Located on the lower reaches of the Minjiang River (mǐn jiāng 闽江) in eastern Fujian (fú jiàn 福建), the city of Fuzhou (fú zhōu 福州) is the capital and the political, economic, and cultural center of Fujian Province. It is a famous tourist city with beautiful and countless sceneries and an excellent city center, and with natural and manmade sights. There are famed mountains, temples, tombs, gardens, towers and bridges throughout Fuzhou.

 

Gushan Mountain (gǔ shān 鼓山)

As the most famous sight in Fuzhou, Gushan is a classic scenic spot. It has been famous for sightseeing for over 1,000 years. Yongquan Temple (yǒng quán sì 涌泉寺) is its center with more than 100 sights scattered around it, among which main sights are
• Yongquan Temple (yǒng quán sì 涌泉寺)
• Eighteen Sights of Bodhidharma (shí bā jǐng 十八景)
• White Cloud Cave (bái yún dòng 白云洞).

Yongquan Temple
It is located at the foot of the White Cloud Peak (bái yún fēng 白云峰) of Gushan Mountain, 455m above sea level. It came first on the list of the five Buddhist temples in Fuzhou.
"The Three Most Valuable Relic" in Yongquan Temple:
1. The Pottery Pagodas
"The Pottery Pagodas" actually is a twin pagodas standing-guard before Yongquan Temple on both side. The Pottery Pagodas is an octagonal structure with nine levels and 7 meters height, was built in 1082 during the Song Dynasty (sòng cháo 宋朝). Inside the pagodas, there are 1038 Buddha statues, with 72 of them located in the pagoda's roof.
2. Buddhist Ancient Scriptures and Monk's Classic Written
"Buddhist Ancient Scriptures" is a collection of 10,000 Buddhist scripture which made by ancient printing plate from Ming Dynasty (míng cháo 明朝) onward. The last of three valuable relics in Yongquan Temple and probably the most exotic one is "Monk's Classic Written". It was 657 copies of classic written by brilliant monks through the ages, the monks slice their finger and wrote with their own blood.
3. The Three Irons
The first of the Three Irons is Iron wire wood, which is a sacrificial table made of iron wire wood in Great Hall of Buddha. Legend said the table can not be burned by fire and waterproofed stuff. The Iron tree refer to the tree before the Yongquan Temple, with thousand years old and still well preserved until today. The last is Iron pot, refer to giant pot in the temple's kitchen, which can serve almost a thousand people. 

 

Eighteen Sights of Bodhidharma
Another Drum Mountain's attraction is Eighteen Sights of Bodhidharma, which is located at the foot of Lion Peak, west of Yongquan Temple. During the reign of Emperor Daoguang (dào guāng dì 道光帝) of the Qing Dynasty (qīng cháo 清朝), there was a poet known as Wei Jie (wèi jié 魏杰), who carved the eighteen sight in the crag outside the Bodhidharma cave.

 

White Cloud Cave
White Cloud Cave lies in the western part of Fengchishan Mountain (fēng chí shān 风池山), northwest of Gushan Mountain over 700m above sea level. The white clouds frequently float into the cave and people can not distinguish each other within a short distance. That's why they call it "White Cloud Cave." After the scholar Yu Dafu (yù dá fū 郁达夫) visited the cave, the rocks were odd and the path was dangerous. This isolated place had a well-deserved reputation.

Location: Jinan District (jìn ān qū 晋安区).

Transportation: Bus 7, 29, 58, 69, 70, 808, 812, 815, 957.

Adminssion： CNY 40
  

Qingyun Mountain  (qīng yún shān  青云山)

Yongtai (yǒng tài 永泰) Qingyun Mountain scenic area has an area of 47 square kilometers, and have 7 apexes with an altitude of over one thousand kilometers. The main spectacles include: Corridor of Cloud, Sky and Stone (yún tiān shí láng 云天石廊), Fire and Smoke Waterfall (huǒ yān bào bù 火烟瀑布), Cane Hill Grassland (téng shān cǎo chǎng 藤山草场), Zhuangyuan Hole (zhuàng yuán dòng 状元洞), Red Army Hole (hóng jun dòng 红军洞), Eighteen-stream Winding Stone Woods (shí bā zhòng xī shí lín 十八重溪石林) and so on.

 

It is divided into four scenic areas:
• Stone Corridor Canyon Scenic Area (shí láng xiá gǔ jǐng qū 石廊峡谷景区)
• White Horse Canyon Scenic Area (bái mǎ xiá gǔ jǐng qū 白马峡谷景区)
• Jiutian Canyon Scenic Area (jiǔ tiān xiá gǔ jǐng qū 九天峡谷景区)
• Shaluo Canyon Scenic Area (suō luó xiá gǔ jǐng qū 桫椤峡谷景区)

 

Stone Corridor Canyon Scenic Area
It gained its name due to its canyons and stone corridors. The corridor of cloud, sky and stone is the main spectacle of Stone corridor canyon scenic area. It is situated near the top of Qingyun apex with another name "corridor of climbing to the sky". It is four long-shaped aisles formed by hard and soft rock layer after decency. You can take a far-away look and nearby look as well.

Adminssion： CNY 25

White Horse Canyon Scenic Area
It is marked by waterfall, canyon and cliff. There is heavy water and thick fog in dragon and turtle deep pool waterfall, prince waterfall, down ocean waterfall and white horse waterfall. The spectacle is very magnificent. The eight valleys of black dragon valley, no-name valley, double-stream valley, prince valley, echo valley, white horse valley, heaven gate valley, smooth valley have their respective features and endless wonders. The rock figures of stone woods at carp rock, prince summit, white horse summit are all true to life.

Adminssion： CNY 25

Jiutian Canyon Scenic Area
It is uniquely characterized by waterfall and huge rocks. The nine-layer water curtain, rainbow waterfall, water curtain palace, goddess summit, lovesickness rock, lion king summit and squirrel stone have their unique features.

Adminssion： CNY 25

 

Shaluo Canyon Scenic Area
Shaluo canyon scenic area is quiet and long, with abundant varieties of plants, standing cliffs and ancient pines. It a good place for traveling and adventure.
 

Location: Linglu Village (lǐng lù xiāng 岭路乡),Yongtai County (yǒng tài xiàn 永泰县)Transportation: Take bus to Yongtai County at Fuzhou bus station (fú zhōu qì chē zhàn 福州汽车站)

 

 

The porch at the foot of Shizhu Mountain has a width of 29 meters and a depth of 6 meters. It has 16 stone pillars engraved with flowers. Its roof is decorated with yellow glazed tiles. The top of the eaves are engraved with the design of "two dragons playing with the pearl", which is filled with national characteristics.

 

Shizhu Temple (shí zhú sì 石竹寺) is situated on the cliff of the hillside. It is one of the major scenic spots of Shizhu Mountain scenic area. It was a temple mainly devoting to Taoism and had Confucianist mixtur. Shizhu Mountain is mainly composed of Jiuxian pavilion (jiǔ xiān gé 九仙阁), Yuhuang pavilion (yù huáng gé 玉皇阁), the Hall of Earth (tǔ dì tīng 土地厅), the Palace of Goddess of Mercy (guān yīn dà shì diàn 观音大士殿), Ziyun Building (zǐ yún lóu 紫云楼), the Temporary Palace of Jade Emperor (yù huáng háng gōng 玉皇行宫), the Palace of Great Sorrow (dà bēi diàn 大悲殿).

 

Shizhu Mountain is always famed for "elegant than the Drum Mountain". There are plenty of unique rocks and profound holes in the mountain, such as Purple Cloud Hole, Heaven Hole, Exceedingly High Hole, the Hole of Sun and Moon, the Platform of Picking Star, the Dragon Nest, the Craneshadow Stone, the flying stone, the Stone of Mandarin Duck, the stone of Chessboard, the Stone of Turtle and Snake, the Stone of Pantao.

Location: Honglu County (hóng lù zhèn 宏路镇)

Transportation: Take bus to Honglu County at Fuzhou bus station (fú zhōu qì chē zhàn 福州汽车站)

Opening hours: 8:00-16:00

Adminssion ： CNY 10
 

 

The best-known places of historic interest on the hill include Longevity Temple (wàn suì sì 万岁寺), the Temple of Lord (qī gōng cí 戚公祠), Dashi Hall (dà shì diàn 大士殿), and the Taoist Temple of Nine Immortals (jiǔ xiān guān 九仙观).

 

The famous White Pagoda Temple (bái tǎ sì 白塔寺) stands on the western slope of Yushan Hill. The octagonal white pagoda at the rear of the temple has seven levels and, at forty-one meters, is one of the tallest buildings in Fuzhou. On a sunny day, one can see the islands on the sea from the top of the pagoda. The White Pagoda together with a nearby tomb of Song Dynasty is a famous tourist destination in Fuzhou.

Location: the east of Wu Yi Square (wǔ yī guǎng chǎng 五一广场)

Transportation: Bus 18, 19, 801, 802.

Adminssion： Free

 

Wushan Hill (wū shān 乌山)

The hill stands in the center of the city opposite Yushan Hill. Its temples and pavilions, sometimes obscured by foliage, are interconnected and provide the tourist with many lookout places form which to enjoy the view.

The Black Pagoda (wū tǎ 乌塔 ) located in the southern slope of Wushan Hill, facing the White Pagoda in opposite direction. The Pagoda began the construction in 944 AD. At the time of his reign, The King feel under threat, so he decide to build a pagoda to pray to Buddha, asking for protection. Originally planned with nine levels, but The King was executed, thus the construction was halted at seven levels. The Black Pagoda was a dark-gray granite construction, with seven levels, octagonal-shaped and 35 meters high.

 

The White Pagoda and Black Pagoda are known as Fuzhou Twin Pagoda (fú zhōu shuāng tǎ 福州双塔), and they become tourist attraction in the capital of Fujian province. From either of the Twin Pagoda, people can have a bird's eye view of Fuzhou. During the Lunar New Year Festival, both of them are decorated with lanterns, serving an incredible night-sight in Fuzhou.

Adminssion： Free

 

Ping Mountain (píng shān 屏山)

It is located in the north of Fuzhou. The elevation is 62 meters and the area is 0.5 square kilometers. It is also known as Ping Mountain (píng shān 平山) and commonly referred to as Yanglou Mountain (yàng lóu shān 样楼山) also.

 

At the south foot of the mountain are Yuewang Horse pond (yuè wáng yǐn mǎ chí 越王饮马池), Musical Instrument Rock (qín shí 琴石) and Golden Cock Well (jīn jī jǐng 金鸡井). There are Huanfeng Pavilion (huán fēng tíng 环峰亭), Juexue Hut (jué xué liáo 绝学寮), Shenghui Pavilion (shèng huì tíng 胜会亭) and Cuitao Pavilion (cuì tāo tíng 翠涛亭), etc on the peak. The foot of the mountain was full of peach blossom in the past.

 

It looks like a layer of cotton when comes to February of spring every year. Currently, there remained only the Tai Spring (tái quán 苔泉) and Hualin Temple (huá lín sì 华林寺). The Hualin Temple was built in 964 A.D. It is one of the oldest wood constructions in South China.

Adminssion： Free