Jiuhua Mountain Travel Guide – Itinerary Planning

1. Purchase your entrance ticket at the transfer and ticketing center in Kecun Village at the foot of the mountain.
   • Peak season ticket (March 1 – late November): 190 RMB per person, including shuttle bus service
   • Off-season ticket (December 1 – end of February the following year): 140 RMB per person, including shuttle bus service
     Discounted tickets are available on presentation of student ID, teacher ID, senior citizen ID for visitors aged 60 and above, and active military ID. Holders of disability certificates, press credentials and senior IDs for visitors aged 70 and above enjoy free admission, but need to pay the separate shuttle bus fare of 10 RMB per ride.
     After buying your ticket and a tourist map, board the yellow official shuttle buses beside the ticket counters. If you drive your own vehicle, purchase a vehicle pass alongside your entrance ticket to drive up the mountain.
   Note: You may encounter overly persistent touts on the road or long-distance coaches; stay alert and handle them cautiously.
2. One perforated hole will be stamped on your ticket. The shuttle ride takes 20 to 25 minutes to reach Jiuhua Street Scenic Area. After ticket inspection at the scenic area gate, you will enter the core zone known as the "Buddhist Kingdom of Lotus Flowers". As you stroll forward, you will immerse yourself in the sacred Buddhist atmosphere of this spiritual mountain and smell the pervasive incense smoke drifting across the hills. Unlicensed private tour guides will approach you at the entrance; respond cautiously or simply ignore them.
3. Check into your pre-booked hotel and take a short rest before starting your pilgrimage around Jiuhua Mountain.
   Tip: You can book accommodation at a lower price through me, Xiao Rui, or local travel agencies. For your entire stay on the mountain, you may hire an official licensed guide from a travel agency for 100 RMB to accompany you for dining, accommodation, transport and sightseeing across Jiuhua Mountain.
4. Exchange small cash at the banks on the mountain.
5. Jiuhua Mountain is a sacred Buddhist destination for incense worship. There are 99 temples of all sizes scattered across the mountain, and it is impossible to burn incense in every single one. Travelers are recommended to focus on three most important shrines:

   First, Huacheng Temple, the founding ancestral temple of Jiuhua Mountain;

   Second, Roubao Temple (Flesh Relic Hall), the shrine enshrining the earthly incarnation of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, the patron deity of Jiuhua Mountain;

   Third, Tiantai Main Peak, the highest mountain summit with a temple complex atop it.

   Burning incense at these three sites suffices for a complete pilgrimage. A set of incense sticks offered inside each temple costs between 50 and 200 RMB.
   Reminder: When purchasing items within temples, use the respectful term "request" instead of "buy", as temples do not operate for commercial profit. Always burn incense provided by the temples themselves. Locals believe temple incense carries greater spiritual efficacy, and purchasing temple incense counts as a charitable donation to support the monastery, letting you contribute your modest share. Street vendors shout cheap incense and candles priced at 3 or 5 RMB, but rather than buying from them, you may donate that money directly into the temple merit boxes. You visit Jiuhua Mountain to make offerings to Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, monastics and temples, not to support street vendors.
6. There are many traditional etiquette rules for incense worship and Buddha homage; your guide can walk you through them on site.
7. Dining: As a mountain scenic area, commodity prices here are slightly higher than in urban cities.
8. Hundred-Year Temple sits at an altitude of 871 meters; the uphill hike takes roughly 40 to 50 minutes. Tiantai Peak stands 1,306 meters above sea level with a 7.5-kilometer full hiking trail, which proves exhausting for most visitors. A round-trip cable car is recommended: 105 RMB in peak season and 75 RMB in off-season. Even after taking the cable car, you still need to hike another 30 to 40 minutes to reach the very summit.