Yaoshan stands at the eastern edge of the 800-li Funiu Mountain Range. It got its name when Liu Lei, the grandson of the ancient Emperor Yao, built a temple here in honor of the emperor, and it is also the birthplace of the Liu clan across China. The mountain features towering peaks, embodying the majestic grandeur of northern landscapes as well as the delicate beauty of southern scenery. Experts describe it as having “the peril of Mount Hua, the steepness of Mount Emei, the beauty of Zhangjiajie, and the elegance of Mount Huang.”
Located deep in the Funiu Mountains, the area suffered from poor transportation and isolation. Until the early 1990s, Yaoshan remained little known, and local residents barely scraped by on meager mountain farmland. Locals recall entire families living together in a single shed, sharing space and food with livestock.
In 1991, leaders from Lushan County came to Yaoshan Town for research and discovered its unique mountain, forest, and hot spring resources. The county government immediately organized efforts to attract investment for the project, inviting many entrepreneurs over time. However, the required investment of several billion scared off most.
In 1994, Li Liufa, Chairman of Tianrui Group, visited the area. Deeply moved by what he saw, he wept on the spot. Upon returning, he persuaded the board members of Tianrui Group and resolutely decided to invest in developing the scenic area, determined to lead the local people toward prosperity.
In 1995, Li Liufa established Tianrui Group Tourism Development Co., Ltd. and officially began the construction of the scenic area. He and his team discovered and developed attractions such as the 48 Generals Peaks, Green Dragon Back, and Red Maple Valley. After nearly 30 years of investment and development, Yaoshan Scenic Area now boasts multiple high-standard hiking trails and three cable cars. In 2003, it was officially rated as a AAAA-level scenic spot by the National Tourism Administration, and in 2011, it was upgraded to a AAAAA-level site. In 2012, it was recognized as a National Geopark.
By early 2014, Chairman Li Liufa had invested nearly 5 billion yuan in Yaoshan Scenic Area, restoring the thousand-year-old Foyan Temple at the mountain’s foot, building the Central Plains Grand Buddha, and developing the Liuyangshan Scenic Area...
Yaoshan Scenic Area features towering peaks, bizarre rocks, ancient pines, cascading waterfalls, flowing springs, wildflowers, red leaves, lakes, sea of clouds, rare animals, and numerous cultural attractions, forming a complete landscape system. It embodies “majesty, peril, beauty, wonder, and serenity,” and is hailed as the “Foremost Beauty of the Central Plains.”
The Central Plains Grand Buddha is the tallest in the world, standing at 208 meters—about the height of a 70-story skyscraper—and was crafted by Tianrui using their own casting technology.
Gazing up, amidst the misty clouds and encircling green waters, the solemn and serene Buddha exudes grandeur, seemingly emerging from the heavens, overlooking all other mountains. It is said that the statue used 3,300 tons of yellow and red copper, 108 kilograms of gold, and 15,500 tons of internal steel supports. In the future, within the near-10,000-square-meter spaces of the Diamond Throne and Lotus Throne, tens of thousands of uniquely posed guardian bodhisattvas, vajras, and arhats will be created. The sheer number, exquisite craftsmanship, and grand scale of this project will be unrivaled in the world.
According to Chen Lixin, Director of the Lushan County Tourism Bureau, in 2013, Yaoshan Scenic Area received 8.98 million visitors, generating tourism revenue alone of 2.52 billion yuan, making it a flagship of tourism in southwestern Henan. In the vision of Tianrui Group Chairman Li Liufa, however, Yaoshan is just getting started—it is set to become a world-class leisure resort destination and a global center for Buddhist culture.