Photo adjustments
Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Explore the region
About Jizu Mountain
The mountain covers 2,822 hectares, rising to 3,248m at its highest point, and its scenic area is divided into four zones: the Mountain Gate, Zhusheng Temple, Kasyapa Hall and Golden Summit (Jinding) zones. Tradition holds that, more than two thousand years ago, Mahakasyapa entered meditation at Huashou Gate holding the Buddha's robe, an event credited with establishing the mountain's Buddhist standing; by the Yuan and Ming dynasties this had grown into eight great temples and seventy-one monastic communities centred on Kasyapa Hall, reaching a peak of 36 temples and 72 nunneries with several thousand resident monks and nuns. Jizushan is grouped, in this tradition, with Wutaishan, Emeishan, Putuoshan and Jiuhuashan as one of 'China's five great Buddhist mountains'.
Jinding Temple stands at the summit of Tianzhu Peak; first built in the Ming dynasty, it gained its Lengyan Pagoda through Republican-era funding from the warlord Long Yun, and the government funded a further reconstruction in 1980. Zhusheng Temple, originally named Boyu Nunnery, was designated in 1983 by the State Council as a major national Han-Buddhist temple. The Ming-dynasty traveller Xu Xiake visited the mountain twice, spending about five months there in total; he wrote more than 30,000 characters of travel diary, compiled the first-ever 'Gazetteer of Jizushan', wrote 19 poems about its temples and sites, and the mountain is where his collected 'Travels' ends.
What to look for
- Jinding Temple at the summit of Tianzhu Peak, including its Ming-era buildings, Republican-era Lengyan Pagoda and 1980 reconstruction
- Zhusheng Temple, a nationally designated major Han-Buddhist temple since 1983
- Huashou Gate, set into the rock face of Sheshen Cliff, traditionally Mahakasyapa's site of meditation
- Yulong Waterfall, fed by Longwang Spring below Jinding Temple
Location & getting there
Getting to Jizu Mountain
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 鸡足山 with 大理白族自治州 and 宾川县.
Find Jizu Mountain
鸡足山 · 宾川县
No reliable map pin yet: search by the Chinese name.
Sources & visit information
The linked sources support the identity and background described in this introduction. Opening hours, admission, activity availability and exact arrival arrangements have not been comprehensively checked. Confirm current visitor information with the venue; the original catalogue locality and editorial review flag are retained.