Lushan (lú shān 庐山) lies in the south of Jiujiang City (jiǔ jiāng shì 九江市), Jiangxi Province (jiāng xī shěng 江西省), about 36km away from the center of the city. It is on the north bank of Poyang Lake (pó yáng hú 鄱阳湖), the south bank of the Yangtze River. It stretches about 25km from the south to the north and 20km from the east to the west. It is among the first Key Scenic Districts as "National Geopark of China (guó jiā dì zhì gōng yuán 国家地质公园)", which was included in the UNESCO world heritage list in 1996.   Show map

Lushan mountain is a well-known summer resort. July and August are the best seasons to have a trip in Lushan. The average temperature from July to September is 16.9℃, and the highest is 32℃. Clouds suffuse the mountain all the year round. Therefor in about 191 out of 365 days Lunshan are foggy. The hot spring in Lushan has been famous since Jin Dynasty (jìn dài 晋代). Surrounded by green environment, it is a great place to recover from ailment and fatigue. Take a dip into the spring water, breathing fresh air, you will relax and enjoy the special experience. Magnificent peaks, unique waterfalls, spectacular sea of clouds, oddly-shaped pines, deep caverns, and traces of glaciers form the remarkable natural beauty. Pristine beauty, splendid and admirable, is never seen in paintings. Being inside Lushan, you can not see the true face of it. That is the beauty of it. It changes its appearance in seasons. In spring, it looks like a lovely girl, with colorful dress. In winter, an old man all in white comes, stately and solemn.

                                                                   
The Peaks of the Five Old Men (wǔ lǎo fēng 五老峰) 
The grandeur of a bird's-eye view from the peak is unmatched. It is like five stately old men sitting on the mountain which is 1,436 meters above sea level. We can see distinct scenes in their arms. There's a story about the five old men. Long long ago, there were five old men who liked to get together and go fishing on the bank of "Poyang lake". They angled in different poses. One day, dragons in sea made waves and caused disastrous flood. For the sake of the people, the five men became five mountains to avoid the catastrophe. The posterity called the mountains "Wulao Feng (wǔ lǎo fēng 五老峰)" in honor of them.

Lushan Botanical Gardens (zhí wù yuán 植物园)
The "Lushan Botanical Gardens" are in a valley to the east of Lushan. At an altitude of 1,000 to 1,300 meters, they are sub-highland botanical gardens and were founded in 1934. The gardens cover an area of three square kilometers, growing more than 3,400 kinds of plants and preserve 100,000 plant samples.

White Deer Cave Academy (bái lù dòng shū yuàn 白鹿洞书院)
Named for the poet "Li Bo (lǐ bó 李勃)" who raised white deer there, it is in a valley at the foot of the Peak of the Five Old Men. It's one of the earliest institutes of higher learning in ancient China. Inside you can see the old classroom where the student studied hundreds of years ago. All things there are protected as new ones.

Three-Step Spring (sān dié quán 三叠泉)
As the most outstanding waterfall attraction in Mt.Lushan, it Falls down from the east of the Five Old Men Peak. It is in a total drop of 155 meters from rock to rock. It got its name for the three steps. The waterfall drops down 20m straightly from the first step, and bends into pond in the second step. Looking up from the third step, you will marvel at the imposing sight. Water drops shining as little pearls dance in the air with the breeze. They come down to kiss your face and your shoulder, giving you a rare time in sweltering summer.

Hanpo Pass (hán pó kǒu 含鄱口)
It is an ideal place to enjoy the sun rise and the sea of clouds. Here you can see the whole Poyang lake which is the largest fresh lake in China, with rich resource of water and species. When the sun rises above the lake, all the mountains are golden. It seems that you are bathed in the light from heaven.

Guling Town (gǔ lǐng zhèn 牯岭镇)

It is the unique town on the mountain. At an altitude of 1167 meters, it is surrounded on three sides by mountains, established in the late 1800s for European and American travelers. The town develops rapidly under the impetus given by tourism. All the specialty can be seen in other stores outside Lushan. If you are not tired when you get there, it is a good idea to walk around after dinner. There is a cinema on the mountain which shows the old movie "Love on Lushan Mountian (lú shān liàn 庐山恋)" everyday.

Flowerpath (huā jìng 花径) 
Set off from the center park of Guling Town and then go west in Dalin Road (dà lín lù 大林路), you can see Ruqin Lake (rú qín hú 如琴湖). It was built in 1961, with an island where peacocks are raised in the centre. Beside the lake is Flowerpath, which is a place where the noted poet of the Tang Dynasty (táng dài 唐代), Bai Juyi (bái jū yì 白居易), wrote poems expressing his admiration of the peach blossoms.

Great Tianchi Lake (dà tiān chí 大天池)
It is ideal to view a sunset and enjoy the Yangtze River. In the southwest of Guling Town (gǔ lǐng zhèn 牯岭镇). It has a larger size compared with the Less tianchi. What is fantastic is that the gas inside bubbles to the surface of the water.

Lesser Tianchi Lake (xiǎo tiān chí 小天池)
As a perfect spot to enjoy the beauty of the Poyang Lake, it's on the top of the eighth highest mountain in lushan, which locates in the northeast of Guling Town. The water inside never dries nor overflows.

Jinxiu Valley (jǐn xiù gǔ 锦绣谷)
From Tianqiao (tiān qiáo 天桥) to Immortal's Cavern (xiān rén dòng 仙人洞) is "Jinxiu Valley",  which stretches as long as 1.5km. Flowers here bloom in four seasons. Then people call it "Jinxiu", which means beautiful and splendid. "Tianqiao" is the extension of a rock. It is said that it saved "Zhu Yuanzhang (zhū yuán zhāng 朱元璋)" who's the emperor of Ming Dynasty (míng dài 明代). "Immortal's Cavern" is a big rounded hole in a stone wall, from which "Lu Dongbin (lǚ dòng bīn 吕洞宾)" became immortal. A stone statue of him stands inside the cave and a spring called "Yi di quan (yī dī quán 一滴泉)" trickles all the year round. "Yubei Ting (yù bēi tíng 御碑亭)" is built by "Zhu Yuanzhang" to commemorate a monk called "Zhou Dian (zhōu diān 周颠)" who can only say "return me peace!" in his life.

Hanyang Peak (hàn yáng fēng 汉阳峰)
It's the highest peak of Lushan which has a average altitude of over 1000m, rising 1,474 meters above sea level. It is said that in the peak, people can see Hanyang city (hàn yáng shì 汉阳市) which is in Hubei Province (hú běi shěng 湖北省). The big mountain is called "Dahanyang (dà hàn yáng 大汉阳)", and in the north of it there's a small one which is called "Xiaohanyang (xiǎo hàn yáng 小汉阳)".

Shimen Jian (shí mén jiàn 石门涧)
It is between Longshou Ya (lóng shǒu yá 龙首崖) and Tie chuan Feng (lóng shǒu yá 铁船峰). The waterfalls inside were the earliest to be recorded in book. "Longshou Ya" is a vertical cliff which looks like the head of a dragon, located in the southwest of Great Tianchi Lake. Taking a bird's-eye view from here, you find all the scenes under your feet. It seems that you are flying. "Tie chuan Feng" lies in the opposite of Longshou Ya. It looks like a steamship navigating in the sea when the mountain is surrounded by clouds.Going down from Longshou Ya, you will not miss a suspension bridge across which we can see the dam of a power plant. After the visit of the dam and keep going in Longtan Road (lóng tán lù 龙潭路), you find "Wulong Tan" and "Huanglong Tan (huáng lóng tán 黄龙潭)" appear in your way. They are famous for the waterfalls and rocks. Small waterfalls get together, singing and running. Waking in the road and enjoying the green trees and the fresh air, you can not feel more comfortable. It is cool in summer when you are with the lovely waterfalls.

Lulin Lake (lú lín hú 芦林湖)

Surrounded by green mountains and pines, it was built completely in 1955. It looks like a mirror reflecting the beauty of the environment. Walking down from the "Huanglong Temple (huáng lóng sì 黄龙寺)" which is near Huanglong Tan, you will see the lake in 20 minutes. The "Lulin bridge (lú lín qiáo 芦林桥)", 32m in width and 120m in height, works as a dam. There are five holes in it. When the dam is full of water, water comes out from holes and forms the splendid scene of man-made waterfall.

Lushan Museum (lú shān bó wù guǎn 庐山博物馆) 
Lulin No.1 (lú lín yī hào 芦林一号) villas was the old house of Chairman Mao, rebuilt as Lushan museum in 1985. It is on the northern bank of Lulin Lake, as one of the typical building in Lushan. It houses ancient Chinese bronzes, pottery from different historical periods, calligraphic works from Tang Dynasty and paintings from Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Mei Lu (měi lú 美庐)
It is a beautiful house for the wife "Soong May-ling (sòng měi líng 宋美龄)" of "Chiang Kai-shek (jiǎng jiè shí 蒋介石)". There are three means of the house: beautiful Lushan, the beautiful villa, beautiful Soong May-ling. Covering 455 square meters, the main building only occupies 10% of the courtyard, delicate and shapely.

People's theatre (rén mín jù yuàn 庐山人民剧院) 

After the communist take-over of China in 1949, it became famous as a meeting place for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. It hosted the Eighth Plenum of the Eighth Central Committee, also known as the "Lushan Conference" or "Plenum", which began on 23 July and convened on 2 August, 1959. It also hosted the Second Plenum of the Ninth Central Committee in August of 1970. Precious materials,pictures and records are in display for visitors.


1. What are Line 1 and Line 2?
Line 1: Huajing, Jinxiugu, Xianrendong, Huanglong Tan, Longshou Ya, Shimen Jian, Lulin Lake, Lushan museum and so on.
Line 2: Hanpo Pass, Botanical Garden, The Peaks of the Five Old Men, White Deer Cave Academy, Three-Step Spring and so on.

2. Lushan Mountain Fee and Opening Hours?
Opening Hours: 6:00am --- 8:00pm
Busy season: April 1st - December 30th      Admission: CNY 180
Slack season: January 1st - March 30th       Admission: CNY 135 

3. Preferential Policy?
• The senior older than 70, the junior younger than 14 or under 1.4m, and the disabled all over the world are free to enter with valid identification.
• No charge for Chinese active army, deputy to the National People's Congress, member of the national committee of CPPCC, advanced model, journalist and tour guide with credentials.
• Undergraduates and teachers have a 25% discount and middle school students are charged 50%.

4. How to reach Lushan Mountain? 
First you should go to Jiujiang City (jiǔ jiāng shì 九江市), Jiangxi Province (jiāng xī shěng 江西省) by air or train. Because of no bus to the Guling Town which is the only town in Lushan, you had better go there by cab (CNY 50). Maybe it is a little expensive but you do not go this way everyday. It is convenient and fast. But if you really want to take a bus, there are coaches in the city center for you. It costs you CNY 7 to reach Xingzi Town (xīng zǐ zhèn 星子镇) in which many tour buses set out for Lushan. The reason why we choose Guling Town is it locates in the center of the mountain and gives us convenience to visit the scenes. It is easy to find a standard double room in villas (CNY 100-200) for one night. You can haggle with the host. The facilities condition will not be too bad. After a rest,you can go around to visit. The scenes in Line 1 is near to the town. The trip to Ruqin Lake takes you CNY 10-15 by cab. Of course, the price depends on where you live. Hanpo Pass of Line 2 is a little farther. You may spend CNY 18-23 to get there.

5. Tour route?
Generally speaking, the tour to Lushan takes two days. The first day Line 1, and the next day Line 2. As the map above shows, the blue lines are the routes. 

D1: Less Tianchi Lake -> Ruqin Lake -> Jinxiugu -> Immortal's Cavern -> Great Tianchi Lake -> Huanglong Tan -> Wulong Tan -> Longshou Ya -> Shimen Jian -> Lulin Lake ->Lushan People's Theatre -> Lushan museum -> Mei Lu -> Guling Town
D2: Hanpo Pass -> Botanical Garden -> The Peaks of the Five Old Men -> White Deer Cave Academy -> Three-Step Spring

6. What should be paid attention?
• Take thick clothes and umbrella because of the cold and wet weather in the mountain.
• Please travel according to rule and contact with guide or the department concerned.
• The path and road are all wet.
• The hotels here only supply hot water in a fixed time.
• You should pay more patience while waiting for a bus.
• Take care of your personal belongings.
• There are many insects in Lushan.
• Please take pills for carsickness, sunstroke.
• If you drive to Lushan, please take all your credentials.     

Next Attraction: Wuyuan
Back to Jiangxi Province Travel Guide