Holy Buddhist Mountain Pilgrimage from Shanghai
“A mountain is not famous for its height but for its holiness”. Mount Jiuhua, also called Jiuhua Mountain and Jiuhuashan, is the holy ashram of Kisitigarbha Bodhisattva, the Buddha of Great Compassion. Abundant Buddhist culture and gorgeous natural scenery coexist harmoniously here, earning it a notable reputation of “the Buddhist Heaven of Lotus Flowers” and one of the four most sacred Buddhist mountains in China, together with Mount Wutai in Shanxi, Mount Putuo in Zhejiang and Mount Emei in Sichuan. This 4 days tour specially designed for Buddhist pilgrims or travelers who are interested in Buddhism and plan to get to Mount Jiuhua from Shanghai, covering both important Buddhist temples and pleasing nature sightseeing. If you’re already in Shanghai, China Discovery also offers customized Mount Jiuhua tours based on your itinerary and requirements.
Highlights of this tour
Ni Hao! Welcome to Shanghai, the biggest metropolis of China!
Upon arrival, you will be met by local tour guide at the arrival hall of the airport and escorted to check in your hotel in downtown by a private comfortable vehicle. The rest of today is on your own to relax. If you want to explore nearby, feel free to get some practical suggestions from your tour guide.
Optional Evening Activity - Enjoy an entertaining and breathtaking Acrobatic Show at Shanghai Circus World or other acrobatic theatres.
After breakfast, your guide and driver will pick you up from your hotel to start your Shanghai exploration. The first stop is to visit Shanghai Museum, one of the Best Four Museums in China. This modern museum, with a round top and a square base which symbolizing the ancient Chinese perception of the world as "round sky, square earth", has collected many international-standard exhibits of bronzes, paintings, calligraphy, sculpture, ceramics, jade from more than 5,000 years ago to the Qing dynasty. It is an ideal place to learn about the profound Chinese history and culture.
Then, take an interesting visit to Yu Garden, a shining star among all dotted ancient Chinese gardens in Jiangnan which fully embodies the traditional design of architecture. Jagged pavilion with elegant decoration, glittering pools with roving fish, sprouting pine trees, all these pleasant scenes refresh both your eyes and mood. Adjacent to the garden is the Yuyuan Bazaar where you can savor tasteful local snacks or bargain at some elaborate traditional Chinese handicrafts and art works as souvenirs.
After lunch, drive a few kilometers to Lujiazui Area of Pudong New District to visit visit “the eye of Shanghai” - Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC) where you can have a panoramic view of the whole Shanghai and Huangpu River area. Ascend yourselves to 474 meters on the 100th floor to experience sky walk on the transparent glass-walled walkway and feel Shanghai lying under your feet and blue sky hanging above your head.
Later, move to another popular landmark of Shanghai - Nanjing Road which is shopping paradise as well as a great place to take a wonderful walk to experience the local modern atmosphere. Lastly, you will stop at the Bund. Originally the towpath for transporting, the Bund transformed into a feverish trading district during European concession period. Stroll along the Bund, feel the perfect fusion of Chinese culture and Western culture, and seize the stunning Shanghai skyline with your own eyes.
Optional Evening Activity - Take a relaxing Huangpu River night cruise to see the city’s most significant edifices and streets sparkling under the atmospheric cover of darkness (about 50 minutes).
After breakfast, you’ll be picked up and escorted to the railway station to catch a G High Speed Train to Chizhou in southern Anhui Province, a city most famous for the holy Buddhist mountain - Mount Jiuhua. Upon arrival, your tour guide and driver will meet you at the Chizhou Railway Station, and then escort you to Mount Jiuhua directly. Check in your hotel in Mount Jiuhua and take a short rest. In this afternoon, you’ll have a half-day Buddhism exploration.
First, you will get to Great Vow Culture Park at the north foot of Mount Jiuhua to start your Buddhism exploration. You can take tourist bus to witness the 99-meter Golden Statue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, a new pilgrimage landmark of Mount Jiuhua and the tallest outdoor bronze Buddhist statue in the world. Beyond the spacious square, archways, bridges, clear ponds, the most impressive sight is the giant Buddhist statue standing before layered majestic green mountains.
Next, you will go to visit the towering, fresh, moist and lush Flower Terrace Scenic Area which is famous for colorful wild flowers over the hill and dales in May days. Ride a sightseeing bus from the tourist center to cable car station, and then hop on the 20-min pleasant cable car ride going over peak after peak to get to the beginning of the hiking trail on the mountain. Well-paved stone steps lead you gradually up to the top mountains of Flower Terrace. Enjoy the panoramic view of surrounding and afar. The clouds envelop mountains, producing a kind of mesmerizing sensation. Then come to the most highlighting Hanging Plank Road which is 1.4km long, and constructed along the side of the mountain with high drop-offs and full of surprisingly beautiful landscape of rugged rock peaks and bizarre pine trees.
After exploration of scenic Flower Terrace, take cable car down the mountain, and transfer to Jiuhua Street by sightseeing bus. Jiuhua Street gathers a lot of important Buddhist temples. You will go to visit Huacheng Temple, the first and leading temple of Mount Jiuhua. The temple was built in Eastern Jin Dynasty more than 1,600 years ago and most existing buildings are from Qing Dynasty. Now the temple has been changed to the Jiuhuashan Museum of Historical Relics, exhibiting thousands of cultural treasures, like Buddhist sutras, ritual instruments, imperial decree, jade seal, ancient paintings and calligraphy.
Stay overnight in Jiuhua Street on Mount Jiuhua.
After breakfast, take cable car to Longevity Palace, a Ming Dynasty five-storey ancient Buddhist temple on a hilltop (elevation: 871m). The temple, built in Southern Anhui folk residence style, is a major must-visit Buddhist temple of Mount Jiuhua, most famed for consecrating the intact saint corporeal body of monk Haiyu (style name: Wuxia) in the Incarnation Hall. He once spent over 20 years copying the Avatamsaka Sutra with his blood of tongue and gold powder here. You can get a grand view of Jiuhua Street and see 500 life-like statues of Arhats in different gestures and looks in the Hall of Five Hundred Arhats, a unique sight that can only be seen in Mount Jiuhua. Walk to the observation deck to view the undulating mountains in Flower Terrace Scenic Area perfectly forming a splendid view of a natural sleeping Buddha.
Later, take another cable car to Heavenly Terrace Peak (Tiantai Peak, elevation: 1,306 meters), the main peak of Mount Jiuhua. An old saying goes “you never reach Mount Jiuhua without a visit to Heavenly Terrace Peak”. Take a short hike to visit Ancient Lecture Temple, a small Tang Dynasty temple siting steep hillside, where Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is said to once chant Avatamsaka Sutra.
And then, hike upward to visit Tiantai Temple on the summit, the highest temple of Mount Jiuhua that has been visited by many famous monks, including Kim Qiaojue - the manifestation of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. Take your time to visit Wanfo Hall (Ten-Thousand Buddha Hall), Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Hall and Avalokitesvara Hall, trace footprints of master monks and absorb the strong Buddhist culture. The maintain top is still a wonderful location to catch a panoramic view of breathtaking natural scenery of Mount Jiuhua, including thin mist floating among gently rolling hills, grotesque pine trees growing on monstrous rocks and nearby Shiwang Peak - the highest peak of Mount Jiuhua (elevation: 1344.4 meters).
After the tour, you will be escorted to the airport or train station to catch your flight or train to next destination.
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Mount Jiuhua
Mount Jiuhua
Shanghai / Jiuhuashan / Huangshan
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