Mount Luofu 罗浮山

About Mount Luofu

Around Chongxu Temple, places associated with the Daoist scholar Ge Hong include an alchemical furnace site, a washing pool and a well. They are cultural remains and named memorial features, not evidence for the healing claims sometimes attached to the mountain. The wooded setting and flowing water connect the buildings to their landscape. Keep this lower circuit distinct from the exposed ascent towards Feiyun Peak.

According to local tradition, noted in a later commentary on the Book of the Later Han, the mountain formed when 'Luo Mountain' and 'Fu Mountain' arrived by sea from Kuaiji and fused, giving the name Luofu. Geologists date its formation to about eighty million years ago, when local faulting uplifted a granite body under compression, later eroded by wind and rain into today's jagged peaks.

The mountain has 432 named peaks; the highest, Feiyun Peak (飞云峰), rises to 1,296 meters. More than 980 waterfalls and springs are recorded, including the Zhuoxi Spring (卓锡泉), esteemed by the Song-dynasty writer Su Dongpo (苏东坡), who also wrote an essay titled 'Shu Zhuoxi Quan' (书卓锡泉). Eighteen large grottoes, called dongtian, and seventy-two smaller ones are also counted on the mountain, with Zhuming Cave (朱明洞) the largest.

Mount Luofu lies on the north bank of the Dongjiang, spanning Boluo, Longmen and Zengcheng with an area of more than 260 square kilometers, and straddles the Tropic of Cancer within a subtropical monsoon climate; vegetation changes with elevation from evergreen broadleaf forest at the base to shrub and meadow near the summit. It is a National Key Scenic Area (国家重点风景名胜区) and one of China's ten great Daoist mountains, and more than 1,200 species of medicinal plants grow there, supporting local products such as Luofushan Baicao oil.

What to look for

• Chongxu Temple forms the architectural centre of the lower religious area.
• The named furnace site, washing pool and well recall Ge Hong’s alchemical tradition.

Location & getting there

Getting to Mount Luofu

Head to the Zhu Ming Dong visitor area in Changning Town, Boluo County, and use the named ticket-office/entrance approach for Chongxu Temple. This is the southern visitor cluster, not every temple across the wider Luofu massif. Confirm the day’s designated parking and transfer arrangements.