Looking
upon the Changjiang River in the north and facing Mt.
Huangshan in the south, Mt. Jiuhua covers an area of 120
square kilometres with its main peak 1,342 metres above
sea level. The perfect harmony of the age-old Buddhist
culture and the elegant, tranquil natural scenery make up
the primitive simplicity, peacefulness, rich religious
colour and pastoral beauty which are characteristics of
Mt. Jiuhua. It is a famous national level mountainous
scenic spot open for tourists and ideal for scientific and
cultural activities. On the mountain, there are 86 ancient
temples, over 6,800 figures of Buddha and over 2,000
Buddhist relics here. More than 700 monks and unus live
here, scattered in woods and hills, practising Buddhism,
farming and weaving.
The
Qiyuan Temple The temple is the only one of the
palace style on Mt. Jiuhua. It was first set up in the
Ming Dynasty. It looks magnificent and is the most
wonderful temple among all on Mt. Jiuhua. In it there are
three gilded grand Buddha figures of over ten metres tall
and a group of "island" Buddha figures of seventeen metres
tall.
The Huacheng Temple The Huacheng Temple was the first
temple on Mt. Jiuhua. It was built in the Tang Dynasty,
serving as a house of worship of Monk Jin Qiaojue and as
the place for his preaching Buddhism. It has now been
turned into the Buddhism Museum of historic relics. More
than 2,000 pieces of Buddhist relics are preserved here.
The Jiuhua Street The street is the tourist reception
centre of Mt. Jiuhua. Temples, civilian houses, hotels,
and shops adjoin each other among tea plantations and
farmland. Monks and ordinary people coexist here. Houses
of white walls and grey tiles have a distinctive style.
Places of historic interest and scenic beauty like the
Qiyun Temple, the Huacheng Temple and the Buddha Dizang
Pagoda are scattered here and there.
The Fair on Mt. Jiuhua The Buddhist circle has decided that
the 30th day of the 7th lunar month be "the Propitious Day
of Dizang Buddha" and every year, a temple fair is held on
this day on the mountain. In the meantime, the whole place
is enveloped in a Buddhist atmosphere and primitive
simplicity, where you can have an experience of life new
and rare to you.
In the Tang Dynasty, a Buddhist monk of Korea, Jin
Qiaojue went to China by sea and settled down in Mt.
Jiuhua. He cultivated himself and practised Buddhism
piously for 75 years and passed away in a sitting position
in 794 A.D. at the age of 99. According to his ascetic
spirit when he was alive and his well-kept body, the
followers of Buddhism thought that he must be the
reincarnation of Dizang Bodhisattva 9The God of Earth) and
therefore respectfully called him Buddha Jin Dizang. Xince
then, Mt. Jiuhua has become the place of Buddhist rites of
Dizang Buddha.
Since Bodhisattva lived and attained Buddhist doctrine
in Mt. Jiuhua, temples mushroomed here and there with
wisps of incense smoke always filling the atmosphere. Then
Mt. Jiuhua became a world famous scared place. On the Par
nirvana day of Bodhisattva (the 30th of the 7th lunar
month every year), pilgrims and visitors come in an
endless stream.
Meeting
Jin Dizang Homewards In 1994, eighty-eight Buddhist monks
from the Jinxian Temple of Korea came to Mt. Jiuhua to
meet the figure of Jin Dizang homewards.
The Giant Bronze Statue of Buddha
Dizang The Giant Bronze Statue of Buddha
Dizang in a height of 99 meters will be built in recent
years. In the near future, visitors will see it on Mt.
Jiuhua.
Bronze
Statue of Jin Dizang
