PreeChina · City Guide
Chizhou
Home to Jiuhua Mountain — one of China’s four sacred Buddhist mountains, where 99 granite peaks shelter ancient temples and the presence of the Bodhisattva Dizang draws millions of pilgrims and travelers alike through mist, forest, and stone stairways worn smooth by a thousand years of devotion.
At a Glance
Chizhou Quick Facts
Why Chizhou
Why Visit Chizhou?
Chizhou is defined above all by Jiuhua Mountain (九华山) — one of China’s four sacred Buddhist mountains and the earthly domain of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva (Dizang Pusa in Chinese), the bodhisattva of the Earth Treasury who vows to remain in the world until all beings in hell have been liberated. This extraordinary vow has made Jiuhua Mountain the most important pilgrimage destination for prayers related to deceased ancestors and for merit-making on behalf of the dead — a role that gives the mountain a particular atmosphere of devotion, grief, and hope that differs fundamentally from the more aesthetically contemplative character of Wutai Mountain or the more warrior-fierce energy of Emei Mountain.
The mountain’s 99 granite peaks, rising to 1,342 meters in a landscape of great natural beauty, shelter over 70 monasteries and temples — some dating to the Tang Dynasty — connected by stone stairway trails worn smooth by pilgrims’ feet over 1,300 years. The combination of Buddhist devotion and mountain scenery is uniquely powerful: incense smoke drifting across granite peaks, monks chanting in temple courtyards cut into cliff faces, golden Buddhist statues gleaming against forested hillsides, and the sound of prayer bells carried on mountain wind.
The Qingliangfeng scenic area south of Jiuhua provides additional mountain scenery of great beauty — forests, waterfalls, and the Shiliang waterfall that Li Bai praised in a poem — while the Chizhou city waterfront on the Yangtze River and the ancient Qiuyue Pavilion add an urban cultural dimension to what is primarily a pilgrimage and nature destination.
Top Attractions
Best Attractions in Chizhou
Jiuhua Mountain (九华山)
One of China’s four sacred Buddhist mountains and the most important pilgrimage site for prayers related to deceased ancestors, Jiuhua Mountain rises in 99 granite peaks sheltering over 70 monasteries and temples connected by ancient stone stairways. The mountain’s religious significance centers on Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva — Dizang Pusa — whose vow to remain until all beings are liberated makes this mountain particularly important for ceremonies related to the dead and for merit-making on behalf of ancestors. The Huacheng Temple, Roushen Hall (containing the preserved body of monk Dizang Yinyuan, considered a physical manifestation of the Bodhisattva), and the summit Tiantai Temple are the three most visited sacred sites. Dawn at the mountain summit — with incense smoke rising from the temples below into the mist — is among the most atmospherically powerful experiences available in Chinese religious tourism.
Qingliangfeng & Shiliang Waterfall (清凉峰·石梁瀑布)
The Qingliangfeng scenic area south of Chizhou city provides a complementary natural experience to Jiuhua’s Buddhist landscape: dense forest, dramatic rock formations, and the Shiliang Waterfall — praised by Li Bai in a poem that made it one of the most celebrated waterfalls in Tang Dynasty literature. The waterfall plunges through a natural stone bridge (shiliang — “stone beam”) carved by the water over millennia, creating an arch of rock above the cascade. The surrounding forest, particularly beautiful in autumn, contains ancient trees of extraordinary size and provides hiking trails of varying difficulty through a landscape that feels genuinely wild despite its proximity to the pilgrimage mountain.
Qiuyue Pavilion (秋浦河·秋浦亭)
The Qiupu River flowing through Chizhou city was celebrated by Li Bai in a series of 17 poems — the “Qiupu Songs” (秋浦歌) — written during his stays in the region, making the river and its surrounding scenery one of the most literarily significant landscapes in Anhui Province. The Qiuyue Pavilion on the riverside preserves the site where Li Bai is said to have composed several of the poems, and the river itself — clear, willow-lined, and winding through a valley of considerable beauty — retains much of the character the poet described. The Chizhou city waterfront park along the Qiupu River provides pleasant walking with literary resonance for readers of Tang poetry.
Huacheng Temple & Roushen Hall (化城寺·肉身殿)
Jiuhua Mountain’s two most sacred sites: Huacheng Temple — the oldest and most historically significant monastery on the mountain, founded in the Tang Dynasty and rebuilt repeatedly over twelve centuries, whose large courtyard and ancient bell tower anchor the monastery town at the mountain’s center — and Roushen Hall, which houses the preserved body of the Korean monk Jin Qiaojue, who came to Jiuhua Mountain in 719 AD and whose physical remains, considered incorruptible and a manifestation of the Dizang Bodhisattva, are displayed for veneration behind a gilded shrine of considerable magnificence. Both sites are active places of pilgrimage and worship; the atmosphere of genuine devotion that surrounds them distinguishes them from more museumified religious heritage.
Eat Like a Local
Chizhou Food You Should Try
Jiuhua Mountain Buddhist Vegetarian Cuisine (九华山素斋)
The monasteries of Jiuhua Mountain have developed over 1,300 years a vegetarian cuisine of remarkable refinement — the consequence of Buddhist dietary restrictions applied to mountain ingredients of exceptional quality. Jiuhua Mountain’s most celebrated contribution to Chinese vegetarian cooking is the “Ground Ear” mushroom (地耳, a black wood ear fungus unique to the mountain), prepared in dishes that showcase its delicate, slightly gelatinous texture. The full vegetarian feast served at the Huacheng Temple and several mountain guesthouses includes wild mushroom broth, mountain tofu (made from local mountain spring water), braised bamboo with wood ear, and mountain herb stir-fries — a meal that transcends the limitations most Western visitors associate with vegetarian cuisine.
Chizhou Hairy Crab & River Fish (池州大闸蟹·河鲜)
The stretch of Yangtze River adjacent to Chizhou produces hairy crab and freshwater fish of good quality in the autumn season — the same cold, clean Yangtze water that characterizes the river’s middle reaches, producing crabs with golden roe of comparable richness to the more famous upstream sources. The Chizhou hairy crab is typically eaten at the same meal as freshwater mandarin fish (guiyu) from the Qiupu River — a combination that gives autumn dining in Chizhou a double seasonal pleasure. Both are available at riverside restaurants in the city center from October through November.
Jiuhua Ground Ear Mushroom (九华地耳)
The most specifically Jiuhua Mountain culinary product and one of the most genuinely unusual ingredients in Anhui cuisine: the “ground ear” (dizhi er, Nostoc commune) — a cyanobacterium colony that appears on the mountain’s rock surfaces and soil after rain, forming small, dark, gelatinous clusters with a mild, clean flavor and a delicate texture unlike any other fungus in Chinese cooking. Stir-fried with egg and scallion, or braised with tofu and ginger in the mountain vegetarian style, the Jiuhua ground ear is available only on the mountain itself and in specialist food shops in Chizhou city — a food experience genuinely irreproducible elsewhere.
Chizhou Sweet Potato Vermicelli (池州红薯粉丝)
The most widely eaten everyday food in Chizhou: thick sweet potato starch vermicelli, boiled until translucent and chewy, served in a clear pork bone broth with dried tofu, pickled vegetables, and chili oil. The Chizhou vermicelli is made from locally grown sweet potato starch using a hand-extrusion method that produces a noodle of slightly irregular diameter and exceptional chewiness; the texture is quite different from wheat noodles or thin rice noodles. Found at breakfast stalls and noodle shops throughout the city from early morning, it is the most honest and most affordable way to eat breakfast in Chizhou — the food that the mountain pilgrims and local workers eat before their day begins.
Immersive Experiences
Cultural Experiences in Chizhou
Jiuhua Mountain at Dawn
Wake before sunrise and walk the stone stairways as pilgrims light incense in the predawn mist — the most atmospheric and most devotionally charged time on China’s sacred mountain of the Earth Bodhisattva.
Roushen Hall Pilgrimage
Enter Roushen Hall where the preserved body of the Korean monk Jin Qiaojue — venerated as a physical manifestation of the Dizang Bodhisattva for 1,300 years — sits in gilded, meditative silence.
Shiliang Waterfall Hike
Walk to the Shiliang Waterfall where Li Bai composed his most celebrated Chizhou poem — water cascading through a natural stone arch in ancient forest, the landscape unchanged since the Tang Dynasty.
Temple Vegetarian Feast
Eat the full monastery vegetarian feast at Jiuhua Mountain — ground ear mushroom, mountain tofu, bamboo with wood ear, and wild herbs — a cuisine of 1,300 years refined by Buddhist cooks on a sacred mountain.
Qiupu River Literary Walk
Walk the willow-lined Qiupu River where Li Bai wrote his seventeen “Qiupu Songs” — the most specifically Chizhou literary landscape, in an autumn light that brings the Tang Dynasty poems to life.
Trip Planning
Best Time to Visit Chizhou
| Season | Highlights | Weather |
|---|---|---|
| 🌸 Spring (Apr–Jun) |
Jiuhua Mountain wildflowers; Buddhist pilgrimage most active; Qingliangfeng waterfalls at spring volume; Shiliang Waterfall most dramatic; Qiupu River most beautiful in fresh green; ground ear mushrooms emerge after spring rain | 8–22 °C (46–72 °F) in valley; cooler on summit. Mild with frequent mist — the most atmospheric season for the Buddhist mountain. Rain gear essential on the mountain. Spring mist creates the most otherworldly conditions at dawn. |
| ☀️ Summer (Jun–Aug) |
Jiuhua Mountain summer pilgrimage peak; waterfalls at maximum flow; mountain forest most lush; ground ear mushroom season; summer heat in the valley makes the mountain’s coolness particularly welcome | 24–34 °C (75–93 °F) in city; 16–24 °C on mountain. The mountain is dramatically cooler than Chizhou city — the primary summer escape in the area. Morning visits recommended; the monastery atmosphere is most peaceful before noon. |
| 🍂 Autumn (Sep–Nov) |
Best overall season; Jiuhua Mountain autumn foliage dramatic among granite peaks; hairy crab and river fish season; Qiupu River most beautiful in autumn light; Qingliangfeng forest most colorful; Buddhist ceremonies most numerous | 6–22 °C (43–72 °F). Crisp and clear. The finest season — the autumn forest on Jiuhua’s granite peaks rivals Huangshan in beauty while the hairy crab season adds culinary pleasure. October is particularly fine. |
| ❄️ Winter (Dec–Feb) |
Jiuhua Mountain under snow — one of the most spectacular winter Buddhist mountain landscapes in China; ice formations on waterfalls; monastery atmosphere most intimate; fewer pilgrims but more devout; sweet potato noodle breakfast most warming | 0–10 °C (32–50 °F) in city; below freezing on summit. Medium to heavy winter layers. Snow on Jiuhua Mountain — the granite peaks and temple roofs white, incense smoke rising into the cold — is genuinely extraordinary for those prepared for the conditions. |
Travel with Confidence
Why Choose PreeChina
Local Expert Guides
Our Chizhou specialists explain the significance of Dizang Bodhisattva with cultural and religious context that transforms a temple visit into a genuine encounter with Chinese Buddhist thought, and know the monastery guesthouse with the finest temple vegetarian breakfast.
Flexible Itineraries
Chizhou works as a 2-day standalone or as part of a southern Anhui Buddhist-literary circuit combining Chizhou, Huangshan, and Xuancheng — following the landscape that inspired a thousand years of Chinese religious and poetic imagination.
24/7 English Support
From first inquiry to final farewell, our English-speaking team is always available to assist, advise, and troubleshoot — before, during, and after your Chizhou journey.
Private Transportation
Comfortable vehicles for airport transfers and for reaching Jiuhua Mountain (50 km north), the Qingliangfeng scenic area, Shiliang Waterfall, and the Qiupu River walking routes across the prefecture.
Authentic Experiences
We arrange pre-dawn Jiuhua Mountain stairway walks, Roushen Hall guided visits, Shiliang Waterfall hikes with Li Bai poem readings, monastery vegetarian feast bookings, Qiupu River autumn literary walks, and hairy crab riverside dinners in October.
Plan Your Customized Trip to Chizhou
Tell us your interests, travel dates, and preferences, and our local Chizhou experts will design a personalized China journey into one of Buddhism’s most sacred and most beautiful mountain landscapes — just for you.
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