Tongtianyan in Ganzhou, Jiangxi, is the first cave niche statue complex in Jiangnan!
💁Tongtianyan not only has cultural relics,✔️the local landscape is also very comfortable,👍there are a large number of grottoes and stone carvings, temples,👇there are also some stone tablets and stone carvings, which are also very old,⬇️there are many large Buddhas from the Northern Song Dynasty. After a long period of weathering,⏩many have fallen off and can't be seen clearly, so you can only watch and cherish them‼ ️
⛰The top of the mountain is composed of several peaks connected to each other. The mountain is not high and it is not hard to climb. ⏩There are many pavilions and several caves not far away. ⏮You can enjoy the wonders of the caves, ⏮the characteristics of cultural relics and historical sites, there are mountains and water, ⛰hiking mountains and walking is also very nice. If you are not very physically fit, you can take the inner loop. ✅It is also very relaxing to take the outer loop. It is suitable for relaxing on weekends and getting close to nature. ️
📍Attraction address: Huangsha Village, Shuixi Town, Zhanggong District, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province
Opening hours: 08:00-17:00 (admission ends at 17:00)
🎟️Ticket related:
👇Adult ticket: 30 yuan/person
👇Students/seniors/children 15 yuan/person Seniors over 65 years old and children under 1.2 meters 6 years old are free of charge
👇Those with Jiangxi Tourism Annual Card or Ganzhou Tourism Annual Card can enjoy free admission.
🚗 Transportation to attractions:
You can drive yourself 🚙 or take a taxi 🚕. It takes about 20-30 minutes to drive from Ganzhou city. There is a parking lot for free.
🚌Bus No. 109/18 can get you to the entrance of the scenic spot. It takes about 1.5 kilometers to get to the ticket center, but there is a shuttle bus.
🌟Highlights:
✔️Tongtianyan Scenic Area is composed of Moshayan Rock Mountain. It is a typical Danxia landform scenic area💁, famous for the largest group of stone niche statues in Jiangxi. It preserves 359 stone niche statues from the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty and has the reputation of "the first grotto in Jiangnan".
👍Most Recommended:
☑️The statues are mainly distributed in Wanggui Rock, Longhu Rock, Tongtian Rock and Cuiwei Rock. ↘️There is a statue of Arhat preserved on the front of Wanggui Rock, ↖️6 statues of Arhat preserved on the back, ↘️3 statues of Arhat preserved on Longhu Rock.
✅There are more than 10 scenic spots including Tongtian Rock, Cuiwei Rock, Wanggui Rock, Tongxin Rock, Guangfu Temple, Yushui Pool, Yidiquan, Yuyan Pavilion, Xichun Pavilion and Qunyu Pavilion
✅ Historical celebrities such as Su Dongpo, Yang Xiaoben, Wang Yangming, and Jiang Jingguo also left many relics here.
🗓Itinerary:
Two tour routes:
2-hour cultural tour (Yangming culture + grottoes)
Wang Yangming statue→Guanxin Rock→Wanggui Rock→Yangming Academy→Longhu Rock→Guangfu Temple→Tongtian Rock→Cuiwei Rock→Putong Pagoda→Reclining Buddha→Thousand Buddha Caves of Xiyan Temple→Treasure God Temple→Qingyuan→Yudai Bridge→Tongtian Shengjing
6-hour mountaineering tour (climbing + various pavilions)
Tongtian Shengjing→Wangjiang Pavilion→Xichun Pavilion→Dayi Pavilion→Lifo Pavilion→Hongdou Pavilion→Chunguang Pavilion→Ruyi Tower→Yaoyue Pavilion→Tingsong Pavilion
👍️Must-see attractions:
✅Cliff carvings can be divided into four groups:
There are 8 statues of Bodhisattvas, among which two statues of Guanyin Bodhisattva are the best preserved.
✅On the cliff of Tongtianyan Mountain, there is a group statue of Vairocana Buddha and his two attendants Manjusri and Samantabhadra, guarded by five hundred arhats.
✅The single niche statue of the Eighteen Arhats made by the monk Mingjian 👍The Maitreya Buddha statue made by Qian Zhu, etc.
✅Tongtianyan🔰There is a cave in the mountain, with a hole on the top that leads to the sky, and there is also the "Yuyan Temple", in which there are statues of Su Dongpo and Yang Xiaoben.
✅Guanxin Rock↙️A big cave inside a small cave,⏮it was once the place where Wang Yangming gave lectures and took a rest.
✅Longhu Rock👍The cave with the most cliff inscriptions, including the Song Dynasty statues of Nagarjuna, a golden dragon, and two tigers.
✅Cuiweiyan↪️ is the place where Yang Xiaoben lived in seclusion. 👏There are many Arhat statues, and two niches of Maitreya and Tathagata statues, all of which were opened by folk believers for praying and salvation. ⏮The statues are relatively small, and most of them are single niches with single statues.
✅Wangguiyan👏There are stone niches, stone carvings and poems by Wang Yangming between the rock walls. 📶There is a natural cave between the rocks. 👇It is a through-rock, a combination of Danxia landform and cliff statues.
✅Tongxin Rock🈶The three characters "Tongxin Rock" were carved by Liu Zhaowen in the Ming Dynasty. 🔰There are also dragon and tiger shapes carved on it. 💖The rock carvings and stone niches are carved in sequence on the rock wall on one side of the tourist road.
✅Guangfu Temple👏 has the Yang Gong Temple built to commemorate Yang Xiaoben. ⏩It also preserves the thousand-year-old cycad tree planted by Su Dongpo himself. ↪️The Sutra Cave is connected in all directions. There are also many stray cats in the temple, which are very cute.
✅Putong Tower🚩 was built during the Republic of China period. The tower is 4.5 meters high and is built with red stone. 👏It is a tomb tower built for the monks in the temple to ascend to heaven.
The ✅Reclining Buddha▶️ is a contemporary work, 👇23.66 meters long, carved in 1998.
✅Wangjiang Pavilion is at the highest point of Tongtianyan. 🔰It is a three-story pavilion modeled after the Temple of Heaven. ⬇️You can go up to the building to have a panoramic view.
✅There are Thousand Buddha Caves and the God of Wealth Temple in Lifoyan. ✔️There are many Buddha statues in the Thousand Buddha Caves. Some roads and temples have also been developed, and there is also a coin-tossing wishing well.
💗Other tips:
⬇️The scenic spots are scattered, ⛰the mountains are not high, but there are few signboards inside, 🔰it is very easy to get lost, and the forks are not clearly marked.
▶️You can get a map booklet at the ticket office. 👏The scenic area is quite large. ↙️You can also refer to the map on the ticket.
↖️There are basically no places selling water and food in the scenic area. ↙️It is recommended to bring your own water and food.
⏮There are many mosquitoes in the mountains, 💁You need to take anti-mosquito measures; ↗️Wear comfortable shoes, there are only cobblestone roads and paved gravel roads, ⏩When the weather is hot, pay attention to heatstroke prevention and sun protection.
👍There is a temple in the scenic area. ✅It is recommended to just go in for a walk, take a look and take some photos and then come out. 🙅Don't spend money to burn incense.