Mount Jiuhua(九华山)Ladies and gentlemen，Today，accompanied by the sunshine in early morning, we are going to pay a visit to Mount Jiuhua. First allow me to briefly introduce Mount Jiuhua. Mount Jiuhua is located in southwestern Qingyang County, Anhui Province. It combines Buddhist culture with beautiful scenery and ancient temples, and it is one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains in China.Mount Jiuhhua has 99 peaks surrounding its summit, Shiwang Peak, which is 1,342 meters high. Mount Jiuhua has a long history of religious culture, with Taoism preceding Buddhism. Among the more than eighty temples still standing today, Huacheng, Ganlu, Tiantai, and Qiyuan Temples, Roushen Hall, and Zhantan Froest are the best preserved. The architectural style is distinguished by its free and vivid design mixing Buddhist temples and local residences in the mountain region. There are not only big temples of a grand scale and strict style, but also small quiet temples made up of one room and one hall.Mount Jiuhua is a special place of Buddhist worship where religious rites are held for the worship of Ksitigarbha, known in Chinese as Dzng (地藏)，who is a Bodhisattva and protector of souls in hell in the Mahayana Buddhist traditionIt is recorded that during the Tang Dynasty，Jin Qiaojue，the near clan of the King of Koyro Kingdom，or present day Korea, came to China and practiced Buddhism in MtJiuhua until he died at the age of 99, much like the famous Buddhist sage，Ksitigarbha，so he is regarded as the Ksitigarbha BodhisattvaSince a grave tower was built to bury him on Shenguang Ridge，it became the place for worshiping KsitigarbhaThe tower is always filled with incense smoke and every year，a temple fair is held lasting 10 daysThe fair has been included in nation-wide touring programs and welcomes manydomestic and foreign pilgrimsToday，due to limited time，we are just going to visit Jiuhua Street and Tiantai Scenic AreaJiuhua Street Scenic AreaNow we are walking on the Jiuhua StreetIt is located in a spacious area at the foot of Furong Peak 600 meters，above sea level and surrounded by mountains，which serves as Mount Jiuhuas reception centerTemples，local residences，and shops are mixed together on Jiuhua street，and monks，nuns，pilgrims，visitors and the local inhabitants wander around here all dayQiyuan TempleWhat we see now is Qiyuan Temple，which is also called Qiyuan Buddhist Temple. It wasoriginally built in the Ming DynastyThe structure of the buildings resembles those of a palace complex；however，unlike the buildings in a palace complex，they are not symmetrically laid outIndeed，even the gate is slanting to one sidePlease look at the aisle in front of the temple； it has a relief sculpture of lotus with the pattern of ancient coins engraved on it，symbolizing the holy trace of SakyamuniEntering the gate，you can see two Buddhist warriors on the two sides with frightening facial expressionsIn the middle is the statue of Linguan，the judge，with a wide-open eye on his forehead and a long whip in his hand. Linguan was originally a god of Taosim, but why did he come into a Buddhist temple? It is said that one day，when Vitasoka，the protector of Ksitigarbha went out to inspect the mountain，a scholar who was a non-believer of Buddhism thrust an iron needle at the leg of Ksitigarbha to see if he was realSeeing the blood oozing from the leg of Ksitigarbha，the scholar was scared and hurried down the mountainWhen Vitasoka came back and was told about it，he chased the scholar in spite of Ksitigarbhas stopping，and beat the scholar to death with one whip at Wuxi BridgeKsitigarbha was rather angry，for the monks should be merciful，so he dismissed Vitasoka and asked Lingguan to take his placeToday，the relics of the scholar s tomb at Wuxi Bridge can be the proof for the legend.Roushen HallWe are now in the famous Roushen HallMore than 1200 years ago，the eminent monk Jin Qiaojue used to chant sutra and sit in meditation On Shenguang RidgeWhen he died，he sat in a vat and was placed in NantaiAs the ground shone magically，it was renamed Shenguang (Magic Shine) RidgeThree years later，the vat was openedHis body was still soft，his face was still lively and his bones sounded clearly when shaken. As the Buddhist sutra showed，he was the reincarnation of Buddha，so he was honored Ksitigarbha and a high hall and a wooden pagoda were built to protect him，which was named Roushen (incarnation) HallThe structure of a pagoda inside a hall, a vat inside the pagoda，and an incarnated body inside the vat is unique.Tiantai Scenic AreaWeve arrived at Tiantai Scenic Area. Tiantai Scenic Areas is situated southeast of Mount Jiuhua where most of the high peaks gather. Tiantai Peak is 1,325 meters high, making it a little lower than Shiwang Peak. But it is always been regarded as the center of the high peaks because of its many scenic sights and ancient temples. Starting from Minyuan to Tiantai, youll enjoy var