These small Buddhas are waiting to be placed in a repainted 10,000 Buddha Hall at Tiantai Temple on Jiuhuashan, Anhui. The highest temple (though not the highest peak) on Jiuhua, Tiantaisi is said to be where the Korean monk Jin Qiaojue built his hut when he came up the mountain to practice in 719.
Posted to Reddit and Bluesky, August 14, 2025
I had started my morning by climbing up to Roushen Dian on Jiuhuashan, Anhui. On the opposite descent, I stopped in at Shangchantang Temple. When I reached the courtyard of tiny Jingjie Jingshi, it was fairly crowded--a sign I was nearing the main road at bottom of the trail.
Posted to Reddit and Bluesky, August 13, 2025
A newly-carved Dizang (Kshitigarbha Bodhisattva) and his freshly-primed attendants at Guanyin Feng Temple on Jiuhuashan, Anhui. One can see this when starting down the trail from Gu Baijing Tai (below Tiantai Temple) to Huiju Temple at the bottom of the mountain.
Posted to Reddit and Bluesky, July 25, 2025
China's four Buddhist mountains have their "main attractions," the big temples that everyone wants to visit. But one of the best things about these places is the general atmosphere. Coming down from a "big temple" on Jiuhuashan, Anhui, I saw humble little Jingtu Nunnery next to my hotel.
Posted to Reddit and Bluesky, July 22, 2025
The "Heaven Bridge" which lent its name to Tianqiao Temple on Jiuhuashan, Anhui. The 4-5km trail down from Tiantai Temple, the highest on Jiuhuashan, crosses this "bridge" right in front of the temple; I took the photo from farther down. Formerly made of wood, it was rebuilt with stone in 1985.
Posted to Reddit and Bluesky, July 1, 2025
The "apricot-colored" gate of tiny Long (Dragon) Nunnery on Jiuhuashan, Anhui, a "dwarf" across from the massive Zhantanlin across the street. Founded as a monastery in the Ming, it became a nunnery in the Qing. It now houses a Burmese jade statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, moved here from nearby Huacheng Temple (the mountain's oldest) in 1995.
Posted to Reddit and Bluesky, June 30, 2025
This carving is in native rock inside the main hall at Chaoyang Nunnery on Jiuhuashan, Anhui. "华佛普照" might be read something like, "The splendid Buddha shines everywhere." The second character is unusual; the phrase is more often seen as "华光普照," perhaps "Splendid Light Shines Everywhere."
Posted to Reddit and Bluesky, June 9, 2025
A large elephant statue at Zhantanlin Temple on Jiuhuashan, Anhui. In the Buddhist context elephants may symbolize strength, patience, loyalty and wisdom. The Buddha's mother dreamed of a white elephant before his birth; and he tamed the wild elephant Nalagiri, set on him by his cousin Devadatta.
Posted to Reddit and Bluesky, June 8, 2025
The doorway was all I saw of the "ancient cave" called Changsheng Gudong (长生古洞) as I trudged down from Tiantai Temple on Jiuhuashan, Anhui. I passed (but did not enter) around a half-dozen establishments, many of them nunneries, on the four to five kilometer trek.
Posted to Reddit et al, May 17, 2025
Two monks chat in the second-floor window of the 500 Arhats' Hall at Baisuigong Temple on Jiuhuashan, Anhui. The temple is said to have been home to a monk that lived to be 126! Hence the name, which means "100 Year Palace."
Posted to Reddit et al, May 16, 2025
