Tianping Mountain is located 15 kilometers west of Suzhou urban area. It is the burial place of Fan Zhongyan’s ancestors. The cultural attractions related to the Fan family are mainly concentrated at the foot of the mountain. Tianping Mountain is 201 meters above sea level. Although the mountain is not high, it is a bit precipitous and very exciting to climb. During the Red Maple Festival from October to December every year, the colorful autumn scenery always attracts countless long guns and short cannons.
There are several ponds at the foot of Tianping Mountain. It is like a large park. There are pedal boats and rowboats that children like. For family outings, you can have a picnic on stone benches or lawns. After passing the牌坊 of worrying first and then enjoying later at the foot of the mountain, there are buildings such as Fan Wenzheng Gong Temple and Fan Zhongyan Memorial Hall, which contain the life and works of Fan Zhongyan in the Northern Song Dynasty. It only takes a few minutes to walk from the scenic area gate to here. After visiting, you can climb the mountain along the mountain road next to it. Going up to Yunquan Jingshe, there is a Baiyun Spring that is introduced into the bowl under the stone wall of Jingshe by bamboo tubes. Further up is the Yixiantian that only allows one person to pass. There are many strange rocks on Tianping Mountain, forming various peculiar structures such as Yixiantian and Feilai Stone. Don’t worry. These chaotic rocks are far from the level of outdoor hiking. They moderately let tourists experience the fun of climbing. As long as you are not an elderly person with limited mobility or a particularly weak person, you can climb to the top. If you climb slowly, it will take about an hour to reach the top. At the Wanghu Terrace on the top of the mountain, you can overlook the city scenery of Suzhou. You can also see Tianyun Temple not far from the top of the mountain. The temple was initially built by local people in the 1980s to worship Ye Tianshi, a famous doctor in the south of the Yangtze River in the Qing Dynasty. Now it has been renovated. You don’t need to go there specially. Just take a look from the top of the mountain. Then you can go down the mountain by another stepped road. Some people go up the mountain by the stepped road and down the mountain by the chaotic rock road. This is too dangerous. It is not recommended to go this way. Although there are many forks on Tianping Mountain, in the end, you always have to return to the place at the foot of the mountain that is like a large park and then leave the scenic area. When you go down to the foot of the mountain, you can take a look at Tianping Mountain Villa again. It was built by Fan Yunlin, the seventeenth-generation grandson of Fan Zhongyan in the Ming Dynasty. It includes areas such as Zhubuo An, Laiyan Pavilion, Fan Can Yiyi Temple, Gaoyi Garden, and Baiyun Ancient Temple. Several antique houses plus the small Baiyun Ancient Temple, the family temple of the Fan family, have a quiet environment. Walking east along the yellow wall of Baiyun Ancient Temple, you will see a stone archway with the inscription ‘Tomb Gate Stele of the Ancestral Founder of the Fan Family Who Moved to Wu in the Tang Dynasty, the Pillar State of Lishui Prefecture’. Entering is the corridor with stone sheep, stone tigers, and stone horses and the tomb of Fan Sui, the great-grandfather of Fan Zhongyan. If you want to see red maples, the maple trees are all at the foot of the mountain. There are basically no maple trees on the mountain. In mid-to-late November, the maple trees are truly brightly red. The two rows of maple trees at the entrance of the scenic area turn red earlier, but they are not the essence of the maple trees on Tianping Mountain. The ancient maple forest near the牌坊 of worrying first and then enjoying later has ancient maples transplanted by Fan Yunlin from Fujian. The tree ages are all more than 400 years. The branches and leaves reach the sky. When the leaves are red, they are very beautiful.During the Red Maple Festival, acrobatic shows can be seen at the foot of the mountain. In addition, from April to June every year, the cartoon festival is held at Tianping Mountain. There are cartoon models placed at the foot of the mountain. You can take photos with people in cartoon costumes and watch acrobatic shows. There are farmhouses outside the Tianping Mountain scenic area. There are small shops at the foot, mountainside and top of the mountain in the scenic area.
There are the most small vendors in the ancient maple forest area at the foot of the mountain, selling snacks such as sausages. There are more snack stalls during the Red Maple Festival. It is still recommended to bring some dry food just in case at ordinary times. Water must be brought. Water on the mountain is relatively expensive. Four kilometers to the south of Tianping Mountain is the ancient town of Mudu, which can be visited together. Opening hours: Open from 08:00 to 17:00 all year round. Preferential policies: Children: Those under 6 years old (inclusive) or under 1.4 meters in height (inclusive), free of charge with valid identity documents; those aged from 6 years old (exclusive) to 18 years old (inclusive), half price. The elderly: Those over 70 years old (inclusive), free of charge with valid identity documents; those aged from 60 years old (inclusive) to 70 years old (exclusive), half price. Students: Full-time undergraduate and below students with valid identity documents, half price. Military personnel: Active servicemen of the People’s Republic of China with valid certificates such as military ID cards, and retired military cadres with valid certificates such as retired cadre cards are free of charge; veterans are free of charge with the Preferential Certificate for Retired Servicemen of the People’s Republic of China, except for gardens within gardens, charged items in the park and night tour projects. Disabled people: Disabled people with Disability Certificates. For severely disabled people who need accompaniment, one accompanying person can enter the park free of charge. Free for people of three categories of relatives: The preferential treatment objects of the Preferential Certificate for Martyrs, Servicemen Died on Duty and Servicemen Died of Illnesses of the People’s Republic of China are free of charge, except for gardens within gardens, charged items in the park and night tour projects. Medical staff in Suzhou: Within seven days from International Nurses Day on May 12 and Chinese Doctors’ Day on August 19 every year (from May 12 to 18 and from August 19 to 25), medical staff in Suzhou can visit the scenic area for free. When medical staff in Suzhou visit the scenic area, please show “personal ID card” + “Suzhou medical staff free park card (electronic card)” and can enter the park directly without reservation and the first entrance ticket is free of charge.
Service facilities: Parking lot: [Red Maple Parking Lot]. Reference price: 6 yuan for the first hour and 4 yuan for the second hour. Address: Red Maple Parking Lot, Lingtian Road, Wuzhong District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. Number of parking spaces: Subject to the actual situation of the scenic area. WIFI: Account: Tianping Mountain. Password: No password required. Scope: Tourist service center of the scenic area. Mobile phone charging: The tourist center of the scenic area is equipped with charging power sockets. Luggage storage: Reference price: free. Live animals, valuables, inflammables and explosives, and food cannot be stored. Scenic area interpretation: The scenic area provides free electronic interpretation services.
Visitors can enjoy complimentary guided services by scanning the QR code via WeChat.
Restrooms: The scenic area is equipped with multiple restrooms, located near Tianping Mountain Villa, near the entrance of the scenic spot, and near the Red Maple Square, all clearly marked with prominent signs.
