Jinshan Hill 金山

About Jinshan Hill

Juye County occupies the ground of the Western Han kingdom of Changyi, whose capital stood at Changyiji in the county. Liu He, who held the title King of Changyi and is better known as the Marquis of Haihun, is the figure most often linked with the quarrying on Jinshan. The larger of the two workings, known locally as Jinshan Dadong, was cut into the top of the hill: visitors walk in along a tomb passage more than a hundred metres long, between sheer artificially cut rock faces, to reach stone chambers hollowed out of the east and west walls at the deep end. A second, unfinished tomb of similar plan lies a few dozen metres away and higher up the slope. Both are empty, with no grave goods ever recovered, so archaeologists remain divided over whether they were made for Liu He or for his father Liu Bo.

The chambers were later given over to Buddhist use, and six characters reading Chici Daming Chanyuan are carved above the main chamber. The hill belongs to the outlying range of Mount Tai and now carries two temple complexes: Jinshan Guan on the northern hill, the largest group of buildings on the mountain at about 10,000 square metres of floor area, and Jinshan Si on the southern hill, covering roughly 8,000 square metres. Two of the classic eight views of Juye, spring dawn at Jinshan and the clouds at the Qin cave, take their names from this hill, and a traditional temple fair and a culture and tourism festival are held here each year.

What to look for

• The tomb passage of Jinshan Dadong, over a hundred metres long between vertical cut rock walls, and the stone chambers opening off its east and west sides.
• The inscriptions cut into both passage walls by visitors from the Han dynasty onwards.
• The six carved characters reading Chici Daming Chanyuan above what archaeologists identify as the main burial chamber.
• The second, unfinished rock-cut tomb higher up the hillside, with a passage of similar length.
• Jinshan Guan on the north hill and Jinshan Si on the south hill, the two temple complexes that give the hill its present layout.

Location & getting there

Getting to Jinshan Hill

Check weather, trail access and the last return service. A mountain or forest area is not one entrance, and a map’s central pin may be far from the trailhead.

• Search for 金山 with 菏泽市 and 巨野县.