The Taohuajian Scenic Area (桃花涧风景区), nestled at the southern foothills of Jinpin Mountain, is a picturesque landscape that comes alive every April with the blooming of peach blossoms. Spanning 4.4 kilometers, Taohuajian originates from the Ma’er Peak, where myriad streams converge into a meandering brook. Flowing gently through a dense forest of towering trees, the juxtaposition of blooming peach flowers and exposed mountain peaks creates a scene reminiscent of a beautifully rendered Chinese painting, earning the area its poetic name, Taohuajian, or Peach Blossom Brook.
Beyond its stunning natural beauty, Taohuajian is also home to a wealth of historical relics. One of the most notable is the General’s Cliff Inscriptions, often referred to as the “Eastern Heavenly Scriptures,” with a history dating back over 5,000 years. Carved into a smooth, black rock surface measuring approximately 22 meters in length and 15 meters in width, the inscriptions feature depictions of human and animal faces, agricultural symbols, as well as celestial bodies like the sun and stars. The inscriptions are divided into three groups, situated on a large, bowl-shaped rock formation beneath the cliffs. The lines of the carvings vary in width and depth, displaying a “V” shape on the smooth rock face, indicating the use of stone tools in their creation. The location of the inscriptions sits at an elevation of 20 meters.
In 1979, during the excavation of a Han Dynasty tomb in Taohuajian, archaeologists made an astounding discovery. Buried beneath 55 centimeters of surface soil, they uncovered several ancient tools crafted from flint, revealing a processing technique dating back to the Beijing Ape-Man of Zhoukoudian approximately 500,000 years ago. Subsequent findings between the yellow soil layer and bedrock included over 100 artifacts and cultural materials primarily made of quartzite, shedding light on the living conditions of ancient humans around 40,000 to 50,000 years ago. Items such as boat-shaped tools and funnel-shaped artifacts closely resemble those found in Kyushu, Japan. Experts suggest that during this period, a land bridge connected Japan and Lianyungang due to a widespread drop in sea levels, facilitating continuous interaction and communication between ancient human populations on both sides.
Basic Information
| Estimated Length of Tour | 2 hours |
| Ticket Price | 30 RMB |
| Opening Hours | 8.00 – 17.30 |
| Telephone Number | 0086-0518-85307669 0086-0518-85226118 |
Location and Transportation
The Taohuajian Scenic Area is located in Hai Zhou District, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, China. Its specific address is 18 Jinping Road, Jinping Town. To get there, tourists can take bus 3, 5, or 201 and get off at the Jinping Shoumo Stop (锦屏首末站) to reach the south entrance.
