Fushan Scenic Area

　　Commonly known as Fucao Mountain, Fushan is located in Zongyang County, Anhui Province. It is a national geopark, a national forest park, and a scenic area of Anhui Province. Located at the exit of the Hefei–Huangshan Expressway, it covers an area of 19.1 square kilometers.

　　Fushan boasts beautiful scenery. Its unique geographical feature of being surrounded by water on three sides creates the extraordinary spectacle of a mountain floating on the water and the water seeming to float around the mountain. Fushan holds a prominent position in the history of Buddhist Zen. It has had a profound influence in overseas Chinese communities such as those in Southeast Asia. Fushan is not only a sacred Buddhist site with a thousand-year history but also one of the Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens of Taoism in China. Additionally, Fushan is a mountain of cultural significance, adorned with nearly 500 extremely precious cliff inscriptions left by literati and poets throughout the dynasties.

　　Fushan borders Baiyang Lake to the south, Caizi Lake to the west, and the Yangtze River to the north. The harmonious blend of mountains and waters gives it the appearance of a light boat floating on the surface, earning it the reputation of a "Penglai on the Sea." With its lush green hues, towering cliffs, perilous passes, and surrounding rivers and lakes, the scenery here is truly spectacular.

　　Fushan is an ancient volcano that has lain dormant for hundreds of millions of years, composed of sodium- and potassium-rich volcanic rocks. Despite natural transformations, it retains its integrity and typical features. This volcanic rock basin lies within the Lower Yangtze River volcanic belt between the Huaiyang Ancient Land, Zhangbaling Ancient Land, and Jiangnan Ancient Land.

　　Over a span of nearly 40 million years during the late Jurassic to early Cretaceous periods, approximately 140 to 100 million years ago, the volcano erupted multiple times, with one magmatic intrusion event occurring in between. These activities formed the unique volcanic landforms seen today. The resulting rocks make up the main attractions of Fushan—steep cliffs, overlapping peaks, caves, turtle-crack patterns, columnar joints, fumaroles, and more. Its geological structure is rare across the country and quite typical, making it one of the most representative areas of Mesozoic coarse-grained volcanic rocks in China. It can be called a natural volcanic geopark.

　　Fushan is also a renowned Buddhist mountain. As far back as the Jin and Liang dynasties (266–557 AD), temples were established here, then known as Fushan Temple. Later, during the Chen and Sui dynasties, Fushan became a significant site for the Tiantai sect of Buddhism under the master Zhiyi. During the Ning Tianxi era, the eminent monk Yuannlu from Zhengzhou resided here as abbot, becoming the first founding Zen master of Fushan. Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty bestowed upon him the title Master Yuange and named the temple Dahua Yan Temple. From then on, Fushan entered its golden age of Buddhism.

　　Fushan boasts extremely rich cultural landscapes. Countless notable figures, literati, and poets from various dynasties, such as Meng Jiao, Bai Juyi, Fan Zhongyan, Wang Anshi, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi, and Huang Tingjian from the Tang and Song dynasties, have all visited this place.