Fanjing Mountain

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Overview

Fanjing Mountain is the main peak of Wuling Mountains, and also the symbol of Wuling Mountains. The main peak, Hongyun Jinding, is 2336 meters above sea level, and the highest peak, Phoenix Mountain, is 2572 meters above sea level. It is the fifth largest Buddhist mountain in China as well as the Dojo of Buddhist Maitreya Bodhisattva, and it is also a nature reserve.

The total area of Fanjing Mountain is 567 square kilometers, the heritage area is 402.75 square kilometers, and the buffer area is 372.39 square kilometers. The main protection objects are rare wild animals and plants such as golden monkey, Davidia involucrata, and native forest ecosystems.

On July 2, 2018, Fanjing Mountain was included in the World Natural Heritage List.

Location

Fanjing Mountain is located in the middle of Tongren City, at the junction of Yinjiang County, Jiangkou County, and Songtao County (southwest) of Tongren City of Guizhou Province. It is close to Yinjiang County, southeast of Jiangkou County, and southwest of Songtao County. It is 80 kilometers away from Tongren city and 460 kilometers away from Guiyang, the provincial capital. It is 430 kilometers from Fanjing Mountain to Huangguoshu Waterfall, about 8 hours’ drive

Topography

Fanjing Mountain is the first peak on the transitional slope of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau to the hills of western Hunan (the altitude difference between the foot and the top of the mountain is 2,000 meters).

It is also the watershed between Wujiang River and Yuanjiang River, and also the highest peak of the Wuling Mountains (East Extension of Yunwu Mountains) in the four provinces (regions) of Guizhou, Chongqing, Hunan and Hubei, with an altitude of 2572 meters.

Fanjing Mountain is an ancient area south of the Yellow River in China that was first raised from the ocean to land.

Fanjing Mountain has undergone many structural changes during the long geological years, and the orogeny of the Mesozoic Era.

After that, it has been in a strong uplift area rising from the ground to become the top of Wuling Mountain.

Climate

The area of Fanjing Mountain is controlled by the Southeast Asian Pacific monsoon and belongs to a subtropical humid monsoon climate zone.

In summer, it is significantly affected by the southeast ocean monsoon. In winter, it is generally less affected by the cold wave.

The annual average temperature of Fanjing Mountain is 13℃ to 15℃, the average temperature of the hottest month (July) is 25℃, and the average temperature of the coldest month (February) is 2℃.

The temperature decreases as the terrain increases. The annual frost-free period is 270-278 days, the annual sunshine hours are 900-1170 hours, and the annual precipitation is between 1100-2600 mm.

The precipitation seasons are concentrated in May to October, with an average relative humidity of 80%.

Divided by thermal zones, there are obvious vertical band spectra. From the foot to the top of the mountain, there are the mid-subtropical, northern subtropical, southern temperate, and mid-temperate zones. In general, it features mild climate, sufficient light energy, abundant rainfall, and no severe cold and heat.

Legendary story

“Journey to the West”, one of China’s four great masterpieces, has it that when the monk Tang and his disciples were passing through this place. Due to the high mountain, the horse’s foot was tripped, that was, several stacks of scriptures fell from the horse’s back, forming the peaks on Fanjing Mountain, which is what people call the “ten thousand books”.

“Mushroom Stone” is shaped like a stack of scriptures, and its opposite Fanjing Mountain secondary peak “Red Cloud Golden Summit” emerges from Fanjing Mountain, straight into the sky, protruding 100 meters from the ground. There are two temples on the top, namely Maitreya Buddha Hall and Sakyamuni Hall. It is said that the Buddha came to the world through this top. As long as you climb to the top of the Red Cloud Buddha and worship the Buddha, you can share peace in the world.

Buddhist culture

In the Song Dynasty (AD 960 – AD 1279), Buddhism was officially introduced to the area of Fanjing Mountain.

In the early Northern Song Dynasty (965 AD), a monastery-Xiyan Temple was built in Siqiong County (now the suburb of Yinjiang County) to the west of Fanjing Mountain. It is considered to be the ancestral temple of Fanjing Mountain Buddhism. It was rebuilt many times, and later it was destroyed during the “Cultural Revolution”

Fanjing Mountain is the Maitreya Bodhisattva Dojo. It has the largest Maitreya Golden Buddha across China. It is an equally importance Buddhist mountain together with Wutai Mountain (Manjusri Bodhisattva Dojo), Mount Emei (Samantabhadra Bodhisattva Dojo), Jiuhua Mountain (Ksitigarbha Dojo), Putuo Mountain (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Dojo)

Historically, an area of several hundred square kilometers of Fanjing Mountain was filled with temples, and there were “forty-eight nunneries” in the foothills of the main peak of Fanjing Mountain alone.

Each of the four main roads that went up the mountain had an imperial temple granted by the govrenment at that time. With “Tianma Temple” in the east, “Bamei Temple” in the south, “Huguo Temple” in the west, and “Tianqing Temple” in the north, collectively referred to as the “Four Imperial Temples.”

Therefore, the ancient stele built by the emperor’s edict in the forty-sixth year of Wanli Year of Ming Dynasty (AD 1618) called Fanjing Moutnain “The ancestry of all mountains”.

Historical evolution

Fanjing Mountain is a famous cultural mountain with a history of more than 2,000 years in southwest China.

As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period (from 722 BC to 481 BC), Fanjing Mountain belonged to the “Central Guizhou Region” of the Chu Kingdom.

Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC), it belonged to “Qianzhong County”,

In the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD), it belonged to the “Wuling County”, and had been the sacred mountain that being worshipped by local “Wuling People” ever since.

From the Longqing period to the middle Wanli period of Ming Dynasty (AD 1567-AD 1588), After the Ming government suppressed the “Lar Mountain Miao Uprising” east of Fanjing Mountain, “The Southern Great Wall” began to be built in this area, and carried out the first reconstruction of the destroyed Fanjingshan Buddhism

In the twenty-seventh year of Wanli of Ming Dynasty (AD 1599), Yang Yinglong, the chieftain of Bozhou, Guizhou, rebelled, damaging Fanjing.

In the forty-sixth year of Wanli of Ming Dynasty (AD 1618), the Buddhist monks rebuilt temples in Fanjing mountain

During Wanli of Ming Dynasty (AD 1563 – AD1620) and Kangxi of Qing Dynasty (AD 1654 – AD1722), Fanjing Mountain was sealed twice, and the “Dusiyamen” was set up in order to to protect it in the late Qing Dynasty.

During Daoguang Period of Qing Dynasty (AD 1822-AD 1832), Fanjing Mountain was rebuilt for the fourth time

In the fifth year the Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty (1881 AD), Fanjing Mountain was severely damaged by the war. The local governor asked to exercise military control over Fanjing Mountain to effectively prevent the recurrence of chaos and ensure the normal worship activities on Fanjing Mountain.

Around the 22nd year of Guangxu iof Qing Dynasty (AD 1896), the fifth reconstruction of Fanjing Mountain was completed.

Fanjing Mount Data

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How to get to there

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By bus

There are buses to Tongren City every day from Changsha, Zhangjiajie, Changde, Jishou, and Fenghuang in Hunan.

In peak season, there are multiple buses to Fanjing Mountain from Tongren North Bus Station (200 meters in front of Tongren Railway Station).

In the off-season, you need to take a bus to Jiangkou Bus Station, then transfer to Fanjing Mountain

By train

Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Ningbo have departure trains passing through Tongren every day;

Guangzhou, Changsha, and Guilin have departure trains passing through Tongren every day;

Departure trains from Chengdu and Chongqing to Tongren every day;

At the exit of Tongren Railway Station, there is a bus to Fanjing Mountain.

Tongren Railway Station

Add: No. 1 Qingshui North Road, Tongren City
Phone: +86 856 520-6288

By flight

There are daily flights from Guiyang, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other places to Tongren Phoenix Airport. The airport is 21 kilometers away from the downtown area of Tongren and it takes less than half an hour to arrive by car. The fare of the airport shuttle bus is 15 yuan per person

From Tongren Airport, take the Fanjingshan Tourist Line to Fanjingshan Scenic Area. There are 2 daily departures with rate of 50 RMB/pp. The departure time is determined by the arrival of flights

Tongren Phoenix Airport

Add: Songtao Miao Autonomous County, Tongren City
Phone number: +86 856 593-8080
IATA: TEN
Altitude: 686 meters