Beijiuhua Mount Fucha

Beijiuhua Mount Fucha

Mount Fucha, commonly known as Anhui’s North Jiuhua, is located in Feidong County, Anhui Province. As an extension of the Dabie Mountains, Mount Fucha features undulating peaks covered in lush greenery that stretch over 20 li, with its main peak rising 418.1 meters above sea level — the highest in the Hefei area. Around the main peak are nine smaller peaks resembling nine dragons leaping, each with its own unique shape.

Mount Fucha boasts strikingly rugged rocks, elegant pines and cypresses, misty clouds, and a serene, picturesque landscape. At its summit are two springs, one clear and one white, hanging side by side. Their water levels remain stable — they never dry up during droughts or overflow during heavy rains, and the supply seems inexhaustible.

The name of Mount Fucha comes from a folk legend. According to "Records of the Investigation of Things": “The Heavenly River connects with the sea. In recent times, there has been a floating raft that travels back and forth every August, never missing its schedule.” Legend has it that during the Long’an era of the Jin Dynasty, Kim Qiao Jue, a close relative of the king of Silla, asked his cousin the Jade Emperor for an official position but was refused. Enraged, he lost his composure and accidentally fell to Earth. Jumping to his feet, he tried to climb onto a floating raft to return to the heavens. At that moment, nine dragons were drinking water on the raft, their tails intertwined in the middle, so the Earth Store Bodhisattva had no choice but to sit on the tail of one of the dragons. Unable to bear the weight, the dragons fled toward the Southern Heavenly Gate. Upon hearing this, the Jade Emperor ordered them to be struck dead by lightning. Instantly, the raft turned into a mountain, and the nine dragons became nine peaks. Since then, the Earth Store Bodhisattva has meditated here, establishing a sacred site and promoting Buddhism.

Though not as large as famous mountains like Huangshan, Taishan, or Huashan, Mount Fucha is renowned throughout history for its Milky Spring, exquisite rock formations, and grand temple.

At the summit of Qidu Peak on Mount Fucha stand two spring pools side by side. The northern pool is deep and clear, called Hequan (Union Spring); the southern pool is shallow and murky, called Chaquan (Nest Spring). There are more than 30 uniquely shaped rocks on Mount Fucha, each named after its appearance and serving as a scenic spot. On the southern mountain, there is a turtle-shaped rock called Golden Turtle Gazing at the Sea; a drum-shaped rock named Resounding Drum Shaking the Heavens; and a dragon-head-shaped rock with two eye-like protrusions that constantly flow with water, named White Dragon’s Tearful Eyes. The rocks on the northern mountain are even more peculiar: one rock is shaped like a large boat, over 10 meters long and 4 meters wide — when pushed by one person or even a group, it rocks as if on water.

It is said that this was the little boat used by the Jade Emperor’s 3-year-old son, Golden Child, when he descended to the mortal realm; another rock is about 20 meters high and roughly 15 meters long and wide, with its southern end indented in the middle while raised on both sides, resembling a chair. In front of the Immortal’s Seat is a small rock called the Foot-Stool Rock, and behind the seat is a concave rock called the Immortal’s Basin — legend says the Queen Mother once bathed in it; another rock lies flat and smooth, resembling a chessboard with faintly visible boundaries of the Chu and Han territories. It is said that the Star Lords of the Southern and Northern Dippers once played chess on this rock while traveling the world.

The base of the Chessboard Rock consists of more than ten large slabs of stone in various shapes, forming a wonderful scene together. Two towering rock walls reveal a sliver of sky, allowing one person to climb up to the top of the Chessboard along the crevice between them — this is called the “One-Line Sky.”