In ancient Chinese culture ,the mountain and sea is the siritual home for menof letter that gives inspiration to their masterpieees.wherever there is a wonderful sight ,there must be poems or maxims left by eminent writers .This is the same case with Dongtian Park .On the rocks of Mt Nanshan ,some maxims and poems are still discernable today .Through these relics we can trace the footsteps of these ancient men of letter ,feeling what they have felt and engaging in a dialogue with the spirit of them .

In the park there are also stones engraved with inscriptions ,The oldest one was engraved with the article About the Stone Boat by Zhou kang ( 1187A .D.).Zhou Kang was a native of Hailing (the present Taizhou city )in Jiangsu Province .He was appointed as the military staff officer of Yazhuo (the then Jiyang ),the highest executive officer of the place .According to the record of history ,he reigned the place in lenient way and gave much emphasis on cultural establishment and education .Hebuilt schools and passed on the mainland culture and rites to the local residents .He also did a lot in promoting the unity and harmony among different minority groups.

One day zhou Kang went out for inspection .He came to the place where Dong tian Park is today and saw from far a fisherman's house .As he went closer to it ,he could not help smiling to himself because 'the house'turned out to be a huge rock .Feeling amused ,he wrote two characters on it-stone House .If you come to Dongtian Park ,you can find many such stones in various shapes scattering along the sand beach and shallow area of the sea .

A few days later ,he found another rock ,not far from the Stone House ,resrmbling a boat .He named the rock 'Stone Boat'.On the Double 9' Day ,he took his subordinates to enjoy the sight of the'stone Boat 'and had his articles engraved on one side of the rock .This is the well-known About the stone Boat .

In the sixtieth year after Zhou dynasty when it was under the reign of song Lizong ( 1247A .D.),the military staff officer of Jiyang (Yazhou),Mao Kui ,accompanied such as 'Fishing Chair',Ladder to Fairy Land ',He then officially named the place as the "Minor Dongtian"(the Minor Grotto Heaven )and wrote in his own handwriting four characters ,meaning 'Wonderful View of the Mountain and Sea 'He also wrote a five -character verse in rrcording his visit of the place .

It is said that Mao Kui built a rock -view pavilion here in order to have a better view of the scenery on higher position ,That pavilion had not been ruined and collapsed until the beginning of the Qing dynasty ,Today ,a new pavilion was constructed in the same place in 1993 with a placard bearing two handwritten characters ,meaning Rock-View ,by the contemporary painting master Guan shuanyue of the style of the south of the Five Ridges .By positioning yourself in the pavilion ,you seem to cover a vista of the world :the boundless sky ,the majestic mountains ,the vast sea glistening in golden sunlight -all covered by your eyes ,Bathing the flow of air ,you have a feeling that you are as teansparent as air ,as purified as the clear water down under your feet ,as easy as floating cloud and as free as wind ,At the moment ,all worries about mundane affairs will leave you ,alone in this dream-like world .

Mao Kui came from Fuchuan (in Guangxiprovince )similar to zhou Kang ,he has done a lot to improve the life of local people in his stint ,thereforemuch beloved by them.However he did not think very much of Confucianism as zhou Kang did .Instead ,he took much count of Taoist culture .Upon finishing his official work ,he would come to the 'minor Dongtian'(the minor grotto Heaven)to cultivate Taoism.Today ,there are still traces of his cultivaton kept in Dongtian Park .According to the Record of Yazhou ,Mao Kui left Yazhou after his stint ,but he disappeared when he reached the place place called Nanshanpu and no one knew his whereabouts ,According to a local story ,Mao Kui had gone to be an immortal .On the day he left ,a gust of wind swirled around him and slowly rose him toward the sky .His subordinates saw his rising and realized where he would go ,They all rushed to hold to his legs in a hope that Mao Kui would bring them to the fairy world ,Ia mess ,they torn off one of his shoes which had dropped on the beach of the Dongtian Park and transformed into a stone ,Today ,you can still find his stone shoe lying quietly here on the beach , Can it serve as an evident that Mao Kui has become an immortal?

This story about MaoKui is only the good wish of local people for him who has done a lot to improve this locality during his stint .They are grateful to him and remember him from generation to generation .Today ,we often see local residents come to Dongtian Park to burn joss-sticks and offer sacrifices to him .Dongtian Park ,started by him ,has become the scenic spot with longest history on Hainan Island.

With discovery and development through generations ,Dongtian Park has accumulated rich natural and cultural attractions ,So far ,eight sights have spotted that are much appreciated by tourists :Cloud View on Mt Nanshan,Sun-setting View at City's Boundary ,sea-view in wind ,Ripple View at Small Moon Bay ,The Grotto View ,Master zhou's Stone Boat ,Moon View of Mt Nanshan,Stone-View From Pavilion.

Positioning yourself on Sword Testing Peak where it is said General Fu Bo in Han dynasty had ttested sword and split a rock into two halves with just one steike ,you can cover all these eight sights .

Today with the effort of ist staffs ,.Dongtian Park has successfully ,combined historical heritage with modern taste and turned and turned on a new look .It still gives inspiration to contemporary men ofleffer.

In 1962,the great poet and historian in china ,Guo Moruo ,visited the park .Touched by the wonderful scenery and rich cultural heritage ,he lost no time by working day and night to annotated Record of Yazhou and wrote a poem entitled Mountain Turtle Tour which has been carved on the rock .

In 1993,the late general secretary of the central government ,chairman of the state and military committee Jiang Zemin visited Dongtian Park ,Inspired by the ravishing natural attraction ,he wrote his verse in his own handwriting :

Blue sea joins the sky at its brink ,
Spring stays all year round in Hainan