Tiantai Temple

Tiantai Temple

Tiantai Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Tiantai Temple, also known as "Dizang Temple" or "Dizang Chan Temple," is located atop Tiantai Peak of Jiuhua Mountain, at an elevation of 1,306 meters, making it the highest temple on the mountain. Since Tiantai is a must-visit site for Buddhists paying homage to the sacred relics of Ksitigarbha, it is often regarded as the main peak of Jiuhua Mountain. There is a saying that "a trip to Jiuhua is wasted if you don't visit Tiantai."

Dizang Temple has a long history. It is said that during the Tang Dynasty, the monk Kim Kiaokak (known as Jin Dizang in Chinese) once lived here, leaving behind the relic site known as "Golden Immortal Cave." By the Song Dynasty, the eminent monk Zonggao described Tiantai Temple as: "Treading through Tiantai in silence, the toll of a single bell echoes across thousands of mountains." The temple was later destroyed. In the first year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1368), lay supporter Chen LüTai funded the reconstruction led by the abbot, Monk Zhao Lian. However, it remained very simple — just "a few thatched cottages with green grass." According to the *Jiuhua Mountain Annals*, the Ming Dynasty poet-monk Zhiren wrote the *Snowflakes Collection* while residing in this temple. During the late Ming and early Qing periods, the accomplished poet, calligrapher, and painter, Monk Mo’an, lived here for a long time, earning the temple the reputation of a "Poetry Temple." During the Jiajing era (1522–1566), the monk Xiyu patrolled and protected the mountain forests for decades, living to the remarkable age of 110. His story became widely known. In the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty (1662–1722), the monk Chenzi rebuilt the temple and named it "Hunmai'an" (Living Burial Hut). By the mid-Qing period, the 48 temples around Tiantai Peak had formed the "Eight Temples," enjoying flourishing incense offerings, which were all destroyed during the turmoil of the Xianfeng era. It was reconstructed in the 16th year of the Guangxu era (1890), and further renovated in 1920 by the then-abbot Chede, who restored the "Tiantai Zhengding" area, establishing the temple’s current scale. In 1921, Abbot Lantian renovated the stone path of Tiantai. In 1936, the Grand Lama Zhangjia Hutuktu bestowed a plaque, which has since been lost. Between 1939 and 1949, Abbot Yifang reorganized rituals and revitalized the temple's prestige.

In 1955, the Qingyang County People’s Government allocated funds for the Buddhist community to renovate Tiantai Temple. Originally a four-story wooden structure with connecting corridors, over time, moisture in the air and water from mountain springs caused severe rot in the ground floor’s flooring and pillars. To preserve the original appearance, the Jiuhua Mountain Management Office began renovations in 1980. Under extremely challenging construction conditions and using the most primitive transportation methods, they carried over 600 tons of construction materials up to Tiantai Peak. The ground floor’s wooden structure was replaced with concrete, while the upper three floors retained their original wooden style. This approach significantly extended the lifespan of the original architecture. In 1983, the Buddha statues were restored and gilded. The temple covers a built-up area of 1,500 square meters and has been designated by the State Council as a National Key Buddhist Temple in Han Chinese Regions.

From the Ancient Worship Terrace, after walking along a curved mountain path beneath the Ten Kings Peak and advancing along the Qinglong Back ridge below Longtou Peak, you will reach the Tiantai Zhengding (Main Summit). Before arriving at Tiantai Temple, when you look back from in front of the temple, you’ll see Longtou Peak on the left, Longzhu Peak on the right, and the Ten Kings Peak directly ahead. Below Longtou Peak lies the Qinglong Back, standing like a screen beside the temple gate and known as "Yuping Peak." Longzhu Peak, also called "Tiantai Ridge," features a large, perfectly round rock known as the "Dragon Pearl." Legend says Jiuhua Mountain is a "living dragon vein," with the Azure Dragon residing high here and this “Dragon Pearl” being its treasured plaything. The approaching Ten Kings Peak is referred to as the "Ten Kings Paying Homage to Ksitigarbha." On the cliff face in front of the temple are large cliff inscriptions such as “Not of This World.” The temple gate is located under the Immortal Crossing Bridge between Longtou Peak and Longzhu Peak. Ascending over ten steps from under the bridge leads you into the temple gate. The arch of the bridge bears the four large characters “Central Heavenly World.” The temple consists of three groups of residential-style halls. Nestled within a mountain hollow, the east side is shielded by the ridge (Qinglong Back), the south side uses Yuping Platform as a wall, while the west and north sides connect to prominent boulders. An eight-meter-high stone platform base is built on the depressed land to create a flat surface. The base of the halls is elevated, with water storage wells underneath. The entire structure takes advantage of the towering cliffs for concealment, offering protection from wind and cold while being very sturdy. The mountain gate is situated on the south side of the main hall’s gable wall — a 3.4-meter-diameter arched cave, 4.2 meters deep. Upon entering the gate and passing the statue of Maitreya, you’ll see three connected halls in a row — spacious, bright, and neat. The main hall (also called the Ten Thousand Buddhas Tower) is 10 meters wide and 13 meters deep, with various wooden Buddha statues hanging from the beams, blackened by incense smoke like cast iron.

Exiting through a small side door of the Maitreya Hall and ascending the ridge, you can see a huge recessed footprint on the rock, said to be the footprint of Dizang. A path leads to the Pengyue Pavilion. Built on Longzhu Peak, about one zhang high (approx. 3.3 meters) and hexagonal in shape, it was carved from granite in the second year of the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty (1737). The pavilion houses stone-carved Buddha statues and altars, with a stone incense burner in front. Nearby is a small platform surrounded by cliffs, protected by iron railings. A former official from Chizhou, Li Jianxi, wrote the *Praise of the Pengyue Pavilion*, describing the view from the platform as a place where one could “pluck stars and embrace the moon,” making it an ideal spot for moonrise viewing and cloud sea observation. About one foot below the railings, there is a "Monkey Stone" resembling a monkey climbing the mountain. A small gate behind the temple leads to the highest point on Tiantai — Yunxia (Cloud Gorge). Two huge rocks stand facing each other like a gate, allowing only one person to pass through. The right rock is inscribed vertically with the characters “Yunxia,” while the left is inscribed horizontally with “Sanxian Tian” (Three-Line Heaven). Watching the sunrise or cloud sea from here is extraordinarily magnificent. The "Tiantai Morning Sun" is one of the "Ten Scenic Views of Jiuhua."

On clear days, standing atop the cloud-covered peak before dawn and gazing eastward, you’ll see the morning star still shining as the first light appears. In the blink of an eye, the sun rises above the mountain, flooding the world with light and making all ninety-nine peaks clearly visible as if they were right before your eyes. Being there gives you the feeling described in the verse: “A lotus of peaks clusters myriad blooms in red; / A hundred-mile spring sun sweeps the morning wind. / Ninety lotuses laugh as one, / As people on Tiantai stand in the treasure light.”

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