Mount Jiuhua (Jiuhuashan)
One Of The Four Sacred Mountains Of Chinese Buddhism; UNESCO Global Geopark; National 5A Tourist Attraction · Chizhou, Anhui
One of the Four Sacred Mountains of Chinese Buddhism, a range of ninety-nine forested peaks in southern Anhui devoted to Ksitigarbha, the bodhisattva who vowed not to rest until the hells are emptied and who is honoured as the saviour of the dead. Its story centres on Kim Gyo-gak, a prince of the Korean kingdom of Silla who came here as a monk in the eighth century, meditated for decades in a cave and died aged 99; when his tomb was opened three years later his body was said to be uncorrupted, and he was venerated as an incarnation of Ksitigarbha. Today dozens of active temples and tens of thousands of Buddhist statues fill the mountain. Jiuhua Street, a village of temples, guesthouses and incense shops in a high valley, is the heart of the mountain, with Huacheng Temple, its oldest monastery. Above it rises the Hall of the Physical Body on Shenguang Ridge, where Kim Gyo-gak's remains are enshrined, and the Hundred-Year Palace, which houses the preserved body of a Ming-dynasty monk. Pilgrims climb or ride cable cars to the Tiantai summit temples, and a 99-metre bronze statue of Ksitigarbha towers over the Great Vow Culture Park below. The mountain is busiest around the bodhisattva's festival in the seventh lunar month.
Jiuhua Street, Jiuhuashan Scenic Area, Qingyang County, Chizhou, Chizhou, Anhui, China
Main gate open 24 hours; cableways roughly 7:00-17:00 and most temples and sights about 8:00-17:00. Closes in typhoons and severe storms.
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