Tuo Mountain has been a renowned tourist destination since ancient times, known as ‘Thousands of Searches on Camel Ridge’. It is located 4 kilometers southwest of Qingzhou City, with twin peaks visible from afar, resembling a camel. According to the ‘Qingzhou Prefecture Chronicles’ from the Ming Dynasty, the mountain was named ‘Tuo Mountain’ because of its camel-like shape. At the beginning of the mountaineering trail, on the stone wall in front of the mountain, the characters ‘Tuo Mountain’ inscribed by Qiao Yu, the Minister of War during the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty, are still clearly visible today.
The mountain is high and lush, with beautiful natural scenery. Along with Yunmen Mountain and Pieshan to the south of the city, it forms a natural barrier for the ancient city of Qingzhou, praised in ‘Qi Sheng’ as ‘Three Mountains United in Green, Guarding the City Like a Picture’. Tuo Mountain attracts attention and is famous not only for its steep peaks, ancient pines and cypresses, and the winding ‘Heavenly Ladder’, but also for its rich cultural relics such as numerous grotto sculptures and the Haotian Palace on the mountaintop. After visiting Tuo Mountain, Xie Zhaozhi of the Ming Dynasty was so moved that he wrote a poem: ‘Never tired of the path to Tuo Mountain, where a thousand peaks stand as a jade screen, the sky connects with the dark sea trees, and the setting sun turns the clouds over Dai green.’
Now, there is a direct road from Qingzhou City to the foot of Tuo Mountain, and stone steps lead directly to the summit. On the mountainside is the Buddha Viewing Platform; standing on it, one can see a natural giant Buddha formed by the mountain’s curves in the southeast direction. The Buddha is 2500 meters long, with a dignified and peaceful expression, and its mouth, nose, chin, and Adam’s apple are incredibly lifelike, a rare sight in the world that leaves people in awe.
The main peak of Tuo Mountain rises steeply on the southeast cliff, with rugged cliffs often shrouded in clouds and mist during the summer and autumn seasons. The famous Tuo Mountain cliff grotto sculptures are located here. These grottoes are ancient temple buildings carved into the cliffs, containing Buddha statues or murals and stone carvings of Buddhist stories; while cliff inscriptions are texts or Buddha images directly carved onto the cliffs. The Tuo Mountain cliff grotto sculptures, known as Tuo Mountain Temple during the Tang Dynasty, consist of 5 grottoes and 1 cliff inscription, with 638 statues of varying sizes. The main subjects are the Three Saints, namely Amitabha Buddha in the middle and Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattvas on both sides, followed by the Thousand Buddhas, Vajra statues, flying celestial beings, and smaller donor statues. These statues are exquisitely shaped and finely carved, with beautiful feminine figures and strange costumes that often leave experts and tourists in admiration and reluctance to leave. The dates of these statues range from the Northern Zhou to the middle Tang Dynasty, making them treasures among the existing statues in China. They combine the grotto sculptures from the Northern Zhou, Sui, and Tang Dynasties of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, showcasing the styles, artistic characteristics, and pursuits of each era, and are highly praised by relevant experts and scholars. The Tuo Mountain cliff grotto sculptures are extremely valuable physical materials for the study of ancient Chinese sculpture, painting art, and the history of Buddhism. The opening time is 06:30-17:30 all year round. Preferential policies: Minors: Minors aged 6 to 18, half price; Students: Full-time undergraduate and below students with valid documents, half price; Children: Children aged 6 and under (inclusive) or with a height of 1.5 meters and under are free.5 meters and under are free.
Tuo Mountain offers free admission to children under 4 meters (inclusive), elderly people aged 60 and above (inclusive) with a valid ID card, active military personnel, retired military officers, and retired non-commissioned officers with relevant documents, active and retired firefighters, and fire academy students with valid identification, disabled people (including one accompanying person for severely disabled individuals) with a disability certificate, retired military personnel, police officers, and auxiliary police with valid identification, and blood donors with a ‘Weifang City Free Blood Donation Honor Card’ in physical or electronic form along with a valid ID card.
Additional Information: The above information is for reference only; please check the latest details provided by the scenic area on the day of your visit. Service Facilities: Parking Lot – [Tuo Mountain Parking Lot] Reference Price: Free Address: Southwest of Qingzhou City, Weifang City, Shandong Province, 6 kilometers away from the city Spaces: 50
