Heze Mount Jin

　　      Known as the “Foremost Mountain at the Center of the World,” Mount Jin is a celebrated historical and cultural mountain, belonging to the Tai Mountain range. Legend says it is named one of the Three Sister Mountains along with Tai Mountain and Yi Mountain, and lies on the golden tourist route of “Mountains, Rivers, and Sages” in the Qi-Lu region.       With a long history and beautiful scenery, Mount Jin bursts with blooming flowers in spring, offers soothing pine waves in summer, perfumes the air with peonies in autumn, and is capped with snow-laden branches in winter. Numerous natural karst caves such as the Qilin Cave, Dragon-Tiger Cave, Golden Ox Cave, and Jade Rabbit Cave complement springs like the Virgin Mary Spring and Divine Water Spring. Among the Eight Scenic Spots of Juye, “Spring Dawn at Golden Scroll” and “Clouds and Rosy Clouds over Qin Cave” both originate from the abandoned cliff tombs of Liu He, the King of Changyi during the Han Dynasty, later referred to as the Qin King’s Summer Retreat Cave. During that time, the Liu-Deng Army commanded the famous Battle of Yangshan from this cave. In the third year of the Dading era of the Jin Dynasty, the emperor bestowed the title of Great Ming Chan Monastery upon this cave. Over the dynasties, literati and scholars left behind a wealth of precious poems and calligraphy on the cliffs, forming a magnificent tapestry of ancient and historical charm across the Qi-Lu lands. A Taoist temple, originally built during the Tang Dynasty (6th year of the reign of Emperor Yang, 592 AD), has been restored at the peak of North Mountain, creating a religious layout of Buddhism in the south and Taoism in the north, showcasing the splendid religious culture of Mount Jin. Mount Jin has been an ideal sacred site carefully cultivated by religious figures throughout history, as well as a strategic battleground fiercely contested in times of war.      The Mount Jin tourist area has restored major ancient architectural complexes such as the China Taoist Temple and Mount Jin Temple, on the premise of reviving historical landscapes. Attractions such as Mount Jin Water City, Fishing Pond, Liberation Pond, Sun-Moon Spring, Ethnic Culture Garden, Tourist Pool, Yao Pool, Wild Peony Area, and Qilin Culture Park further enrich the tourism offerings of Mount Jin, making it a comprehensive destination integrating leisure, entertainment, and vacation.

　　 Heze City, Shandong Province