Dafeng Scenic Area is located on the Heping Section of National Highway 324. The scenic area includes Dafeng Tomb and Dafeng Memorial Hall, as well as hospitals and other charitable institutions, with a total area of ??2.62 square kilometers.
Dafeng was a famous eminent monk in Chaoyang in the late Northern Song Dynasty. His common surname was Lin, his given name was Ling Og, and his courtesy name was Tongsou. He was born in 1039 AD and died in 1125 AD. Originally from Wenzhou, Zhejiang, he came from a wealthy family. He was smart and studious since he was a child. He later became a Jinshi and served as the county magistrate of Shaoxing, Zhejiang. After serving as an official for several years, he was dissatisfied with the corruption of the government at that time and did not want to join in the corruption, so he gave up his official position and became a monk, with the Buddhist name Dafeng.
In 1125 AD, Dafeng traveled from Fujian to the current peace. During times of drought and epidemics, corpses were seen lying on the road from time to time. Dafeng saw this situation, so he set up an altar at the "Lion Tail Stone" (today's Dafeng Stone) while chanting sutras to pray for the people, cleaning drinking water, and collecting medicine for the people. Cure. At that time, Lianjiang (ancient Dachuan) was connected to the sea. The water flow was fast and the two sides were blocked. Sometimes boats capsized and drowned villagers. The founder of Dafeng was worried about the difficulties of the villagers and vowed to build a peace bridge to connect it. He personally went to the riverside to measure the depth of the river, and ran around raising funds from people. He went to Fujian to raise funds for three years, raised a donation, and returned to Chaoyang to build the Peace Bridge. In the first year of Jianyan (1127), when the bridge was built with 16 holes and only two holes at the beginning and the end were missing, Dafeng passed away due to old age and overwork. After Dafeng's death, people were moved by his spirit of self-sacrifice and benefiting others. They worked together to continue his unfinished business, and finally built the Peace Bridge, which facilitated transportation here.
Dafeng’s charity-giving behavior was highly praised by the local people. The construction of charity halls to help the weak and orphans became a kind act of many Chaoyang people, forming a unique scene of charity halls that can be seen everywhere. According to incomplete statistics, there are now more than 300 shrines of various types in Chaoshan, all with Patriarch Dafeng as their rallying cry.
(In front of the Nanjiang Yifeng Archway)
What stands in front of us now is the majestic and extraordinary "Nanjiang Yifeng" archway. The four majestic, powerful and shining characters of "A Peak in Southern Xinjiang" were inscribed by Ye Xuanping, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. The archway is located at the front end of the main axis of the scenic spot. It is 18 meters long, 48 meters wide and 15.68 meters high. It is made of 168 large granite stones and is the largest stone structure archway in eastern Guangdong. Climbing up the 108 steps, passing by colorful exotic flowers, green carpets of grassland, exquisite and unique fountains, health pools, and Xianglongjin, what appears in front of us is the "Dafeng Patriarch Pavilion".
(In front of Dafeng Patriarch Pavilion)
Dafeng Patriarch Pavilion is 22 meters long and 16 meters wide, supported by 16 huge stone pillars. The pavilions have a unique architectural style, with finely carved eaves and vivid images of flowers, insects and animals. The glazed tiles on the top of the pavilion are colorful, with dragons and phoenixes facing the sun, red and green, which is particularly eye-catching. The plaque on the pavilion is "Dafeng Patriarch Pavilion" and was inscribed by Dr. Zheng Wulou, chairman of the Thai Overseas Chinese Bao De Shan Tang. Inside the glass cabinet is a white marble seated statue of the founder of Dafeng, 28 meters high, 165 meters wide and weighing 3.5 tons. It was shipped from Myanmar.
(Tomb of Patriarch Dafeng)
This is the "Tomb of Patriarch Dafeng of Song Dynasty". The tomb is located on the hillside behind the Patriarch Pavilion, with the front facing Feitian Butterfly Peak and the back facing Xiongshi Mountain. It was built in the era of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty. In recent years, Heping Baode Ancient Hall has been successively renovated, restoring the tomb of Patriarch Dafeng to its original appearance.
(Bao De Building)
Bao De Building was initiated by Mr. Ma Xingsong, a Malaysian overseas Chinese leader, and built with funds raised by many believers in the charity at home and abroad. It is also the office of the Heping Bao De Ancient Church. . Peace Bao De Gu Tang is a charity organization inspired by the philanthropic spirit of Patriarch Dafeng. This organization aims to raise funds to alleviate poverty, and uses the donations it receives in daily life to help the poor. In case of disaster, they donated food and clothing, put out fires and rescued disasters, and collected wild corpses. They were well received by the general public and received strong support and help from overseas people.
(Dafeng Stone)
This "Dafeng Stone" is about 3 meters high. Because it resembles a lion's curled tail, it was originally called "Lion Stone". Longquan, and set up an altar here to chant sutras and pray for the people, so it was renamed "Dafeng Stone".
Engraved on it are the eight characters "Great Mercy and Great Compassion, Saving the Good and Helping the Distressed". On August 26, 1991, Dr. Zheng Wulou, the Thai overseas Chinese leader and the honorary chairman of the Peace Bao Degutang, came to pay a visit to Dafeng's tomb and wrote this with a splash of ink. of.
(Memorial Hall of Patriarch Dafeng)
We bypassed the shopping street and entered the "Memorial Hall of Patriarch Song Dafeng" from the side door. What appears before us is a majestic and extraordinary Dafeng Memorial Hall, which was completed on March 2, 1996. The Dafeng Memorial Hall covers an area of ??17.5 acres and has a construction area of ??more than 10,000 square meters. It displays a brief biography of the life of Patriarch Dafeng of Song Dynasty, the incense burner and precious souvenirs used by Patriarch Dafeng, calligraphy of celebrities in the charity sector, and the messages left by people from all walks of life in the party and government in the memorial hall. of calligraphy and so on.