Luohan Rock

Luohan Rock

Luohan Rock is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

Luohan Rock is located to the north of Ruijin City, under the jurisdiction of Rentian Town. The scenic area is about 20 kilometers from the city center, with convenient transportation and a direct tourist road leading to the mountain foot. Covering an area of over 10 square kilometers and sitting at an elevation of more than 500 meters, the site features Danxia landform.

Luohan Rock boasts remarkably beautiful scenery. Here, water and mountains complement each other, with mirror-like pools, steep cliffs, and oddly shaped rocks. Especially during spring and summer, the landscape is further adorned with blooming wildflowers, fluttering butterflies, and rainbows reflected on shimmering lakes—a seamless natural painting. The area’s exceptional natural beauty has attracted countless literati throughout history. Su Dongpo, a great scholar of the Song Dynasty, visited here during his exile in the south and praised its scenery immensely. Wang Mingyang, a talented poet of the Ming Dynasty, was also captivated by the mountain’s charm and left behind many verses of admiration. One of his poems reads: “Of the ancient Eight Scenic Spots of the Mian River, renowned across the land, none surpass the colors of Chen Stone. After seeing them, even Huangshan loses its wonder in my heart.” In the poem, “Chen Stone” is another name for Luohan Rock.

The miraculous forces of nature have created countless famous mountains and rivers. Luohan Rock Scenic Area, located about 30 kilometers east of Ruijin City, is a masterpiece meticulously crafted by nature over millennia.

Though not one of China’s Five Great Mountains, Luohan Rock presents different wonders in each season: In spring, tender grass greets the sunlight, flowers begin to bloom, trees sprout fresh green leaves, and birds chirp while bees and butterflies flutter among the blossoms—springtime on the mountain feels like a homecoming. In summer, a riot of colorful blooms competes for attention; the dense greenery glistens with moisture, silver springs sparkle as they cascade, and the cool shade of leaves offers a refreshing retreat—summer on the mountain is lush and verdant. In autumn, the peaks remain dotted with greenery and flowers, set against an endless blue sky, as if freshly washed. In winter, howling mountain winds rustle through the forests, sometimes accompanied by thick clouds and snowfall, turning the peaks into jade-like stalagmites and the woods into a silver-clad wonderland—winter on the mountain is serene as if asleep.

Recognized as one of Jiangxi Province’s Top Ten Famous Mountains, Luohan Rock not only blends Buddhism and Confucianism but also embodies grandeur, uniqueness, and beauty. It is celebrated across China for its mystical morning mists, steep and spectacular mountain formations, majestic waterfalls, crystal-clear springs, and picturesque ecological environment.

The mystical morning mists take the mountain as their body, and the mountain wears the clouds as its garment. The mists of Luohan Rock take on countless forms and are ever-changing. When the morning bell of Haiyun Temple awakens the mountains from their slumber, a veil of light fog drifts together to form a vast sea of mist, dreamlike and surreal. Standing atop the mountain, the obscured landscape and hazy woods create an illusion of floating amidst the clouds. As the sun rises, the scene suddenly brightens—the forests glow like brocades, the trees are bathed in rosy light, and layers of green, in varying shades, stretch as far as the eye can see. Throughout Chinese literary history, poets and writers have penned countless verses about these morning mists. A Qing Dynasty litterateur once spent ten days admiring the mists here without tiring, describing them as “white as snow, soft as cotton, shiny as silver, vast as the sea, thin as purple silk, moving like smoke, and still as silk.” Legend has it that the renowned writer and then-Magistrate of Ruijin, Yun Jing, even claimed to have heard “the sound of the mist” one misty morning. Through the ages, the morning mists of Luohan Rock have enchanted and captivated countless visitors.

Luohan Rock is not particularly high in elevation. The area features a typical subtropical monsoon humid climate with abundant rainfall. Coupled with its dense greenery and well-preserved vegetation, many ancient trees have survived to this day. Two large reservoirs built in the mid-20th century—the Ridong and Chenshi Reservoirs—are connected and resemble two gourds hanging from the mainstream of the Mian River, providing ample water to the scenic area. In recent years, additional man-made lakes have further enhanced its beauty. Hence, the prevalence of thick mist is one of its defining characteristics.

The uniquely shaped and steep mountain peaks of Luohan Rock are widely famed. Candle Peak is a prime example of the area’s peculiar rock formations. With a diameter of just over 20 meters and a height of about 90 meters, it stands isolated, surrounded by cliffs and unconnected to any other peak—it’s a marvel to imagine how nature “sculpted” it. Even more astonishingly, the peak is topped with a thousand-year-old, robust maple tree. It’s remarkable how the tree has thrived despite harsh conditions such as drought, wind, rain, and lightning. When the breeze blows, the maple sways gently, resembling the flickering flame of a candle. Bees buzz around its branches, busily making honey. In golden autumn, the fiery red leaves resemble a lit candlewick. The Qing Dynasty writer Zou Yuanlin once composed an antithetical couplet about Candle Peak, the first line of which remains unmatched to this day: “Candle Peak, atop which grows a maple; bees build their nest, and wind closes the flap of leaves.” For this reason, Candle Peak, standing prominently at the entrance, has become the symbol of Luohan Rock. Climbing to the highest peak—Luohan Summit—you’ll encounter even more extraordinary rock formations: some resembling embracing lovers, others like hunched elders, meditating monks, or airborne pen racks—an endless feast for the eyes.

The graceful and powerful waterfalls Past the Sword-Testing Stone and through the Waist-Supporting Rock, you’ll gradually hear the sound of rushing water. Upon reaching the top of the stone steps beneath Candle Peak, you’ll suddenly be greeted by a curtain of waterfall cascading down before you—this is the famed Horse-Tail Waterfall of Luohan Rock. Looking up at the waterfall, the silvery rush of water seems to leap from the sky, its form strikingly similar to the flowing tail of a galloping horse—graceful yet forceful.

To the right of Horse-Tail Waterfall lies the Luohan Rock Cave, which can accommodate thousands of people. Ahead and above the cave entrance is another waterfall, equally famous as Horse-Tail—“Rice-Sieve Water.” The two waterfalls form a strategic pair. This waterfall is delicate and uniform, much like white rice sifted through a traditional southern “rice sieve,” hence its name. When a breeze passes, the fine droplets drift down like scattered rice, bringing waves of refreshing coolness. Viewing these two nearly 100-meter-high waterfalls—one swift, the other gentle; one strong, the other soft—from across the cliff is truly a marvel of nature’s craftsmanship.

The crystal-clear and charming springs Another highlight of Luohan Rock is its springs. According to geologists, there is an underground river here that connects directly to Fujian Province, indicating abundant high-quality groundwater reserves.

Address: Rentian Town, Ruijin City, Ganzhou

Type: Mountain

Opening Hours:

8:00–17:30

Rentian Town: Rentian Town is a National Key Town, one of Jiangxi Province’s Top 100 Central Towns, and a Model Town of Ganzhou. Located in the northeastern part of Ruijin City, at the foot of Lotus Mountain in the central section of the Wuyi Mountain Range and within the ecological reserve at the source of the Gan River, it borders Shicheng County and Ningdu County, and neighbors Ridong Township, Yeping Township, Huangbai Township, and Dabaodi Township. National Highway 206 runs through the town, which lies 15 kilometers from the urban center and 6 kilometers from the Ruijin East Expressway exit. The town covers a total area of 168 square kilometers, including 153,600 mu of forested land and 28,540 mu of arable land. It administers neighborhoods and villages including Xiajie, Qinglong, Fenggang, Chefeng, Hengkeng... More detailed information about Rentian Town++