Lijiang Qiwen Monastery

At the western foot of Ma'anshan Mountain, in Changshui Village of Lijiang's Yulong Naxi Autonomous County, Qiwen Monastery stands surrounded by extensive pear orchards. Built during the Qing Dynasty, this sanctuary served a predominantly Naxi ethnic community. It brought together the teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism under one roof.

In the late Qing Dynasty, a Naxi scholar named He Weiqing, who held the elite civil service status of Yougong, stood before the wooden entrance. With ink-stained fingers, he composed a long couplet for the main gate. His words remain carved in the wood today. The text describes the local geography, referencing the peaks of Yulei and Bifeng, alongside the symbolic shapes of the Green Dragon, Tortoise, Snake, Lion, and Elephant. He Weiqing used these natural features to encourage moral virtue and civic duty among all people, addressing gentry, farmers, artisans, and merchants alike.

The landscape has long attracted creative minds. Every spring and autumn, the celebrated Chinese painter Zhou Lin walked these paths. He captured the white pear blossoms of spring and the red foliage of autumn in his paintings and poems, listening to the wind rustling through the branches.

Today, the monastery is collectively owned by the Changshui Village committee. Private operators run the grounds as a leisure agritainment venue, where visitors can hear the hum of modern recreation against the quiet backdrop of history. On February 25, 2018, the Lijiang municipal government officially recognized its historical value, listing it as a protected cultural relic. The building remains in relatively good condition, preserving the physical traces of Qing Dynasty craftsmanship and the intellectual legacy of the Naxi people.