Sanqing Blessed Land

Sanqing Blessed Land

Sanqing Blessed Land is one of the central and most essential scenic areas of Mount Sanqing. It is a concentrated hub of Taoist cultural and historical landmarks on the mountain. Complementing and enhancing Mount Sanqing’s status as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site, it adds further splendor to this already magnificent landscape, making it one of China’s rare and precious cultural heritage treasures among the nation’s great mountains and rivers. It is hailed as the “Open-Air Taoist Museum of China.” The area sits at an elevation of over 1,500 meters, covering a total area of approximately 20,000 square meters.

Sanqing Blessed Land is located in the central part of Mount Sanqing, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site and a National Key Scenic Area in China. It lies within a high-altitude basin at around 1,550 meters above sea level. It is about 600 meters east of the East Sea Scenic Area, adjacent to the West Sea Scenic Area to the west, approximately 3 kilometers south of the South Qingyuan Scenic Area, around 2.3 kilometers north of Fengmen, and about 2 kilometers southeast of the Yujing Peak Scenic Area.

Nestled within a high-altitude basin surrounded by mountains on three sides and open on one, with Tiger Head Mountain lying to the north and Nine Dragons Mountain coiling to the west, and featuring three large natural reservoirs spanning an area of 6,000 square meters, Sanqing Blessed Land is naturally formed amid this extraordinary landscape. Here, the granite peak forest stands majestically, glacial relics showcase remarkable wonders, and the dense forests and high elevation offer crisp, refreshing air. In spring and summer, the mountains are ablaze with vibrant azaleas, while autumn and winter bring evergreen pines, cypresses, and dark bamboo. On clear days, the skies are a brilliant blue, and during misty rains, the Blessed Land is shrouded in a dreamlike veil of clouds and fog. At dawn and dusk, swaying pines seem to echo the calls of phoenixes and cranes, while sweet springs murmur softly. Throughout the day, ancient temples remain serene with faint traces of incense lingering in the air; over the years, peaks stretch into the azure sky, reflecting in surrounding lakes, as mountains embrace waters and celestial mists drift mysteriously. Being here truly feels like standing in a heavenly jade mountain or an earthly paradise. Since ancient times, it has been praised as: “The peerless blessed land untouched by worldly clamor, the foremost immortal peak of the south soaring above the clouds.”

During the Eastern Jin Dynasty's Taiping era, the renowned Taoist and pharmacologist Ge Hong, along with Minister Li, built a hermitage here to refine elixirs and practice Taoism. The Tang Dynasty saw the construction of the Old Man Temple, and the Yuan Dynasty brought the Sanqing Temple. In the Ming Dynasty, Zhan Biyun from Chuzhou, Fengyang Prefecture, arrived at Sanqing Blessed Land during the Jingtai era to serve as the abbot of Sanqing Palace. He personally planned the layout, harmonizing the natural landscape with Taoist philosophy—merging the pre-heaven Eight Trigrams of Fuxi and the post-heaven Eight Trigrams of King Wen into the blessed land, transferring the celestial Big Dipper star chart to Mount Sanqing, and designating scenic spots throughout the area. Through relief carvings and stone inscriptions, he constructed numerous structures including the Dragon-Tiger Hall, the Supervisory Office, the Preaching Hall, the Nine Heavens Response Hall, Zhan Biyun’s Bamboo Retreat, the Heavenly Gate Pillar, the Heavenly Gate Archway, the Wind-Thunder Tower, the “Gate of Myriad Wonders Thousand-Step Gate,” and the “Gate of Emptiness Hundred-Step Gate.” He also relocated and rebuilt the Sanqing Temple on the turtle-back rock at the mouth of Nine Dragons Mountain, transforming it into Sanqing Palace, and erected a Sanqing Palace memorial archway in front of it.

Additionally, along the ancient stone stairway stretching seven kilometers from Jinsha at the eastern foot of Mount Sanqing and Fen Shui at the northern foot, all the way to Sanqing Blessed Land and up to Yujing Peak, stone carvings were built into the sheer granite cliffs on both sides. These include more than 260 structures such as temples, gateways, archways, stone figures, Taoist deities, stone dragons, stone tigers, couplets, inscriptions, and stone tombs—all carved uniformly from granite. This forms a grand Sanqing Blessed Land layout with Jinsha and Fen Shui as supporting flanks, centering on Sanqing Blessed Land. It transforms the area into a mystical Taoist Eight Trigrams labyrinth, blending an enigmatic Taoist architectural system with that of imperial mausoleums into one sacred mountain blessed land—an earthly paradise.

Chen Yunhe wrote in a poem: “Could it be that the gardens of the Ninth Heaven have moved to Sanqing Blessed Land? Or has Sanqing Blessed Land entered the gardens of the Ninth Heaven? The Ninth Heaven and Sanqing, the Blessed Land and the garden—merged into one earthly paradise. Ancient pines, temples, stone pagodas, and carvings all reveal their charm once more in this wind-gathering, energy-holding wilderness. Ingenious conception and exquisite layout forever belong to this treasure bowl of crafted masterpieces.” The Sanqing Blessed Land scenic area is primarily characterized by Taoist cultural landmarks, complementing the natural heritage landscapes of the southern scenic area. Together, they create the unparalleled and extraordinary beauty of Mount Sanqing—a fusion of cultural magnificence and natural wonder.

Suggested Duration

2 hours

Transportation

Take the cable car from the southern part of Mount Sanqing and walk along the West Sea Scenic Area to get there.

Ticket

Included in the Mount Sanqing scenic area ticket.

Opening Hours

Peak Season (Feb 1 – Dec 31): Monday–Friday 8:00–17:00, Saturday & Sunday 7:30–17:30; Off-Season (Jan 1–Jan 31): 8:30–16:30

Location

Sanqing Mountain, Yushan County, Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province

Sanqing Palace Scenic Area

Guanyin Appreciating Music on Mount Sanqing

Jade Maiden Bursting with Laughter

Jinsha Cable Car

Sunshine Coast Scenic Area

Three Cave Entrances of Mount Sanqing

Ladder Cloud Ridge

South Qingyuan

Yujing Peak

Yuling Temple on Mount Sanqing

Shigu Ridge

Xihuatai on Mount Sanqing

West Coast

Old Taoist Worshiping the Moon on Mount Sanqing

Longevity Garden Scenic Area

Goddess of Spring

Giant Python Emerging from the Mountain