Pingshan Nantai Reclining Buddha Mountain

The Nantai Reclining Buddha Scenic Area is located at the junction of Guangdong, Fujian, and Jiangxi provinces, 4 kilometers from Pingshan County and 40 kilometers from Meizhou City. The scenic area is built around the Danxia landform of Nantai Mountain National Forest Park and the wonder of the "World’s Largest Natural Reclining Buddha," serving as an emerging eco-tourism resort that integrates sightseeing, vacationing, leisure entertainment, and ecological wellness.

After 18 months of research by staff from the Guangdong Nantai Mountain Forest Park Management Office, it was discovered that the natural reclining Buddha within Guangdong Nantai Mountain Forest Park, located in the southwestern suburbs of Pingshan County, is the largest natural "reclining Buddha" found to date. Stretching from the Buddha’s head in Guangdong all the way to its feet in Jiangxi, it is truly a miraculous landscape.

The Nantai Reclining Buddha is a famous natural landmark in Pingshan County. Leveraging the Danxia cliffs and the wonder of the "World’s Largest Natural Reclining Buddha" in Nantai Mountain National Forest Park, the scenic area has been developed into an emerging eco-tourism resort featuring Hakka cultural elements, integrating sightseeing, vacationing, leisure entertainment, and ecological wellness. It includes popular attractions such as a glass walkway and a "sky mirror."

The Reclining Buddha is a stone figure formed by three mountains embracing it, resembling a majestic Buddha lying atop a massive rock. With a serene smile on its face, the reclining Buddha appears as a gigantic natural statue when viewed from afar, spanning over a thousand meters in both length and width.

On the hills of Dananshan Town in Pingshan County, there are several spots where the Reclining Buddha can be seen, including its highest point—the Half-Mountain Buddha; the "Three Buddhas Cave" on the right side of the Reclining Buddha; and the "Reclining Buddha Temple" next to the cave. Most of these locations offer views of the stone Buddha seated atop a massive rock.

Legend has it that in ancient times, a monk named Taiping traveled to this region and discovered a black serpent spirit causing havoc, harming the locals—not only devouring livestock and destroying crops but also demanding a pair of boy and girl infants as offerings each year, bringing immense suffering to the people. Determined to rid them of this menace, Monk Taiping broke his vow of non-violence, fought the serpent spirit for forty-nine days, and ultimately slew it. He then moved a pointed mountain to bury the serpent to the east. Thousands of years later, the serpent’s body turned into black gold. During the battle, the monk’s right hand was bitten off by the serpent and fell in Chagan Town in northern Pingshan, transforming into the majestic Wuzhi Stone, now a provincial AAA-level tourist attraction. His blood splashed across Rezhe and Shizheng in the south, forming high-quality hot springs for future generations to heal and cure ailments. Exhausted from the fight, Monk Taiping collapsed and never rose again. Buddha Sakyamuni, recognizing his virtuous deeds, transformed him into a disciple of Buddhism, instructing bodhisattvas to plant mandala flowers (camellias) around him to ensure his eternal peace and protection of the land. The Jade Emperor, acknowledging his merit in saving the people, ordered the deified Laojun to turn his physical body into stone for the public to worship. A stone dragon was also dispatched to lie beside him on the right to guard the great Buddha and serve as a sacred worship site (now known as Shilongzhai). Hence, there’s a local saying in Pingshan: “Pingshan is a wonderful place where you dance with dragons and accompany Buddhas.”

After transforming into the stone Buddha, Monk Taiping’s life essence lives on amidst the green mountains and clear waters. His righteous spirit ensures that no natural or man-made disasters dare to harm Pingshan, turning it into a blessed land with favorable weather, prosperity, and flourishing population.

“Like rain and clouds paying homage to Mount Tai, myriad households worship the Buddha like a living deity.” Spring, summer, and autumn are the best seasons to view the sea of clouds at Nantai Reclining Buddha Mountain. For a close-up view of the Reclining Buddha, the summit of Shilongzhai on the western side of Nantai Reclining Buddha Forest Park is the ideal vantage point. Buddhist experts have confirmed that the Nantai Reclining Buddha is an incarnation of Amitabha Buddha. When viewed from the west, it resembles a triad of connected Buddhas: Amitabha Buddha, the Eastern Medicine Buddha, and Sakyamuni Buddha. The surrounding rolling hills take on countless forms as if in worship, making it a unique spectacle in the world.

"The World’s Largest Natural Reclining Buddha"

This is the renowned World’s Largest Natural Reclining Buddha. Globally, other well-known natural reclining Buddhas include: the one in Danxia Mountain, Shaoguan, Guangdong, approximately 3,000 meters long; the Leshan Giant Reclining Buddha in Sichuan, which is 1,300 meters long—with the Leshan Giant Buddha situated at its heart; and the Bamiyan Western Great Reclining Buddha in Afghanistan, 300 meters long and 55 meters high. In contrast, the Nantai Reclining Buddha is formed by the continuous stretch of Nantai Mountain, Qingyun Mountain, and Zilin Mountain. It spans over 5,200 meters in length, 1,000 meters in width, with a volume exceeding 1 billion cubic meters and an estimated total weight of over 2 billion tons. Its elevation reaches 643 meters, with a relative height of 430 meters—making it 1,200 meters longer and 110 meters taller than the previously recognized world’s largest natural reclining Buddha, the "Mao Gongshan Reclining Buddha" in Baoguo Farm, Hainan Province (approximately 4,000 meters long and 320 meters high). The Nantai Mountain Natural Reclining Buddha itself is over 5,000 meters long, 1,000 meters wide, with its head and chest rising over 400 meters high. Its volume surpasses 1 billion cubic meters, with an estimated weight of over 2 billion tons. The contours of each part of the Buddha’s body are distinct and well-proportioned. Peacefully reclining atop the mountain range, the Buddha stands out in terms of length, width, height, and volume.