On the second day of the Lunar New Year, I accompanied my wife back to her family home. After having a couple of drinks at noon, my wife joined her brother-in-law and mother-in-law to play mahjong. With nothing to do, I decided to take a walk to the nearby Dabeiyuan.

Dabeiyuan is located on Lingyun Mountain to the south of Antu County, with Guxi River beside it. It is only about five or six hundred steps from my wife's family home to the temple, but being in the city, you cannot see the temple itself; you can only catch a glimpse of the tip of Lingyun Tower behind the temple through the gaps between the tall buildings.

I heard from knowledgeable people that the tower was originally built in the Ming Dynasty but collapsed in 1911 due to a storm. The current tower was rebuilt in 2010 and completed in 2011. The architectural style of the new tower still follows the style of the Ming Dynasty, with seven octagonal levels, a total height of over thirty meters, designed in a wooden structure format, but the materials have changed to reinforced concrete. Inside the pagoda, there are stairs leading to the top level; outside, there is a corridor that allows you to walk around the tower and enjoy the view. To the south of the temple is the newly constructed Guxi River Bridge, resembling a colorful ribbon embedded over the river.

Dabeiyuan consists of two large halls, with the front hall being the Hall of Heavenly Kings. I had visited once before, but the doors were closed, and I couldn't enter to see the faces of the Heavenly Kings. When I went today, I found a small door opened on the north side of the Hall of Heavenly Kings, just big enough for one person to enter. I sidled in, and the interior was similar to other temples, with guardians on both sides and an offering table in the middle; however, in the northeast corner of the hall, there was an additional bookshelf with some books on Buddhism, all available for free reading.

I walked over and casually flipped through the books, discovering that some of them were old books donated by believers. I was very pleased because I particularly enjoy collecting these random old books. So, regardless of whether the temple's nun allowed it or not, I directly tucked a copy of the "Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva's Fundamental Vows" into my pocket.

Further back is the Mahavira Hall, the main building of the temple, which appears grand and towering compared to the nearby residential houses. Inside the hall, there were two nuns watching over it, and only the middle half of the door was open. I walked over and peeked inside; at that moment, a nun came over and asked, "Are you here to offer incense?" I replied, "Just looking." The nun seemed a bit lost and said, "Oh! Then please hurry, we close at four o'clock." I didn't respond to her, just stretched my head in and prepared to move on. But suddenly I remembered the name of the temple: "Why is it called Dabeiyuan?" So I asked the nun. Upon hearing my question, she answered vaguely, "This is a temple for women, so it's called Dabeiyuan." When I asked for more details, she said she didn't know.

I followed the long corridor to the back of the temple and looked at the introduction on the signboard, which stated that the temple existed during the Eastern Jin Dynasty when Huan Wen was stationed in Antu; moreover, it is said that there is a fishing spot of the Song Dynasty scholar Li Zhiyi on the Guxi River to the south! On the side of the signboard is a hill about twenty to thirty meters high, which is Lingyun Mountain.

Looking at its current dilapidated state, it is estimated that this place was once turned into a quarry, as the southern side of the mountain has been cut into a ninety-degree cliff, and the new Lingyun Tower is built on this cliff.

I climbed up the steps, and on the not-so-high southeastern slope, there were numerous scattered graves. Looking further away, I could see the vast Baizhu Mountain, with water flowing below, named Guxi River, gently flowing past the southern side of Lingyun Mountain. The river sparkled under the winter sun, resembling a jade belt winding around the southern corner of the county. Continuing up, I arrived at the brand new Lingyun Tower.

Standing on the base of the tower, I looked out into the distance; to the north was Huangshan Tower, to the west was Jinzhu Tower, and between the three towers lay the ancient Taiping Prefecture.

At this moment, the weather was fine, with no clouds in the sky; looking down, the beautiful scenery of Taiping Prefecture was fully visible. As the ancients said: "A mountain is not high; it is famous if there are immortals. Water is not deep; it is spiritual if there are dragons." Although the mountains in winter are not so green, the water of Guxi River, under the reflection of the winter sun, appeared particularly beautiful; and the city of Taiping, amidst the fierce cold wind, seemed even more vibrant.

I looked at the scenery both up and down the mountain, with pedestrians and tourists intertwining, creating a feeling as if I were in a fairyland. So I imitated those couples of tourists, took out my phone, and found a suitable spot to take a close-up photo with the peaceful scenery, to comfort my sentimental heart...