Recommended Attractions in Tongling

Located in the southern part of Shunan Town, Tongling County, Phoenix Mountain is a national 2A-level scenic area shaped like a resting phoenix, composed of Hengshan, Mianshan, Lingfeng Mountain, Tanshan, Jinshan and other peaks. Boasting clear mountains and limpid waters, it is a renowned tourist destination familiar to all Tongling residents. As early as the Jingtai reign of the Ming Dynasty, poet Zhou Duo composed a set of sixteen poems titled Eight Sights of Phoenix Mountain, including verses: Beyond the cottages, lofty peaks pierce the sky;

An isolated stone well bubbles with sweet spring.

After the phoenix drank here a thousand years ago,

Its traces endure through endless ages.

Designated a provincial scenic area in 1998, it is now officially rated 2A national scenic spot. Key attractions cover the Phoenix Mountain Peony Garden, Lovers’ Trees, Water-Dripping Cliff, Phoenix Perching Stone, Ancient Jinniu Cave Mining Site, Ancient Famous Trees in Jinlang, Chen Zhu’s Tomb, and Daming Temple (the Former Study of Wang Anshi).

Tianjing Lake lies north of West Changjiang Road, the city’s main thoroughfare. Natural dykes and hills divide it into East Lake, South Lake and North Lake, with interconnected water surfaces, roughly 5 kilometres from Tongguan Mountain. At the lake’s center stands a well reputed to "reach heaven above and connect to the sea below", named Tianjing (Heavenly Well). The lake and park derive their names from this well. A core wonder of Tianjing Lake Park, the well’s underground spring keeps its water level about two metres higher than the lake surface all year round.

The park spans 1,646 mu, 1,222 mu of which consists of lake water, encircled by seven distinctive hills. Since opening in 1972, over 30 recreational zones and scenic spots have been built, including a children’s playground, roller-skating rink, yacht dock, Tianjing Teahouse, Yiyin Garden, covered corridors, waterside pavilions, Nine-Turn Bridge, Tongtian Pavilion, Valley Forest of Stone Tablets and Peony Garden. Complemented by lighting installations and two plazas (Lake View and Lakeside), the park harmonizes majestic hills and shimmering waters, blending historic relics with modern landscapes. It is split into eight major scenic zones: Five Pines Leisure Tour, Night Recitation with Pestle Sound, Wooden Fish and Red Golden Carp, and Three-Thousand-Scroll Landscape. Among them, the Five Pines Leisure Tour stretches from the park gate to the Nine-Turn Bridge of South Lake, covering the largest land area, dominated by towering Five Pine Mountain as the park’s core zone.

Known as "The First Heavenly Gate of Grand Jiuhua Mountain", Dashi Pavilion is a famous Buddhist temple nestled at the foot of Shenyi Hill beside the Qingtong River, south of Datong Town, Tongling City. After multiple renovations and expansions, the temple complex houses the Heavenly King Hall, Mahavira Hall, Three Saints Hall, Great Vow Hall, Ksitigarbha Hall, Patriarch Hall, Merit Hall, Great Compassion Hall, Arhats Calligraphy and Painting Academy, and the Five-Hundred Arhats Hall.

More than 600 metres northeast of the temple stands an exquisitely carved large white marble archway at the confluence of the Qingtong River and the Yangtze River. On the front upper beam of the archway are carved seven characters inscribed by the late Monk Rende, former Vice Chairman of the Buddhist Association of China, President of Jiuhua Mountain Buddhist Association and Abbot of Zhiyuan Temple on Jiuhua Mountain: "The First Heavenly Gate of Grand Jiuhua Mountain". Vertical couplets on the front pillars read: The Bodhisattva dwells eternally in this sacred pure land, ferrying all living beings across the sea of suffering;

With compassionate resolve, nine years built this treasure temple, radiating bright light to illuminate the mortal world. On the back upper beam are four regular script characters: "The Country Flourishes and the People Live in Peace". The rear pillars bear another couplet: This grand shrine was crafted thanks to devout donors and skilled artisans;

To propagate Buddhist Dharma, we rely on Dharma protectors, heavenly divinities, faithful monks and lay believers.

Tongling Yangtze River Highway Bridge stands 600 metres downstream from Yangshanji. It is a massive river-crossing bridge on the north-south thoroughfare connecting Xuzhou and Tunxi. The total bridge length reaches 2,592 metres, including a 1,152-metre main bridge and 1,440-metre approach bridges, with a 23-metre-wide deck. As a prestressed concrete double-tower double-cable-stayed bridge, it boasts top-tier domestic and advanced international comprehensive performance. Its sleek, elegant structure embodies contemporary aesthetic concepts in bridge engineering.

Datong is a time-honored ancient water town in the Jiangnan region with a thousand years of history, located in the southwest of Tongling City, Anhui Province. It faces Zongyang County across the Yangtze to the northwest, and borders Guichi and Qingyang to the south along the Qingtong River. It sits 180 kilometres from Huangshan Mountain, known as "China’s World Park", and 90 kilometres from Jiuhua Mountain, one of China’s four great Buddhist mountains. Tongling-Qingyang Highway, Tongling-Guichi Highway, the riverside expressway and Hefei-Tongling-Huangshan Expressway all pass through the town. As the northern gateway to Anhui’s "Two Mountains and One Lake" tourism belt (Jiuhua Mountain, Huangshan Mountain and Taiping Lake) and the location of Jiuhua Mountain’s First Heavenly Gate, it serves as a vital transport hub for entering and exiting southern Anhui’s tourist zone. Historically, Datong Ancient Town of Tongling ranked alongside Anqing, Wuhu and Bengbu as Anhui’s four major commercial ports. Numerous Huizhou-style buildings and ancient streets remain intact to this day, offering abundant material for research on ancient China’s inland water transport history.