A Journey of Tranquility ～ Jiuhua Mountain

Wanting to buy osmanthus flowers and bring wine, but it’s never like the youthful travels, so I packed my bags, settled my mind, and set off for Jiuhua Mountain this weekend～ 🚅Transportation🧡 From Wuhan to Chizhou, then transfer to a bus to the visitor center, and take the scenic shuttle bus up the mountain. (The bus has fixed schedules; if full, you have to wait for the next one, so taking a taxi or carpool is recommended, costing about 25-40 yuan per person. PS, be aware that the shuttle bus down the mountain may require queuing, so if catching a high-speed train, it’s best to allow more than 2 hours～) 🛌Accommodation💕 It’s recommended to stay at the mountain top for convenience. Avoid going down and back up, which wastes time and requires paying the 50 yuan shuttle fee again. 🧗🏻‍♀️Sightseeing❤ Following the idea of visiting the back mountain first and then the front mountain, from far to near. Since we arrived at Jiuhua Mountain close to 4 PM, we first climbed Tiantai Peak, reaching the summit near 6:30 PM. It was already dark, and along the way, fellow travelers said that at night there might be wild monkeys bigger than people attacking, so we gave up climbing Huatai Peak. On the way down, a kind homestay owner told us that walking from Tiantai along the winding mountain road to Jiuhuajie is 7 kilometers, but there’s a shortcut through Yixin Maopeng back to Xiangge and then to Jiuhuajie. This route only requires crossing one mountain and takes about 40 minutes to climb, but sadly it was too dark, and we took the wrong path to Longxi River, which was basically a wild trail with many fallen bamboo and branches. After walking for over half an hour and seeing we were getting farther from the destination, we realized we were lost. Fortunately, we returned to the bridge area, which is a dirt road (remember to turn left to cross the bridge first, then right to go up the mountain). We woke up early at 5 AM to attend the morning chanting at Zhiyuan Temple, listening to the abbots recite the Shurangama Sutra and other scriptures, hearing the morning and evening bells, wooden fish drums, and low chanting. It brought an unprecedented peace to my heart and calmed my restless mood. Staying near Jiuhuajie, it’s about a 6-minute walk to Zhiyuan Temple. After the morning chanting around 6:20 AM, once the masters finish breakfast, we can go to the left side of the Mahavira Hall for vegetarian meals, costing about 5 yuan per person, including Laba porridge, steamed buns, pickled vegetable buns, steamed pumpkin, and pickles. The variety is quite rich and the price is affordable. Starting from Xiaotiantai, we followed the line through Zhunti Hermitage, the Flesh Body Treasure Hall, Zhantan Zen Forest, Huacheng Temple, and finally to Zhiyuan Temple, basically a one-way route with no backtracking. Due to time constraints, we couldn’t visit the Baishou Palace, which is a regret and motivation for next time. For shopping, Bodhi fruit is priced at 50 yuan each, but you can bargain—don’t buy it overpriced～ 🍉🍑🍒 Food-wise, the vegetarian meals are quite good. The mountain attractions are definitely more expensive than the base. We ate at Juxianlou on Jiuhua Mountain, about 60 yuan per person, with good service and decent food～ My favorite is Huacheng Temple, where the Golden Ksitigarbha King Jin Qiaojue first lived. It has a museum explaining Jin Qiaojue’s path to Buddhahood, snake year science popularization, and some temple cultural relics and historical knowledge, which I found super interesting～ Jiuhua Mountain is not only a religious temple site with profound historical heritage but also a mountain full of scenery, with layers of distant mountains overlapping～ I will come again～