Jin Mountain Scenic Area

Opening Hours: 8:00 – 18:00 Ticket Price: 20 RMB Contact Number: 0530-8480006 Address: 22 kilometers southeast of Juye County, Heze City Best Visiting Time: Suitable for all four seasons Complaint Hotline: 0530-5310803

Special tourist buses run between Juye County and Jin Mountain every 20 minutes, with a half-hour ride.

Known as "the foremost mountain at the heart of the realm", Jin Mountain is a renowned mountain steeped in history and culture. It belongs to the branch range of Mount Tai, and legend holds that it forms a trio of sister mountains alongside Mount Tai and Mount Yi. Sitting on the golden tourist route of "Mountains, Rivers and Sages" in Qilu land, it gets its name "Jin (Gold) Mountain" because gold was discovered when rocks were quarried here. The mountain lies 23 kilometers southeast of Juye County, with Yuliang Mountain (Red Soil Mountain) to its south, Gaoping Mountain to its east, White Horse Mountain to its north, and flat plains stretching to the west. Jin Mountain spans 1.5 kilometers from north to south and 1 kilometer from east to west, with an altitude of 133 meters.

Jin Mountain once boasted more than 20 ancient buildings. In the 40th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty, large-scale reconstruction was carried out strictly following the layout of Mount Tai. The reconstructed complex included the Small Red Gate, Middle Heavenly Gate, Small Heavenly Street, South Heavenly Gate, Queen Mother Pavilion, Palace of the Azure Cloud Goddess, Hall of the Three Sages, Wenchang Pavilion, Divine Farmer Shrine, Crop Viewing Pavilion, Ox King Temple, Earth God Temple, Reflection Pavilion, Kuixing Tower, Opera Stage and other structures. In recent years, new scenic spots such as Jade Rabbit Cave, Fertility Prayer Cave and Golden Ox Cave have been added.

The crown jewel of Juye lies in Jin Mountain, and the highlight of Jin Mountain is the Prince Qin Cave. A huge man-made cave is carved into the southern foothill of the mountain. Legend says Li Shimin, the Prince of Qin, once took shelter from summer heat here, hence its alias "Prince Qin Summer Retreat Cave". Archaeological research in recent years has verified that the cave is an unfinished abandoned mausoleum built for Liu He, King of Changyi in the Han Dynasty. The cave consists of a long passageway, side chambers, a connecting corridor, auxiliary niches and a main burial chamber, stretching 89.8 meters in total with a maximum width of 28 meters including the eastern and western side chambers.

The passageway is 63.3 meters long and flanked by two side chambers. The east chamber measures 13.9 meters long, 3.2 meters wide and 2.6 meters high; the west chamber is 9.3 meters long, 3.1 meters wide and 2.6 meters high. The tomb chamber is carved at the end of the passageway. The connecting corridor is 15.9 meters long, 2.4 meters wide and 1.85 meters tall. The main burial chamber is 10.6 meters long, 6.7 meters wide and 2.35 meters high. The cave maintains a mild temperature all year round, warm in winter and cool in summer. A clear spring seeps continuously from the rock walls to form hanging trickles. Two ancient verses vividly depict its charm: "When clouds disperse, the mountain ground unfolds; When raindrops fall, a cave sky unfolds. Narrow paths vanish beneath tangled vines, Tall cliffs hold sun and moon suspended." "Watch sunrise in spring’s third month, Seek coolness in the cave in the sixth lunar month." These lines perfectly portray the two classic views of "Clouds Wreathed over Prince Qin’s Cave" and "Spring Dawn on Jin Mountain".

The cave features exquisitely uniform stone carvings, a masterpiece of ancient craftsmanship that never fails to amaze visitors. Literati and scholars from successive dynasties left countless popular poems here. Forty-four stone inscriptions dating back to the Song Dynasty remain intact, among the most famous being Record of the Cool Cave written by Deng Yufu in the first year of the Chongning reign of the Song Dynasty (1102), Record of Moving Fifty-Three Buddha Statues from the fourth year of the Dading reign of the Jin Dynasty (1164), and Tour of Prince Qin’s Summer Retreat Cave composed by Song Cang, Vice Censor-in-Chief, in the eleventh year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1532). From the Song through Jin and Yuan dynasties, the cave operated as a Buddhist temple. Six large characters "Imperially Bestowed Great Ming Chan Courtyard" are carved above the cave entrance, dating back to the third year of the Jin Dading reign. A stone Buddha statue erected in the fourth year of the Taiding reign of the Yuan Dynasty still stands inside the cave.

Boasting numerous historic sites and picturesque scenery, Jin Mountain draws tens of thousands of tourists every year, ranking as a major tourist attraction in Heze.