Cuiping Mountain Tourist Scenic Area is located 12.5 kilometers southwest of Pingyin County, Jinan City. It is a key scenic spot in our county. The natural landscape on the mountain is beautiful and has profound cultural connotations. Since ancient times, it has been famous for its ‘strange temples, strange stones, strange trees, and strange waters’. Strange temple: ‘Baofeng Temple’ in the middle of the mountain was built in the Tang Dynasty. Its original name was ‘Baoning Courtyard’. The temple is magnificent. Inside, there are Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, a combination of three religions. The pagoda of the founding master, Zen Master Cijing, is also located here. In Baofeng Courtyard on the top of the mountain, there is also the Tang Dynasty multi-Buddha pagoda, a national cultural relic protection unit, which is more than 1,300 years old. Strange stone: On the mountain, there is ‘Shuishandiacui’, which is rated as the top of the eight ancient scenic spots in Pingyin. Two huge stones are stacked on top of each other. A pine and cypress stands between the huge stones with luxuriant branches and leaves and is emerald green, hence the name ‘Diacui’. There are also naturally formed jagged stone groups on the mountain, resembling a group of turtles, implying good luck, peace and longevity for every visitor, hence the name ‘Group of Turtles Worshiping Longevity’. Strange tree: There are many century-old Platycladus orientalis on the mountain. Their branches and leaves are luxuriant and have different shapes. They grow in the crevices of huge stones and on cliffs. There is also a thousand-year-old ancient tree ‘Elm Through a Thousand Layers’, known as ‘the number one elm in the world’. According to research, it has a history of more than a thousand years. Strange water: Due to the many springs on the mountain, there is a saying that ‘there is a spring in a rock crevice’. Locals commonly call it ‘Shuishan’. The more famous ones are ‘Youben Spring’ and ‘Shimen Jinquan’. Among them, ‘Shimen Jinquan’ was originally called ‘Luoyang Spring’. The water flows out from several stone crevices and is continuous throughout the four seasons. It is now the main water source for monks. Cuiping Mountain is also the birthplace of Pingyin roses. More than 1,300 years ago, Zen Master Cijing, a eminent monk in the Tang Dynasty, planted and cultivated roses near Shimen Jinquan on Cuiping Mountain, offered flowers to the Buddha, and cultivated flowers with the help of the Buddha. Later, roses spread all over the surrounding areas of Cuiping Mountain, and Pingyin roses came from this. Nowadays, in order to better provide services for tourists, Cuiping Mountain Tourist Scenic Area has carried out renovation and upgrading of infrastructure, functional supporting facilities (tourist service center, toilets, parking lots, etc.) and scenic spots according to the evaluation standards of national A-level scenic spots. Opening hours: Open all year round from 08:00 to 18:00. Preferential policies: Children: Children under 6 years old (inclusive) or under 1.4 meters in height (inclusive) are free; children aged 6 (excluding) to 18 (excluding) enjoy half-price discounts. Half price. The elderly: Elderly people aged 60 years old (inclusive) or above can enter for free with their ID cards. Military personnel: Active-duty military personnel, martyrs’ dependents, dependents of military personnel who died on duty and dependents of military personnel who died of illness, retired military cadres, sergeants (officers), and fire rescue personnel can enter for free with relevant certificates. Disabled people: Disabled people (severely disabled people including one accompanying person) can enter for free with disability certificates. Students: Full-time undergraduate and below students can enjoy half-price discounts with student certificates. Half price.
