Shentang Bay, also known as Shen Tang Wan （神堂湾） in Chiense, is a deep valley with lots of mysterious stories and legands, which is located in Tianzi Mountain,Wulingyuan Senic Area of Zhangjiajie City. Nowadays. it is opened as an attraction of Tianzi Mountain, but less tourists visit there.
According to the Annals of Cili County in Wanli of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), "The Shentang Bay is famous for its Shentang Village." It is said that after the defeat of Emperor Xiang at Baizhang Gorge. Although injured, he was very brave and unyielding.Finally, he jumped into Shentang Bay to die while the officials troops raning after him.
In the future, whenever there is heavy rain, fogs and clouds fill the valley, the sound of water and stones hitting each other. It is faint as if people playing gongs and drums, as well as people shouting and horses neighing. It is rumored in the local area that Emperor Xiang is still practicing his troops and horses before he dies
Upon arrival at the Shentang Bay, you can see an Observation Deck which is also known as the Wangditai 望帝台，means the platform for looking for the emperor. The observation deck is a stone peak with a flat top, approximately 30 square meters.
Standing on the platform and looking down, you can discover that this valley is a cascading barrel shaped sinkhole. With steep cliffs and hidden trees, the sinkhole looks as if unfathomable.
On the morning of May 15, 1996, at 8 o'clock, thick fog condensed in the ditch on the right side of this platform. At this time, the sun had just risen, and a "precious light" with a diameter of about 3 meters appeared on the fog coat, such as the Rainbow Seven Rings, red, yellow, orange, and green, shining brightly and dazzling. After stopped for a moment , it had slowly moved to the right for up to 5 minutes.
On the left side of the Shentang Bay observation deck, there is a stone pillar standing alone which looks like a samurai with a neat crown standing in the valley. Behind it, there is also a huge rectangular stone peak towering like a warrior's stretched robe. There are green pines growing strong and vigorous at the stone peaks. These two stone peaks are called the Guards of Shentang Bay.
On the left side behind the Shentang Bay observation deck, there is a peak standing at a height of 100 meters. With a crack on the right side of the peak from top to bottom, the stone pillar separate a small square pillar that is about 50 meters high. It is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom to stand with the the mother peak. This sightseeing is named " Shentang Stone Pillars" which is surpassing a bonsai.
For thousands of years, no one has known what the scenery inside the alley is like in Shentang Bay, and locals dare not easily approach it The reason for this phenomenon is that every time it rains in this valley, many people shout and horses neigh, similar to the sounds on the battlefield.
Just like the Dianjiang Platform , the Shentang Bay is one of the best observation platform for tourists shooting the beautiful scenery of Tianzi Mountain.
