Wuquan Mountain 五泉山

About Wuquan Mountain

Wuquan Mountain (五泉山) is a hill of springs and temples in the south of Lanzhou (兰州), Gansu, at the north foot of Gaolan Mountain (皋兰山), laid out as Wuquan Mountain Park (五泉山公园) in Chengguan District (城关区).

The name means 'Five Springs Mountain', after five natural springs on its slopes, named Hui (惠), Meng (蒙), Mozi (摸子), Juyue (掬月) and Ganlu (甘露). A legend credits them to the Western Han general Huo Qubing (霍去病): his troops were parched and had found no water, so he drove his horsewhip into the ground five times and five springs came out. The mountain averages a little over 1,600 m above sea level.

Building on the mountain began in the Yuan dynasty, and the Ming, the Qing and the Republican period each added or repaired halls. The complex now counts 25 groups of buildings with about 10,000 square metres of floor space, among them more than ten Ming and Qing structures. The mountain became a public park in 1955, and in 2013 its buildings were placed in the seventh batch of nationally protected heritage sites (全国重点文物保护单位). The park is a national AAAA scenic area.

The buildings include Chongqing Temple (崇庆寺), Jingang Hall (金刚殿), Junyuan Temple (浚源寺) and Wenchang Palace (文昌宫), along with the Reclining Buddha Hall (卧佛殿), the Thousand Buddha Pavilion (千佛阁), the Wanyuan Pavilion (万源阁) and a wooden paifang archway (木牌坊). The park holds its yearly temple fair on the eighth of the fourth lunar month.

What to look for

• The five named springs that give the mountain its name
• Chongqing Temple (崇庆寺) and Jingang Hall (金刚殿), among the Ming and Qing buildings
• Junyuan Temple (浚源寺) and Wenchang Palace (文昌宫) building groups
• Reclining Buddha Hall (卧佛殿) and the Thousand Buddha Pavilion (千佛阁)
• Wanyuan Pavilion (万源阁) and the wooden paifang archway (木牌坊)
• The yearly temple fair, held on the eighth of the fourth lunar month

Location & getting there

Getting to Wuquan Mountain

• Search for 五泉山 with 兰州市 and 城关区.