Fubo Hill rises steeply from the west bank of the Li River at the northern end of the old city, offering good views over the river and the surrounding peaks. The hill takes its name from the Han dynasty general Ma Yuan, whose title was "Tamer of the Waves" (Fubo). The main attraction is the Returned Pearl Cave cut into the hillside, which contains hundreds of Buddhist carvings dating from the Tang and Song dynasties — a substantial collection, still largely in good condition despite their age.
The famous "Sword Testing Stone" is a stalactite that appears to have been sliced horizontally, as if cut by a blade, leaving the lower section hanging in mid-air. The story is that General Fubo tested his sword on it. The physics of karst dissolution is more prosaic but the result is genuinely puzzling. The climb to the summit takes about twenty minutes.