Jiuhua Mountain Park

Jiuhua Mountain Park

Nanjing’s Jiuhua Mountain lies to the north of Xuanwu Lake, borders Taiping Gate to the east, neighbors the Terrace Wall to the west, and faces Jiming Temple by the Terrace Wall in the distance. The mountain is long and narrow, with a flat summit shaped like an overturned boat, hence its ancient name “Overturned Boat Mountain.” It was later renamed Zhenwu Mountain (due to its proximity to Zhenwu Lake, i.e., Xuanwu Lake), Long Mountain, and Xuanwu Mountain, among others. Moreover, because a small JiuHua Temple was built at the southern foot of the mountain, it also came to be known as Little Jiuhua Mountain, and is commonly referred to as Jiuhua Mountain.

During the Southern Dynasties, Overturned Boat Mountain was a thriving center of worship. In addition to the Small JiuHua Temple, there were once the Qingyuan Temple, 0 Temple, and Qingyuan Nunnery at the foot of the mountain. In the Yuanjia era of the Song Dynasty (424–453), the eminent monk Zhu Daosheng resided and practiced at Qingyuan Temple. One summer during his stay, lightning struck the temple, causing a dragon to ascend from the central Buddha hall into the sky, its light illuminating the western wall. As a result, Qingyuan Temple was renamed Longguang Temple. People lamented, “Now that the dragon has gone, so too must Zhu Daosheng.” Due to Overturned Boat Mountain’s superior geographical location, as early as the Eastern Jin Dynasty, China’s first imperial structure—the Northern Suburb Altar—was built on the southern side of the mountain. A medicinal herb garden was established there, cultivating peonies for use in the imperial palace. During the Yuanjia era, Emperor Wen of Song, Liu Yilong, consolidated the herb garden, West Pond, and Northern Suburb Altar into the Leyou Garden, which became a highly celebrated imperial garden during the Six Dynasties period.

During the Southern Dynasties, literati and nobles often held spring purification rites and banquets at Leyou Garden. Renowned literary figures such as Bao Zhao, Yan Yanzhi, Xie Lingyun, Fan Ye, Shen Yue, as well as the great Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai, visited the site to admire the scenery and left behind exquisite poems. “The rain ceases, the upper suburbs clear; clouds part, sunlight hangs mid-sky. Carriages glide past crimson halls; radiant beams gather in cool pavilions. Ascending high to reach flying pillars, chasing flames in flowing feasts. Reaching the garden, spirits abound; cliff gardens hide nature’s shifts. Brilliant light shines on the divine capital; lovely aura crowns the splendid land. Eyes gaze far, deep feelings expand; fine wine flows, grace spreads wide.” This excerpt from Bao Zhao’s poem “Poem in Attendance at the Feast on Overturned Boat Mountain” depicts the song and dance banquets held in the imperial garden. Furthermore, the famous scientist Zu Chongzhi once installed an ingenious and practical water-powered mill at Leyou Garden, created a “thousand-li-a-day chariot” driven by mechanical power, and improved the ancient south-pointing chariot.

Also due to Overturned Boat Mountain’s strategically important location—bordering the imperial palace to the west and the military stronghold Longwei Slope (now Fugui Mountain) to the east, both acting as barriers to the palace city—it became a fiercely contested military ground. Numerous major battles took place in this area during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, including the Su Jun Rebellion, Huan Xuan’s usurpation of the Jin throne, the Hou Jing Rebellion, and the Sui army’s crossing of the Yangtze River to attack Chen. The imperial garden Leyou Garden was burned down during the chaos of war. From the Sui, Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties onward, Overturned Boat Mountain lost its former glory, and its past splendor became a topic of mere discussion and reminiscence.

During the Republican era, Jiuhua Mountain once again captured public attention. In the early winter of 1942, Japanese invaders unearthed a stone casket at the ruins of the Three Treasures Pagoda at Dabao’en Temple on Rain Flower Terrace, which recorded the story of how the skull relic of the eminent Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang was brought to Nanjing for burial. The Japanese wanted to claim it as their own, but under protests from the people of Nanjing, they returned part of Xuanzang’s relics. In late 1943, the Wang puppet government built a brick pagoda on Jiuhua Mountain to enshrine Xuanzang’s skull relic, naming it the Three Treasures Pagoda.

Through the tides of history, by around 1949, Jiuhua Mountain had fallen into desolation—“dilapidated towers fail to detain guests, withering woods cannot withstand woodcutters.” To protect the scenic landscape and historic sites, the Nanjing Municipal People’s Government extensively planted trees on Jiuhua Mountain and established it as Jiuhua Mountain Park in 1956. In 1964, the garden authorities allocated funds to rebuild the Small JiuHua Temple, which had collapsed into ruins, but it was damaged again during the Cultural Revolution. Moreover, over time, the adjacent Ming city wall also suffered severe damage. In 1994, the Nanjing municipal government restored this section of the wall, followed by repairs to the stretch from the Terrace Wall to Taiping Gate. Since then, the Ming city wall has resembled a jade belt, linking heritage sites such as the Terrace Wall, Jiming Temple, Xuanwu Lake, Wumiao Sluice, and Jiuhua Mountain into a culturally rich golden tourist route.

Address: Beijing East Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing

Type: Urban park & temple

Recommended visiting time: 1–2 hours

Phone: 025-83612059

Opening hours:

8:00-17:00

Ticket information:

Door price: 10.0 RMB