A trail through hills of history, beauty

Credit: Yun Jian Yu Fu / Ti Gong

Caption: Chenshan Hill

There is a beautiful tour route, the Xiake ancient path, in the northwest of Songjiang District, starting from Sheshan Hill and going on to Chenshan Hill, Tianmashan Hill, Hengyunshan Hill, Xiaokunshan Hill and ending at the Maohe River, the boundary between Songjiang and Qingpu.

These hills, like a string of pearls, are all about 100 meters high. Known as the Jiufeng Area, they are one of Shanghai's rare natural mountain forests.

Xu Xiake (1587-1641) is a Chinese travel writer and geographer of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), known best for his famous geographical treatise, and noted for his bravery and humility.

He traveled throughout China for more than 30 years, documenting his travels extensively. The records of his journeys were compiled posthumously in "The Travel Diaries Xu Xiake." It is believed Xu once left his footprint on the five hills.

Sheshan Hill is composed of East Sheshan Hill and West Sheshan Hill. The former has large areas of bamboo and the shoots are known for their orchid flavor. Emperor Kangxi once came here and tasted the shoot and called the hill Lansunshan Hill – "bamboo shoot with orchid flavor."

Xu traveled to Sheshan Hill five times and visited the hermitage of Chen Jiru (1558-1639), a landscape painter and calligrapher.

West Sheshan Hill is famous for two historical buildings – the Sheshan Basilica, officially the National Shrine and Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Sheshan and the Sheshan Observatory. The hill is named after its location – Chen means southwest.

At the foot of Chenshan Hill lies Shanghai's largest botanical garden, the Chenshan Botanical Garden. The south slope has a deep pit due to quarrying, which had been turned into a garden.

Tianmashan Hill, like a flying horse, has a long and famous history. It is said that Gan Jiang, a swordsmith in the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC), once forged swords here.

It is also a Buddhist resort with many temples and monasteries. The most famous is the Huzhu Pagoda with an inclination of up to seven degrees.

Hengyun Hill was called Hengshan Hill before the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) and since Tianbao Period of the Tang Dynasty, it was called Hengyunshan Hill to commemorate Lu Yun, a writer in Western Jin Dynasty (AD 265-317).

It is a closed mountain conservation area now.

Xiaokunshan Hill is located the southernmost in the Jiufeng Area. There are Erlu thatched cottages and reading desks on the hill, cliff stone carvings, Jiufeng Temple and other attractions.