Zhenjiang’s “Three Mountains” refer to Jinshan Mountain, Jiaoshan Mountain and Beigu Hill along the Yangtze River. Jinshan Mountain is stacked with temples, pavilions and Buddhist towers; Jiaoshan Mountain stands in the heart of the river and is full of green plants; Beigu Hill has a precipitous terrain, and Ganlu Temple in the mountain is the place where Liu Bei got married during the Three Kingdoms Period. The “Three Mountains”, the Yangtze River and the Canal together form a beautiful landscape.
Jinshan Mountain
Jinshan Temple was first built on the mountain in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and Jinshan Mountain is the greatest of the three mountains. It was once an island in the Yangtze River. Later, due to sediment deposition, it was connected with the south bank of the Yangtze River during the Emperor Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, forming an interesting scene of “the mountain wrapped in Jinshan Temple, with visible temples and visible towers, but invisible mountain”. Since ancient times, many literati and poets have been attracted here by its reputation.
[Jinshan Temple]
The reason why Jinshan Mountain can become a famous mountain in the south of the Yangtze River lies in that on the mountain there is a temple with a history of more than 1600 years named Jinshan Temple. It was built along the mountain, with ingenious architecture, pavilions and pagodas connected layer by layer. The mountain and the temple add radiance and beauty to each other, forming a wonderful scenery of “the mountain wrapped in Jinshan Temple”. Jinshan Temple is one of the four famous temples in China and a Buddhist holy place in the south of the Yangtze River. At the same time, it also preserves precious cultural relics such as paintings and bronzes.
“The Flooding of Jinshan Temple”, one of the most wonderful plots in the Chinese folk story “The Legend of the White Snake”, took place in Jinshan Temple in Zhenjiang. Legend has it that the White Snake turned into a human form after thousands of years of cultivation, and met and fell in love with the mortal Xu Xian by the West Lake. However, the monk Fahai thought that the human and evil spirit should take different routes and managed to deceive Xu Xian to Jinshan Temple. In order to save her husband, the White Snake cast spells to flood Jinshan Temple to rescue Xu Xian. Since she flooded Zhenjiang and plunged people into misery and suffering, the White Snake was contained by Fahai under Leifeng Pagoda.
[Jinshan Lake]
Jinshan Lake is located in Jinshan Scenic Area. There is a long plank road on the lake. You can choose to walk leisurely along the plank road, or you can go boating on the lake, looking at Jinshan Temple from afar and watching the sunset to delight yourself.
[Cishou Pagoda]
Cishou Pagoda was first built more than 1,400 years ago. It was called Jianci Pagoda and Jianshou Pagoda in Song Dynasty, then collapsed in Ming Dynasty and rebuilt in Emperor Guangxu Period of Qing Dynasty. At that time, it was the 60th birthday of Empress Dowager Cixi, hence the pagoda was named Cishou Pagoda. It is located in the northwest peak of Jinshan Mountain, with a height of 30 meters and exquisite appearance. Visitors can see the beautiful scenery of the Yangtze River by climbing up the pagoda.
* Interesting story: Sesshū Tōyō learning painting at Jinshan Temple
Sesshū Tōyō, a famous Japanese monk painter, came to China with the “Fleet of Ambassadors to China in Ming Dynasty” at the age of 48 and lived in Jinshan Temple in Zhenjiang for 2 years. During this period, Sesshū Tōyō painted from nature. His paintings “Dragon at the Center of Yangtze River Traveling to Zen Temple in Tang Dynasty” and “Beautiful Scenery of Yangtze River” show the scene that Jinshan Mountain and Jinshan Temple were still not connected with the south bank of Yangtze River. In addition, the temple cluster (Jinshan Temple) on the river and island has been painted into the Scroll of Beautiful Scenery in Tang Dynasty. These paintings are now collected in the Kyoto National Museum of Japan.
* Customs: Burning incense and praying at Jinshan Temple
Since ancient times, Jinshan Temple has been a busy and crowded place of worship for Buddhists, especially on New Year’s Eve every year, when tens of thousands of visitors gather here to participate in praying and burning incense. At this time, visitors line up to ring bells, light incense and make New Year’s wishes. Jinshan Temple is filled with smoke and fire as well as Buddhist music, just like a fairyland isolated from the world.
Jiaoshan Mountain
Jiaoshan Mountain is the only island for sightseeing in the Yangtze River facing water on four sides. It takes only 5 minutes to set foot on Jiaoshan Mountain by ferry from the foot of Xiangshan Mountain and then you can enjoy the unique scenery of “Temple Wrapped in the Mountain”.
[Sanzhao Cave]
Jiao Guang, a scholar of the Eastern Han Dynasty, lived in seclusion in Jiaoshan Mountain to avoid being an official. He was proficient in medicine and often treated local residents. Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty asked him to be an official three times, but was all rejected, so it was called “Three Invitations Failed”. Later generations renamed the mountain Jiaoshan Mountain in memory of him and built the Sanzhao Cave (literally Three Invitations Cave).
[Dinghui Temple]
There is a millennium-old temple on Jiaoshan Mountain named Dinghui Temple, which has a history of more than 1800 years. At present, it maintains the architectural style of Ming Dynasty, such as cornices that are very rare in China.
[Jiaoshan Forest of Steles]
Jiaoshan Forest of Steles is composed of cliff inscription and forest of steles display. Cliff inscription includes poems by famous people of all ages engraved on cliffs on the western edge of Jiaoshan Mountain, while forest of steles is a collection of various ancient Chinese steles, including calligraphy, arts, historical materials, epitaphs and other artistic forms, which are rich in content.
Beigu Hill
Beigu Hill is adjacent to the Yangtze River in the north, and is precipitous, so it is called Beigu Hill and has the reputation of “the Greatest Mountain under Heaven”. Climbing to the top of Beigu Hill, you can see the magnificent scenery of mountains and surging river at a glance. It is also famous for the stories of the Three Kingdoms, attracting tourists here to look for the remains of the Three Kingdoms.
[Abe no Nakamaro Poem Tablet]
There is a poem tablet in the west of Ganlu Temple, engraved with Abe no Nakamaro’s nostalgic work “Looking at the Moon and Longing for My Hometown”. Abe no Nakamaro was an overseas student sent to China in Tang Dynasty from Nara, Japan, and an outstanding messenger of Sino-Japanese cultural exchange. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty thought highly of him and entrusted him with important positions. In 753, when he traveled eastward with Master Jianzhen and moored along the Yangtze River, he looked at the moon and was homesick, so he wrote the famous five-character poem “Looking at the Moon and Longing for My Hometown”.
[Ganlu Temple]
After the victory of the Battle of Red Cliff, Liu Bei kept Jingzhou and refused to return it, so Zhou Yu offered Sun Quan a plan to use his sister’s marriage with Liu Bei as bait, and led Liu Bei to Ganlu Temple, Jingkou (now Zhenjiang) to hold him hostage. Then they took the opportunity to ask him to return Jingzhou. Unexpectedly, Zhuge Liang turned their tricks to his own use and made the marriage come true, which made Sun Quan “give his enemy a wife and lose his soldiers”. Hence Ganlu Temple got its fame because of the story of Liu Bei’s marriage.
[Beigu Pavilion]
Beigu Pavilion is located at the highest point of Beigu Hill, which can offer a panoramic view of Beigu Hill and Yangtze River. According to legend, Sun Shangxiang was devastated when she learned that her husband Liu Bei was defeated and died in Baidi City. She held a memorial ceremony here and then committed suicide by throwing herself into the river. Therefore, Beigu Pavilion is also called Jijiang Pavilion.
