Mount Jiuhua Scenic Area

Mount Jiuhua is located in Chizhou City, Anhui Province. It is a world geological park and a national scenic area characterized by Buddhist culture and natural and cultural landscapes. It is one of the four famous Buddhist mountains in China, a national civilized scenic tourist area, one of the first batch of 5A-level tourist attractions in China, one of the first batch of natural and cultural dual heritage sites in China, and the main scenic area of Anhui Province's 'Two Mountains and One Lake' (Mount Jiuhua, Taiping Lake, Mount Huangshan) tourism development strategy. The planned area of the scenic area is 120 square kilometers, and the protected area is 174 square kilometers, consisting of 11 major scenic areas.   Mount Jiuhua is naturally miraculous and elegantly unique, a masterpiece of nature, known as the 'Lotus Buddhist Kingdom.' The peaks within the area compete in beauty, with strange rocks standing in great numbers. The nine main peaks resemble nine lotus flowers, each with its own charm. The natural Sleeping Buddha formed by the continuous mountain peaks is a model of the organic integration of natural landscapes and Buddhist culture. The scenic area is filled with clear streams, secluded pools, flying waterfalls, and flowing springs, creating fresh and natural landscape paintings. There are also natural wonders such as sea of clouds, sunrise, rime, and Buddha's light, with ever-changing weather and breathtaking beauty, earning the reputation of 'the most beautiful in Jiangnan.'   Mount Jiuhua is renowned worldwide as the dojo of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. In 719 AD, Prince Kim Gyo-gak of Silla (Korea) crossed the sea to the Tang Dynasty, settled in Jiuhua, and practiced diligently for 75 years. He passed away at the age of 99. Due to various auspicious signs before and after his death resembling those described in Buddhist scriptures, the monks revered him as the manifestation of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, and Mount Jiuhua became the dojo of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. Inspired by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's great vow of 'saving all beings before attaining enlightenment, not becoming a Buddha until hell is empty,' temples have increased since the Tang Dynasty, with monks gathering and incense flourishing. Mount Jiuhua currently has 99 temples, nearly a thousand monks and nuns, and over ten thousand Buddha statues. Over the years, major temples have frequent Buddhist activities, with morning bells and evening drums, and the sound of Buddhist chants lingering. Pilgrims and devotees come in an endless stream to worship. Many eminent monks have emerged from Mount Jiuhua throughout history, naturally forming 15 preserved bodies from the Tang Dynasty to the present, with 5 currently available for viewing. Among them, the preserved body of Ming Dynasty monk Wuxia was conferred the title of 'Manifestation Bodhisattva' by Emperor Chongzhen, and the preserved body of Nun Renyi discovered in January 1999 is the only preserved body of a bhikkhuni in the world. Under the naturally humid climate conditions, the non-decay of these preserved bodies has become a mystery of life sciences, attracting widespread attention and adding a solemn and mysterious color to Mount Jiuhua.   Mount Jiuhua has a profound cultural heritage. Since the Jin and Tang Dynasties, literary giants such as Tao Yuanming, Li Bai, Fei Guanjing, Du Mu, Su Dongpo, and Wang Anshi have traveled here, composing timeless masterpieces. Painting masters such as Huang Binhong, Zhang Daqian, Liu Haisu, and Li Keran have left behind numerous masterpieces. The Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai visited Mount Jiuhua three times, writing dozens of immortal poems praising the mountain, especially the lines 'The marvelous has two breaths, the sacred mountain opens nine flowers,' which became the 'defining poem' of Mount Jiuhua. Mount Jiuhua currently has over 2,000 cultural relics, more than 500 poems and essays by famous people throughout history, and over 20 sites of academies and study halls. Among them, the Tang Dynasty palm-leaf manuscripts, Ming Dynasty Tripitaka, blood scriptures, the imperial edict of Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty, and the calligraphy of Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty are rare treasures.   Mount Jiuhua's 'eating, lodging, traveling, shopping, and entertainment' service system has been optimized and upgraded, and new tourism elements such as 'business, health, learning, leisure, and wonder' are becoming increasingly perfect. There are currently hotels and various inns with over 20,000 beds. There are also first-class aerial cableways, ground cable cars, environmentally friendly buses, yoga bases, photography bases, and a wide variety of tourist specialty products, meeting the needs of tourists from different angles.