Guide to Worshiping and Praying at Mount Jiuhua: This Article Is Enough to Avoid Pitfalls
The off-season is coming soon. Airfare and accommodation prices are dropping across the board. Have you prepared your travel guide? If not, just read this article. This time we are going to Mount Jiuhua in Anhui to worship Buddha and pray for blessings.
Mount Jiuhua in Anhui is one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains and the bodhimanda of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva. On the first and fifteenth days of each lunar month, pilgrims come in an endless stream to worship and pray, a truly spectacular scene. Without a well-prepared guide, it's easy to come with high spirits but leave disappointed, so remember to do your homework before coming!
✅️Transportation ①: From Monday to Friday, private cars can drive up (but it's a winding mountain road; those who are not confident in their driving skills are advised to take the shuttle bus). On weekends, the first and fifteenth of the lunar month, private cars are restricted.
✅️Transportation ②: Jiuhua Station: Take the 8-yuan shuttle bus directly to the Jiuhua Mountain Visitor Center; taxi is about 20 km away.
✅️Transportation ③: Chizhou Station: 40 km from the scenic area, you can take a bus or local bus to the scenic area.
✅️Tickets: Peak season 160 yuan, off-season 140 yuan. Scenic area shuttle bus ticket 50 yuan. Tiantai Cable Car / Huatai Cable Car: 85 yuan one way, 160 yuan round trip (off-season 65 one way, 120 round trip).
One-Day Tour of Mount Jiuhua
Route 1⃣ Morning: Take the bus up the mountain → Yingxian Bridge ticket checkpoint → Qiyuan Temple (exquisite architecture, Instagram-worthy) → Fahua Temple (old God of Wealth Hall) → Huacheng Temple (the first temple of the mountain, Jiuhua Mountain Museum) → Daxia Nunnery (relics of Master Shaohua) → Changsheng Nunnery (peaceful monastery, pray and make wishes) → Wuliang Temple (peaceful monastery, main statue of Vairocana Buddha) → Shangchan Hall (peaceful monastery, historic "Dripping Water Guanyin") → Buddha's Relic Hall (golden body of Kṣitigarbha, walk around the pagoda three times) → Lunch 2⃣ Afternoon: Take the bus down from Yingxian Bridge → Ganlu Temple (halfway up the mountain, exquisite architecture, long history, peaceful monastery) → Great Vow Cultural Park (99-meter Kṣitigarbha statue) → Return at 5 p.m.
About Worshiping: Try to wear plain-colored clothing, tie up your hair, do not wear short skirts, strapless tops, or other revealing clothes. Step over the threshold with the left foot for men and right foot for women (traditional rule), do not step on the threshold, which is said to be the Buddha's shoulder. After entering the hall, worship in a clockwise direction. Be cautious in words and deeds.
About Tour Guides: Many friends visit Mount Jiuhua for the first time and are unfamiliar with the local situation, not knowing how to tour or worship. You can go to the visitor center and ask the staff for help. They will assist in arranging a regular licensed tour guide from a legitimate travel agency. Do not trust random unlicensed guides on the street.
About Offering Incense: Nowadays, temples provide three sticks of incense, symbolizing the Triple Gem (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha). Just use the incense provided by the temple monks; sincerity is what matters.
About Donations: There is a registration desk in the main hall. If you need to offer memorial tablets, gild statues, add oil for lamps, or make donations, you can do so under the guidance of the staff, or you can bring small change and drop it into the donation box as you wish.
About Dharma Items: At the temple exit, there will be a Dharma articles shop with clearly marked prices. You can purchase as needed. Sutras and Dharma items brought home should not be casually placed or discarded.
About Accommodation: Here we recommend Sanxun Fanyin Zen Charm Guesthouse (Mount Jiuhua Scenic Area Branch). It is adjacent to the Jiuhua Mountain Visitor Center and close to the 99-meter Kṣitigarbha Statue scenic area. It has a total of 11 rooms, with prices starting from just over 200 yuan.
Note: There are many unlicensed guides and touts around. They will approach you to take you to offer incense, write name plaques, gild statues, make donations, buy Dharma items, and recommend meals and accommodation, with varying prices. Remember to keep your eyes open to avoid being cheated.
