Qingyuan Mountain

Qingyuan Mountain

Qingyuan Mountain is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

Qingyuan Mountain is located in the southern part of Hedong Township, Ji'an City, just 10 kilometers from the city center and close to the train station, allowing visitors to head straight for sightseeing upon arrival. With an elevation of 320 meters, the mountain features undulating peaks stretching over 10 kilometers. It boasts lush ancient trees, fragrant exotic flowers, crystal-clear springs, and emerald peaks, each offering its own unique charm. There are more than 30 pools, springs, streams, and gorges, including waterfalls such as Snow Spray, Tiger Run, Pearl, and Triple Waterfall, all cascading through dense forests. Climbing peaks like Tianyue, Furong, Cuiping, and Huagai reveals towering, majestic summits with picturesque beauty. The area is covered with ancient trees, offers stunning scenery, a tranquil environment, and a pleasant climate, earning it the reputation of “the foremost scenic mountain in Jiangxi.”

Since the Tang Dynasty, Qingyuan Mountain has been a sacred Buddhist site. Among the nationally protected key temples is Jingju Temple, situated in the mountain. Covering an area of about 10,000 square meters, the temple complex includes the Heavenly King Hall, Mahavira Hall, and Guanyin Pavilion. The entire temple is majestic and splendidly golden, with a well-planned and exquisitely delicate layout, representing a uniquely Jiangnan-style ancient temple.

In the second year of the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty (714 AD), Hui Neng, the Sixth Patriarch of the Southern School of Buddhism, sent his disciple Xing Si from Nanhua Temple on Caoxi Mountain in Shaoguan, Guangdong, to establish a Buddhist hall here. Xing Si attracted many monks and preached the Southern School’s “Sudden Enlightenment” doctrine. For a time, the mountain flourished as a place of worship and became a sacred Buddhist destination in southern China. Qingyuan Mountain is also a renowned cultural mountain known far and wide. The Qingyuan Guildhall, standing alongside Jingju Temple, was one of the earliest academies in Jizhou Prefecture and once served as a nationally famous lecture hall for Neo-Confucianism. Since the Tang and Song dynasties, numerous scholars and literati have visited—some to enjoy the scenery, explore antiquities, give lectures, or teach students, while others came to study diligently. The great Tang Dynasty calligrapher Yan Zhenqing, Song Dynasty poets Huang Tingjian and Yang Wanli, Chancellor Li Gang, scholars Hu Quan and Zhou Bida, national hero Wen Tianwu, Ming Dynasty Grand Secretaries Xie Jin and Yang Shiqi, Neo-Confucianists Wang Yangming and Zou Yuanbiao, geographer Luo Hongxian, traveler Xu Xiake, and scholars Fang Yizhi and Shi Runzhang, among others, all left behind valuable calligraphy and widely celebrated poems and essays. The Qingyuan Mountain Annals alone collects over 500 such literary works, which still shine brightly today.

Qingyuan Mountain has been home to numerous temples since ancient times, with Jingju Temple being the most famous. The earliest academy in Ji'an, Qingyuan Academy (later renamed Yangming Academy), was also located here. Scholars and literati throughout the ages have been drawn to the mountain to worship, give lectures, teach students, and compose poetry, leaving behind many precious works of calligraphy. The Qingyuan Annals alone contains over 500 poems and essays. Stone inscriptions of calligraphy by Yan Zhenqing, Huang Tingjian, Yang Wanli, Wang Shouren, and Wen Tianxiang are especially treasured as mountain treasures. Today, the mountain features historic sites for visitors to explore, including Jingju Temple, the Pagoda of the Seventh Patriarch, the Flying Pagoda, the Ancestral Pass, the Moon-Waiting Bridge, the Wind-Welcoming Bridge, the Dragon Pool, Tiger Run Spring, and the Sword-Testing Stone.

Jingju Temple was built in the first year of the Shenlong era of the Tang Dynasty (705 AD), originally named “An’yin Temple.” In the fourth year of the Chongning era of the Song Dynasty (1105 AD), it was renamed to its current title. The Seventh Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, Xing Si, a native of Luling, received the true teachings of the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng at Nanhua Temple on Caoxi Mountain in Shaoguan (now Guangdong). In the first year of the Shenlong era of the Tang Dynasty, he came to Qingyuan Mountain to establish the temple, gather followers, spread Buddhist teachings, and develop the Southern Chan Buddhism Qingyuan lineage—one of the two major lineages of the Southern School. It later evolved into the Caodong, Yunmen, and Fayan schools, exerting influence as far as Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

Jingju Temple has experienced multiple cycles of prosperity and decline throughout history but has been restored in recent years. It now features a group of Ming Dynasty buildings with a distinctive Jiangnan courtyard style, grand and magnificent. The horizontal plaque above the temple gate bears the three characters “Qingyuan Mountain”

written by Wen Tianxiang, exuding a commanding sense of righteousness. Along the central axis are, in sequence, the Mountain Gate, Mahavira Hall, and Pilu Pavilion. The Mahavira Hall is surrounded by pools on all sides, connected by arched bridges; the side rooms include the Buddha-Chanting Hall, Yaoshu Hall, and monks’ quarters; there are also the Ksitigarbha Hall and Scripture Depository, among others. At the mountain pass in front of the temple stands a stone memorial archway inscribed with the two characters “Ancestral Pass,” written by Yan Zhenqing, while on the mountain behind lies the Pagoda of the Seventh Patriarch, commemorating the Chan Master Xing. Both are must-visit sites.

Scenic Spot Location

County Road 742, Qingyuan District, Ji'an City, Jiangxi Province, China