Guangzhou Lotus Hill: Ancient Quarry Site

🌟 Guangzhou Lotus Hill: A Millennium Epic on the Stone Cliff

Standing before the ancient quarry site at Lotus Hill, the red sandstone cliff before you is like an open history book—layers of quarry marks are the time codes carved by the ancestors of Nanyue. This is not only the largest ancient quarry site in Lingnan but also the "secret base" for the building materials of the Western Han Nanyue King’s Palace!

⛰️ **A 2,000-Year Architectural Gene Bank**
In 204 BC, Nanyue King Zhao Tuo established his capital in Panyu (modern Guangzhou) and began large-scale quarrying of Lotus Hill red sandstone for palace construction. This stone, with its uniform texture and ease of carving, became the exclusive material for the palace’s column bases and steps. The "Wansui" tile eaves displayed today at the Guangzhou Nanyue King Museum were made using molds carved from this very stone.

🔍 **The Magical Quarrying Code**
1. **Chisel Mark Interpretation**: The clear wedge-shaped chisel marks on the cliff are the craftsmen’s ingenious method of heating the rock with fire and then cooling it with water to cause it to crack.
2. **Transportation Mystery**: The site is adjacent to a tributary of the Pearl River. Archaeological findings show that stones were transported via waterways to the capital city 20 kilometers away. Stone holes for mooring ropes can still be found along the water’s edge.

🌿 **Travel Tips**
Driving navigation to "Lotus Hill Tourist Area West Gate Parking Lot" is the most convenient (parking fee 10 RMB per visit), about 40 minutes from downtown Guangzhou; alternatively, take Metro Line 4 to Shiqi Station, then transfer to bus Fan 93. From the ticket office at the foot of the hill, it’s a 15-minute walk to the site. Visiting on a rainy day adds to the atmosphere—the red sandstone glows with a magnificent ochre hue in the mist, like a giant ink painting.

The quarried stones eventually became the corridors and columns of the Nanyue King’s Palace, the foundations of Ming and Qing city walls, and even the relief carvings on Macau’s Ruins of St. Paul’s. Standing on the site’s viewing platform overlooking the Pearl River, you suddenly understand this landscape—it is not just scenery but the "raw material workshop" of Lingnan civilization.

Post by EllaKoskinen | Oct 21, 2025