Liuding Mountain 六鼎山

About Liuding Mountain

Zhengjue Temple and the large hilltop Jinding Buddha dominate the visitor experience, while the royal tomb area gives the hills a separate historical importance. These layers should not be confused: the monumental statue and current religious park are modern developments around a landscape with ancient remains. A focused temple-and-statue route is the clearest introduction, with archaeological access checked separately.

Liuding Mountain lies about 5 km south of Dunhua, on the right bank of the Mudan River. It consists of six separate hilltops arrayed from east to west, the highest reaching 603 meters above sea level. A 48-meter statue of the Buddha stands facing south on one of the peaks, next to a large monastery.

Ancient tombs on the mountain served as the graveyard of the royal family of the Balhae kingdom. Yanbian University, the Jilin Provincial Museum and the Archaeology Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences excavated them in 1949, 1959 and 1964, uncovering more than 90 tombs, including that of Princess Zhenhui, a daughter of Mun of Balhae. Built of basalt and fulgurite, the tomb yielded pottery, gold-plated copper jewellery and jade, along with a tombstone measuring 90 by 49 by 29 centimeters bearing an epigraph of more than 700 Chinese characters, evidence that the Balhae kingdom used Chinese characters.

What to look for

• Zhengjue Temple and the hilltop Jinding Buddha overlooking the southern Dunhua landscape.
• The Buddhist art facilities and the wider setting of the protected Balhae royal tomb area.

Location & getting there

Getting to Liuding Mountain

Approach Liuding Mountain south of Dunhua, on the southern side of the Mudan River in the Jiangnan Town area. Use the main visitor-service entrance and confirm internal connections to the temple and Buddha.