Qujiang Cool Cave Heritage Park (Han Yao)

Qujiang Cool Cave Heritage Park (Han Yao), located in the southeast part of Xi’an Qujiang New Area, is the first theme park for wedding ceremony and marriage custom in China. Based on the love story of Wang Baochuan and Xue Pinggui, Han Yao has always been a famous attraction site in Xi’an. It is said among people that in the late Tang Dynasty (618 AD–907 AD), a smart and pretty girl, Wang Baochuan, whose father was the then prime minister, insisted on marrying a beggar, Xue Pinggui, rather than the offspring of the noble regardless of the common customs of social hierarchy and thus broke away from her family. Shortly after their marriage, Xue Pinggui went to the army, while Wang Baochuan lived in a cool cave in Chang'an, waiting for her husband's return for 18 years through all kinds of hardship. The Cool Cave Site came into being in the late Qing Dynasty (1644 AD–1911 AD) and underwent renovations in 1934. In June of 1984, the local government funded the site for another restoration and opened it to the public in 1985. The Cool Cave Heritage Park, which opened on May 1, 2010, is a love-themed park integrating the Cool Cave Site, leisure and entertainment as well as the wedding celebration industry.

Covering a total area of 71 mu (about 12 acres), the Cool Cave Heritage Park consists of three sections, the Cool Cave Site Section, the Wedding Celebration Section as well as the Commercial Section. The Cool Cave Site is the core of the park and the major part for most visitors. The Cool Cave Story Exhibition Hall is designed to, while focusing on the love story, present the scene of the romance between Wang Baochuan and Xue Pinggui, including the first encounter, acquaintance, throwing the embroidered ball away from the Caipei Building, and the visit to the humble farmer's cave via modern visual arts and phantom imaging technology.

Cool Cave Site Section

The major attractions in the Cool Cave Site Section include Wang Baochuan Cave, Third Sister's Spring, Chastity Hall, Mysterious Horse Cave and etc. Farmer's Cave, a folk dwelling structure peculiar to the Loess Plateau, is seldom seen in Xi’an at present. Yet there are 12 caves, displaying the household articles and instruments of labor used by Wang Baochuan, embodying her daily life throughout 18 years of persistent stay here to wait for her husband's return. As Wang Baochuan is the 3rd child of her family, the spring she used to fetch water from during her 18 years of waiting is named the Third Sister's Spring. After several thousand of years, the spring water remains exuberant and pure to this day. Chastity Hall is named to commemorate Wang Baochuan's unswerving loyalty to love. After renovation, the hall exhibits a collection of old photos and books contributed by the folk. Mysterious Horse Cave is said to be the place where the horse with brown mane stayed. Legend has it that the mysterious horse would often run out of the cave and hurt people. Later, the horse was tamed by Xue Pinggui and the people could live in peace again.

Wedding Celebration & Commercial Section

Jinyuange Pavilion, the name of which implies good luck in marriage, is the main building in Wedding Celebration Section. The pavilion comprises 2 large banquet halls, 11 deluxe compartments and a wedding terrace over water, capable of providing top-grade cuisine, scenery, and tableware to as many as 1,000 guests simultaneously. The Commercial Section, Cool Cave New Street, takes on a typical courtyard structure of central Shaanxi plain. Centred on the Opera Stage, New Street consists of the north section and the south section. The Opera Stage is designed for the performance of Qin Opera. The south section focuses on wedding business, such as wedding photography, wedding planning as well as wedding articles while the north section is designed for diversified catering.

How to Travel There:

Take bus No. 212, 801 or Qujiang Tourist Bus and get off at Hanyao Yizhi Gongyuan (Cool Cave Heritage Park) Station.

Nearby Attractions

1.Qujiang Pool Heritage Park

2.Tang Paradise

3.Qujiang Polar Ocean Park

4.Giant Wild Goose Pagoda

5.Da Ci'en Temple