On the right side of the Swan Mountain is Shihuang Ridge, and on the left side is the east and west waters separated by Zhongqi Mountain. Therefore, it’s obvious that Xijing Academy is a treasured place of Sidu Town. With towering ancient trees, surrounding mountains and beautiful scenery, it is a place that can calm the mind.

 

 

The academy is known by the locals as the Governor Temple. Its door is a double wooden door painted in earth red. The temple is made up of three rooms, with the main hall for worshipping gods, where there are three Bodhisattvas in the shrines. The handsome steward with thick eyebrows, big eyes, black moustache, and green clothes is in the center. On the left is Guanyin Bodhisattva, and on the right is Mammon (Chinese God of Wealth), dressed in a royal robe, with a jade belt around his waist and a gold ingot in his left hand. The “governor god” worshipped in the temple is Li Yanglin, a local person.

 

Li Yanglin is worshipped as the governor god due to rescuing villagers. In some month of 1922, in Sidu, there were continuous downpours, causing Qijiang River to rapidly rise, and flash floods. And the river was blocked by the trees and weeds washed down from the mountains. Suddenly, the floods surged, and Sidu became a vast ocean that submerged all the shops and houses, which made all living things in danger. 

 

 

The villagers immediately burned incense, set off firecrackers, and made wishes, begging Bodhisattvas to rescue Sidu’s living beings. Shortly after, the villagers saw a tall Taoist riding a horse and flying to Huangshibi, throwing stones to break the wooden bridge. The barrier was naturally washed away by the flood. After that, the flood gradually dissipated and all were saved. 

 

The villagers recalled that the Taoist who helped them was Li Yanglin, the abbot of Wufeng Mountain who had always been benevolent and helpful during his lifetime. So they volunteered to raise money to establish a temple for Li Yanglin on the head of the Swan Mountain to worship him. They honored him as the “Governor Bodhisattva”. Later, the temple was called the “Governor Temple”.

 

The branches of two towering trees crisscross together, forming a spectacle on the right side of the plank road not far from the “Dehua Bridge”, which provides a leisure destination for the local residents and also attracts many tourists.