Lying 2.5 kilometers (1.55 miles) to the south of Jinan, Shandong
Province, the Thousand-Buddha Mountain is one of the key points
of interest in the city of Jinan. It is about 258 meters high
(846 feet) ranging from east to west. It has been constructed
into a park in1959 which occupies an area of about 166 hectare
(140 acres).
The mountain was called Mt. Li in ancient times. However, in
the early days of Sui Dynasty (581-618) a great many statues of
Buddha were chiseled on the rocks of the mountain and the Thousand-Buddha
Temple was built and soon became famous, so the name of the temple
was to become that of the mountain. There are many scenic spots
and historical relics distributed in the mountain. You can enjoy
the beautiful sceneries all along the way wandering up either
by foot or by bus.
The Thousand-Buddha Temple was renamed as Xingguo Temple after
reparation during Tang Dynasty (618-907). It is located at half
way of the mountain, leaning against the cliff on the south and
overlooking the Jinan City on the north. There are the Daxiong
Baodian, Kwan-yin Hall, the Laughing Buddha Hall and Duihua Kiosk
distributed in the temple. Four seal characters carved on the
cliff southwest of the temple is a celebrated stone inscription
in the city of Jinan. The Lishan Courtyard, to the east of the
temple, where you can see Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism harmonize
with each other in one courtyard. The Shun Temple, the Luban Temple,
the Wenchang Pavilion and the Yilan Kiosk are to be found in it.
More than 130 statures of Buddha carved in the Sui Dynasty are
bearded on the south side of the mountain. And the cliff holds
four caves abreast from west to east, namely Longquan Cave, Jile
Cave, Qianlou Cave and lvzu Cave.
The Wanfo Cave (about 500 meters (1,640feet) long) was constructed
in the north side of the mountain which draws elite of the four
famous grottoes in China (The
Mogao Caves, The
Longmen Grottoes, The
Yungang Caves and The
Maiji Caves. About 23,000 pieces of statues in designs of
Buddha, Bodhisattva, Disciples and Guardian Kings, etc. fully
reveal the superb workmanship of sculpture in the Northern Wei
Dynasty (386-534), the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
Besides, the famous Shandong Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery for
Revolution of 1911 is situated in the east side of the mountain.
Built in 1934, the cemetery was put under the provincial protection
in1979.
The Park of Thousand-Buddha Mountain was listed as one of the
Seven Beauty Spots of Shandong Province in1995. Great efforts
have been made to add many scenic spots such as water pull, gardens
and ropeways, etc. in recent years.