Qianfo Mountain Scenic Spot

Qianfo Mountain Scenic Spot [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Qianfo Mountain Scenic Spot, or Thousand Buddha Mountain, is located in the southern part of Jinan city, capital of Shandong province in East China. Honored as the "city balcony", a "natural oxygen bar" and an "eco-Eden", the spot is a place where people can relax and enjoy entertainment.

Occupying 152 hectares, the mountain is 285 meters high. It was originally named Lishan Mountain and Shun Farming Mountain because the legendary emperor in ancient China, Shun, once ploughed the land at the foot of the mountain. It got its current name in the Sui Dynasty (581-618) when a great number of Buddha sculptures were carved along the mountain range. In 1959, a park was built at the scenic spot which was listed as a State-level scenic spot in 2017.

The spot boasts rolling mountains which was described as being like a screen stretching for 5 kilometers by Liu E, a writer of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in his work, The Travels of Lao Ts'an.

As well as its impressive ecological environment, Qianfo Mountain boasts a long history, a profound Buddhist culture and rich folk culture. There are a temple, stone carvings and other relics related to Emperor Shun. Visitors to the spot can admire the exquisite Buddha figures and stone carvings while enjoying picturesque views of ancient trees, gorgeous flowers and rolling mountains.

The mountain also features traditional folk culture, such as the temple fair held on the third day of the third month in the lunar calendar and the Double Nine Festival that falls on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. Local people are also fond of taking exercise in the mountains.