Lotus Mountain in Panyu

Lotus Mountain in Panyu

Lotus Mountain in Panyu is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a patriotic education base.

The Lotus Mountain Scenic Area is located in the eastern suburbs of Panyu City, about 20 kilometers from downtown Guangzhou. Originally named "Shi Shitou" (Stone Lion Head), Lotus Mountain was an ancient stone quarry. It earned its name because the stones left after quarrying resembled lotus flowers emerging from water. As early as the Western Han Dynasty, local people extensively mined stones here, creating steep cliffs and peculiar rock caves such as Lotus Stone, Swallow Rock, Eight Immortals Rock, Lotus Rock, Guanyin Rock, Flying Eagle Rock, South Heaven Gate, and Fairy Bridge.

Carved stroke by stroke by ancient laborers and shaped by over two thousand years of natural weathering, the site truly presents a magnificent array of forms—towering and majestic, making it a great "ancient stone carving monument."

On the mountain, there are historical sites such as the Lotus Tower, built in the 40th year of the Wanli era during the Ming Dynasty (1612), known as the "Provincial Capital's Ornamental Pillar," and the Lotus City, constructed in the 3rd year of the Kangxi era during the Qing Dynasty (1664). These are listed as key cultural relics protection units at both the provincial and municipal levels.

The 40.88-meter-tall Guanyin statue overlooking the sea, built in 1994, is cast from 120 tons of bronze and covered with 180 taels of gold. It is currently the tallest open-air Guanyin statue in the world and is a renowned artistic treasure. The Lotus City has now been turned into a Qing-style military camp replica, where visitors can overlook the magnificent and vast Pearl River scenery from the city walls.

Every year, the area also hosts Peach Blossom Festival and Lotus Flower Festival, featuring flower exhibitions and attracting tourists with sightseeing, artistry, and educational elements.

The Lotus Mountain Tourist Area offers resort hotels with elegant environments and advanced facilities, as well as comfortable restaurants, dance halls, barbecue areas, and shopping streets. There are also large amusement projects such as a water park and performance halls. The shuttle buses and magnetic card telephone booths installed within the area in 1996 have further elevated the level of services.

The ancient Lotus Mountain Quarry is located in Lotus Mountain Town in the eastern part of Panyu City, Guangdong Province, and is a historical quarry site in the Lingnan region with a history of two thousand years.

The ancient quarry was in operation from the early Western Han Dynasty until the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty. The stone materials for the tomb of the Nanyue King from the Western Han Dynasty were quarried from Lotus Mountain. It consists of over 40 hills of varying sizes, covering an area of more than 300,000 square meters. The quarry used a cutting-style rock-drilling method, leaving behind quarry faces with an average height of 25 meters, reaching up to 40 meters at the highest point, and extending 13 meters below ground at its deepest. The quarry still preserves stone pillars, stone slabs, and a large amount of stone material that could not be transported away from ancient times.

The “Panyu County Annals” record that in the 7th year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (1579) and the 29th year of the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty (1764), there were stone inscriptions banning quarrying. In 1983, Xia Nai, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, inspected the painted stone-chambered tomb of the Nanyue King discovered at Xianggang and visited the quarry, later inscribing the words “Lotus Mountain Ancient Quarry Site.”

The Institute of Geological New Technology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences compared the stone materials from the Nanyue King’s tomb with those from ancient quarries and rocks in the nearby suburbs of Guangzhou, Nanhai Xiqiao Mountain, and Sanshui, based on lithological composition, petrological characteristics, degree of weathering, rock genesis, and time period. They confirmed that the main stone materials for the Nanyue King’s tomb were quarried from Lotus Mountain. Thus, the quarrying period of this site has been traced back to the early Western Han Dynasty.

The ancient Lotus Mountain Quarry has a long history, a massive scale, and its quarried stone materials were distributed as far as various locations across Guangdong. It holds high value for tourism and scientific research.

The Panyu Lotus Tower, originally named the Wenchang Tower, is located on Lotus Mountain in Panyu District, Guangzhou. According to the “Panyu County Annals” from the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty: “In the Ming Dynasty, some people including Pang Duan Ye Shengyuan from Nanhai falsely claimed tax rights over the mountain, opened commercial quarries, damaged the land veins, and brought misfortune upon culture and education. In the 40th year of the Wanli era (1612), local scholars Li Weifeng, Liu Ruxing, Lin Yanshu, Cui Zhixing, and Liang Ying reported to the authorities to seal the site. They rebuilt a stupa on it, now called the Shili Tower.” Because the tower stands majestically at the mouth of the Pearl River, incoming ships used it as a navigational marker.

The tower has an octagonal floor plan, built with blue bricks, and is a pavilion-style tower with inner turns. It appears to have nine stories from the outside but actually has 11 levels inside, standing 48 meters tall. Each level’s terrace and eaves are cantilevered using dentil bricks. Columns, beams, and lintels are all painted vermilion red. The outer side of the first level is 3.6 meters long, and the inner side is 1.24 meters long, with a door set in the northwest direction. Each level has a taper, with decreasing height and width. The inner brick staircase is 0.73 meters wide and spirals upward. Each level has vents for air circulation and lighting. The original floors of each level were made of fir wood.

Time Needed for Visit

2 hours

Transportation

Drive yourself, or take Metro Line 4 to Shiqi Station in the city, then transfer to Panyu Bus 92 Long Route and get off at Shilou Police Station Stop before walking to the site.

Ticket

Admission: 50 RMB/person; sightseeing vehicle within the scenic area: 10 RMB/person/trip; Flying Eagle Rock Tunnel: 1 RMB/person/trip; ascending Lotus Tower: 2 RMB/person/trip

Opening Hours

Open all day

Location

Lotus Mountain Town, Panyu, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

Address: No. 18, Ximen Road, Shilou Town, Panyu District

Lotus Mountain Community: Lotus Mountain Community…… More details about Lotus Mountain Community++