Location: |
Niulang-Weaver Girl Tourist Area, 160 Wangfeng Road, Nanlushan Town, Yiyuan County, Zibo.
5 kilometers east of Yanya Township Government Station. (36.103904, 118.254747) |
Open: |
NOV to MAR daily 8:30-17. APR to OCT daily 8-17. [2021] |
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Classification: |
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Address: | Yiyuan Zhinu Cave, Yiyuan Niulang & Zhinv Scenic Area, 160 Wangfeng Road, Nanlushan Town, Yiyuan County, Zibo, Tel: +86-533-344-0137. |
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info. |
1081 | "Great Song Dynasty Monument" erected in the fourth year of Yuanfeng in the Song Dynasty. |
07-DEC-2006 | Weaver Girl Cave approved by the Shandong Provincial People’s Government as a provincial cultural relic protection unit. |
沂源织女洞 (Yíyuán zhīnǚ dòng, Yiyuan Weaver Girl Cave) or 织女洞 (Zhīnǚ dòng, Weaver Girl Cave) is located in the Cowherd and Weaver Girl Scenic Spot. The entrance to the cave is located 40 m high up in a cliff face. The entrance is reached through a two-story pavilion-style ancient building, with blue bricks and grey tiles, vermilion doors and green windows. The cave has only a single chamber which is 8 m high, 7 m wide, and 10 m long. On the left side is a dressing table and dormitory made of stone and brick, which contains colored statues of the Queen Mother and the Weaver Girl. Another statue of the Weaver Girl sits by the round window in front of the cave wall, expressing affection, facing the Niulang Temple across the river. The "Great Song Dynasty Monument" was erected in the fourth year of Yuanfeng in the Song Dynasty (1081). The "Weaver Girl Cave Chonglou Ji" and "Weaver Girl Cave Yundong Tiankai" inscriptions originate form the Ming Dynasty.
The name of this cave is derived from a very old and popular Chinese legend about the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. It was rewritten many times, and there are numerous poems. The probably oldest one is over 2600 years old.
The story has numerous versions and twists, but the basic story is about the romance between 織女 (Zhinü, the weaver girl) and 牛郎 (Niulang, the cowherd). Despite their love for each other, their romance was forbidden, and thus they were banished to opposite sides of the heavenly river. Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, a flock of magpies formed a bridge to reunite the lovers for a single day. The first poem tells this story by using astronomical metaphors. The weaver girl is symbolized by the star Vega, the cowherd is symbolized by the star Altair, and they are separated by the Milky Way.
We actually had problems classifying this site. It is definitely not a regular show cave. But according to legend, it is a natural cave, which was obviously modified. It is not a temple as the Weaver Girl is not a goddess. Probably she is one of the immortals. So we finally classified it as a tourist cave, though without speleothems and coloured light.