Hefei Travel Notes - Scenic Spots: Jiuhua Street Area on Mount Jiuhua
------ Tour of Jiuhua Street Area
Regarding the route for touring Mount Jiuhua, here's roughly what the ticket seller at the Huatai Cable Car told us: "If you take the cable car up, walk the glass walkway to see the back mountain—the scenery there is the most beautiful on Mount Jiuhua—then go down via the Tiantai Cable Car, it'll take about three to four hours. By then, there might not be any scenic area buses left. If you go back the same way after viewing the scenery, it'll take about two hours, and you'll still catch the last cable car."
This basically describes the complete route for touring Mount Jiuhua: start from the Mount Jiuhua Service Center, take the scenic area bus to Jiuhua Street, transfer to another bus to the back mountain Huatai area, take the cable car up, walk the glass walkway to see the unique peaks and strange rocks, then head toward Tiantai, enjoying the scenery and temples along the way, take the Tiantai Cable Car down to Minyuan Phoenix Pine, then take a bus to Jiuhua Street for worship and sightseeing. Alternatively, you can do the reverse route. This covers most of the highlights, but it requires an early start and a late return, and it's a test of physical stamina for a full day.
We spent a long time on the front mountain (Jiuhua Street), and after calculating that we didn't have enough time for Tiantai and Huatai, we decided to skip them for a future visit. So our trip became a pilgrimage tour, and we didn't regret it. Famous mountains can't be fully appreciated in one or two visits—leaving a longing adds a sense of time and nostalgia for a return visit, which is truly wonderful.
From the Mount Jiuhua Service Center, we took a bus for about 30 minutes to the scenic area gate. The mountain road wasn't very steep, but private cars frequently passed by. Halfway along the winding road, a bright yellow temple came into view—Ganlu Temple (Sweet Dew Temple), one of the four great monasteries of Mount Jiuhua. However, it's located 5 km outside the ticket gate, and the scenic area buses only stop at the main gate. Unless you specifically tell the driver to stop at this temple or you drive yourself, most people pass it by. So this ancient temple enjoys less hustle and bustle and more peace and quiet.
After entering through the ticket gate, a sign for the Baisui Palace cable car appeared on the left about 50 meters in. The mountain at Jiuhua Street isn't high, so whether you visit the street first or the palace first doesn't matter—it's just a matter of taking the cable car up or down.
Like most visitors, we chose to tour Jiuhua Street first.
Our route was: Qiyuan Temple → Huacheng Temple → Daxia Nunnery → Long Nunnery → Changsheng Nunnery → Zhantan Grove → Tonghui Grove → Upper Meditation Hall → Clean Pure Lodge → Yue Body Treasure Hall → Huixiang Pavilion (Huayan Temple) → Dongya Temple → Baisui Palace → Five Hundred Arhat Hall → Natural Reclining Buddha.
This sacred Buddhist area, with temples close together and a bustling crowd of pilgrims and tourists, gives Jiuhua Street its prosperity. Many restaurants and stalls are concentrated near Huacheng Temple, while farther out in the community, guesthouses and inns become more common. From years of travel experience, the same goods are more expensive closer to the attractions, while slightly off the beaten path, you can bargain and get cheaper prices.
Pilgrims and tourists are easy to distinguish: more devout followers often wear uniforms—either oblique-front cloth garments, various vests, or plain cloth bags, all usually embroidered or printed with Buddhist texts or place names. Scattered pilgrims dress casually but often have solemn expressions and follow ritual standards, moving alone in the crowd. As for tourists, they also burn incense and bow, follow the crowd, comment on the scenery, and seek freedom and leisure.
Qiyuan Temple, built in the Qing Dynasty, is a key national temple. As the first temple most tourists visit, it has extremely vibrant incense offerings. The halls are splendid, incense smoke curls, the sound of Buddhist scriptures cleanses worldly thoughts, and the morning bell and evening drum remind one to reflect.
Huacheng Temple, in the center of Jiuhua Street, is a five-minute walk from Qiyuan Temple. It is the founding temple of Mount Jiuhua, built in the Tang Dynasty, and a key national temple. Since 1981, it has also served as the Mount Jiuhua Historical Relics Museum, housing precious artifacts such as palm-leaf scriptures, the Ming Dynasty Tripitaka, the Blood Scripture by Monk Wuxia, an edict from Emperor Shenzong of Ming, an inscription by Emperor Kangxi of Qing reading "Nine Glorious Scenes," the Nether Bell, a statue of the mythical beast Diting, and the Dizang Li Sheng Bao Seal. So while worshipping, you can view cultural relics and appreciate history. In front of the temple are a crescent-shaped pond (release pond) and a square paved with granite. The square is surrounded by the liveliest market on Jiuhua Street, with buildings mostly two or three stories high. The pond reflects the blue sky and ancient temple, while the streets bustle with noise and brightness. The dynamic and static coexist harmoniously.
Sleeping Buddha Viewing Platform: 100 meters south of Qiyuan Temple is the Baisui Palace cable car station. A five-minute ride takes you to the terminal, and directly opposite the exit is the Sleeping Buddha Viewing Platform. It is said that this landscape was discovered in 1999 by the eminent monk Ren De of Mount Jiuhua. The reclining Buddha lies face up, its head resting on the Tiantai peaks, stretching hundreds of meters, with a serene expression. It is particularly miraculous that whether viewed from south to north or from north to south, it forms a Buddha image, with clear facial features and both spirit and form.
Baisui Palace, located on Mounting Peak (Chaxiao Peak), is a three-minute walk north from the Sleeping Buddha Viewing Platform. Built in the Ming Dynasty, it is a key national temple. It is famous for enshrining the true body of Monk Wuxia, currently the oldest accessible true body on Mount Jiuhua. Next to it is the Five Hundred Arhat Hall, with statues in various poses, grand and spectacular. The buildings are unique, leaning against the cliff, beautiful and majestic.
Zhantan Grove (Zhantan Grove), built in the Qing Dynasty, is locally known as the "Great Compassion Tower." With spacious grounds, the three majestic halls house solemn Buddha statues, and incense is abundant. Here, the true body of Monk Mingjing is also enshrined.
Daxia Nunnery, adjacent to Huacheng Temple on its west side, was built in the Ming Dynasty and is a key provincial temple. It houses the stupa of Master Shaohua, who was well-versed in Buddhist teachings, spent his life healing the sick, generously donated, and accumulated merit. He passed away in 1989, and after cremation, over 200 relics (sharira) were collected.
Tonghui Grove, southeast of Jiuhua Street, is where you can pay respects to the true body of Master Renyi, a female master who spent her life practicing medicine and saving countless people. She is the first female true body on Mount Jiuhua.
Upper Meditation Hall, near the south gate of Yue Body Treasure Hall, is a seven-to-eight-minute climb up the stairs from Shenguangling Road. Built in the Qing Dynasty, it is a key national temple. It is said that in the past, Upper Meditation Hall had the best scenery, the most beautiful temple, and the poorest incense offerings. Its architecture is unique, the most valuable among contemporary ancient buildings. The Buddha statues in the main hall were made using the thousand-year-old technique of dry lacquer with hemp cloth, making them precious cultural relics. Located halfway up the mountain, the hall is surrounded by clouds, offering a clear view in the distance, with streams murmuring and forests covering the area. It is known as "Little Putuo." The 19th episode of the 1986 TV series "Journey to the West," "Mistakenly Entering the Little Leiyin Temple," was filmed here. In the backyard of Upper Meditation Hall is the most historic Guanyin (Avalokiteshvara) statue on Mount Jiuhua, with a water-dripping vase. The compassionate Bodhisattva's pure water trickles, said to cure illness and prolong life. Visitors line up to receive water to wash their eyes, refresh their minds, or take a sip. Nowadays, these two attributes have made it famous, so incense is also quite abundant.
Yue Body Treasure Hall (i.e., Flesh Body Treasure Hall; monks avoid the word "meat" [flesh], so "rou" [meat] is replaced by "yue" [moon] for a homophonic character). Climbing up Pande Mountain Road from Upper Meditation Hall for about five minutes brings you to the south gate of Yue Body Treasure Hall. This hall is the site of the pagoda of Kṣitigarbha's Flesh Body, which is enshrined in an underground palace. Hence the folk saying: "Without going to the Yue Body Hall, you don't see the Bodhisattva's face; when you go to the Yue Body Hall, the Bodhisattva doesn't show his face." Mount Jiuhua is the bodhimandala of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, and Yue Body Treasure Hall is the ancestral shrine of Jiuhua Buddhism, the most essential and sacred place on the Lotus Buddha Land. Both tourists and pilgrims consider this a must-visit. Incense offerings are naturally abundant. After worshiping in the main hall, many people walk clockwise around the hall three times, with hands clasped, chanting scriptures softly, or lightly rubbing prayer beads, feeling a constant sense of devotion and sanctity.
Next to Yue Body Treasure Hall is the Yin-Yang Well, said to allow one to see past and present lives. Beside it is a gravel path that winds around the mountainside, first south, then east, then north, encircling Jiuhua Street. At midday, there are few visitors, and some stretches are empty. Following the path, you won't get lost. Green trees line the path, streams gurgle, birds sing in the empty mountain, and human traces are rare. Only the occasional glimpse of buildings below reminds you that the mundane world is nearby. The path is mostly gentle, and in about 40 minutes, you reach Huixiang Pavilion.
On one side of Huixiang Pavilion, a path descends to the Minyuan Nunnery Group; on the other side, it descends to Jiuhua Street, about 30 minutes. Straight ahead, a 20-minute walk leads to Dongya Temple. Huixiang Pavilion, formerly named Huayan Temple, was built in the Ming Dynasty and is a key provincial temple. Located at Huayan Ridge, it was a must-pass for ancient pilgrims heading from Jiuhua Street to Tiantai. Not far south of the main hall, on Furong Peak, stands the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda, donated by Mr. Cao Dewang in 2006. Climbing the pagoda offers a panoramic view of Mount Jiuhua.
Dongya Temple, one of the four great monasteries of Jiuhua, is situated on the eastern peak of Mount Jiuhua, atop a massive rock, with a cliff on one side. Overlooking the valley, clouds and mist rise, and mountains stand tall.
Continuing for 20 minutes, you reach the Baisui Palace cable car station. You can first view the Natural Reclining Buddha, then walk 10 minutes to Baisui Palace and the Five Hundred Arhat Hall, built on the rocks. This completes the main attractions of Jiuhua Street.
Mount Jiuhua, a sacred mountain, has many pure cultivation grounds. Due to time constraints, our pilgrimage tour only allowed us to visit the main temples on Jiuhua Street. In reality, there are many lesser-known temples where practitioners diligently cultivate, such as the Minyuan Nunnery Group in the back mountain, Tiantai Temple and Huiju Temple on Tiantai. These are perhaps farther from the mundane world, so fewer tourists and pilgrims visit. But cultivation is about cultivating the mind—a peaceful mind is also a place of true faith.
Notes for Worshipping on Mount Jiuhua:
... Each temple provides three free sticks of incense; no need to buy extra, and large incense is not allowed.
... Photography is not allowed inside the temples—absolutely not. You will be kicked out if you take photos. Outdoor scenic areas are fine.
... When entering a shrine, do not step on the threshold. Worship in a clockwise direction.
... There are many stairs on Mount Jiuhua; protect your knees. Don't force yourself if you can't climb.
... When climbing stairs, don't look around—most stairs have no railings and can be dangerous.
... While playing on the mountain, unless the weather forecast is for a clear day, it's best to bring a disposable raincoat.
