Jiuhua Mountain Grand Vow Cultural Park

Jiuhua Mountain Grand Vow Cultural Park

Jiuhua Mountain Grand Vow Cultural Park is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a cultural tourism site.

Jiuhua Mountain Grand Vow Cultural Park: The vision of building the grand Grand Vow Buddha statue began in 1995, received project approval in 1998, broke ground on September 9, 1999, and underwent planning and expansion in 2002. After 17 years, in July 2012, it finally unveiled its solemn and sacred presence to the world. This magnificent bronze statue marks a significant milestone in the Buddhist history of Jiuhua Mountain, China, and even the world. It is an eternal endeavor to glorify the land and bring benefit to all beings, and represents a major achievement in Chinese religious art.

Covering an area of over 1,500 acres, Jiuhua Mountain Grand Vow Cultural Park is a theme park specifically dedicated to promoting the Grand Vow culture of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha. It consists of four sections: “Aspiring to Ksitigarbha,” “Approaching Ksitigarbha,” “Praising Ksitigarbha,” and “Paying Homage to Ksitigarbha.”

During your visit, you will find it interesting that our Grand Vow Cultural Park boasts nine “World Records” and nine “Ksitigarbha Mysteries.” I will explain these nine “World Records” and nine “Ksitigarbha Mysteries” one by one later.

Our Grand Vow Cultural Park is located in Ke Village at the foot of Jiuhua Mountain. Both in its outward appearance and inner essence, it is inseparable from Jiuhua Mountain, sharing the same mountain and spiritual lineage.

The beautiful and mystical Jiuhua Mountain is a national scenic area, known as the “Sacred Realm of the Spirit Mountain, the Lotus Land of Buddhism,” and honored as the “Foremost Mountain of Southeast China.” It is one of China’s Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains, renowned both at home and abroad.

In the historical development of Jiuhua Mountain, two figures stand out: the great Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai, and the Korean prince Jin Qiaojue, who incarnated as Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha in Jiuhua Mountain. Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha is the central figure of our “Buddhist Pilgrimage Tour,” and the Grand Vow culture is the core content of our visit.

Let’s first talk about Li Bai. Jiuhua Mountain was formerly called “Lingyang Mountain.” In the eighth year of the Tianbao era of the Tang Dynasty (749 AD), over 1,200 years ago, the great poet Li Bai visited Jiuzi Mountain (Nine Peaks Mountain). Seeing “peaks thousands of feet high, with nine summits resembling lotus flowers,” he was inspired to write the lines, “The divine energy splits into two, the sacred mountain opens into Jiuhua.” Since then, “Jiuzi Mountain” has been renamed “Jiuhua Mountain.” A single word worth a thousand pieces of gold, immortalized through the ages.

Now let’s talk about Jin Qiaojue. In the seventh year of the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty (719 AD), about 1,290 years ago, the 24-year-old Jin Qiaojue, a close relative of the royal family of the Silla Kingdom (ancient Korea), arrived in China by sea with his divine dog “Diting.” After many twists and turns, he eventually settled on Jiuhua Mountain. In the tenth year of the Zhenyuan era of the Tang Dynasty (794 AD), Jin Qiaojue passed away. Three years later, his body was found to be “soft-limbed, with bones making sounds, and his face as lifelike as in life, earning the title of ‘flesh-body.’” The monks on the mountain regarded him as a manifestation of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha. Because his secular surname was “Jin” and his Dharma name was Ksitigarbha, he became known as “Jin Qiaojue” (Golden Ksitigarbha). Since then, Jiuhua Mountain has been established as the sacred site of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, with incense burning continuously for a thousand years.

From the name “Jiuhua Mountain Grand Vow Cultural Park,” it is not hard to see that Jiuhua Mountain combines both natural and cultural tourism resources. Its cultural tourism resources mainly refer to the Grand Vow culture of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha.

The “Grand Vow Culture” refers to the “Ksitigarbha Culture,” embodying the great vow spirit of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha: “Not attaining Buddhahood until all beings are saved, not becoming a Buddha until hell is empty.” Jiuhua Mountain Grand Vow Cultural Park is a major international Buddhist site that centrally showcases the Ksitigarbha culture of Jiuhua Mountain.