The Fanjingshan (Fànjìngshān: literal translation: brahma net mountain) or Mount Fanjing, located in Tongren, Guizhou province, is the highest peak of the Wuling Mountains in southwestern China, at an elevation of 2,570 m (8,430 ft). The Fanjingshan National Nature Reserve was established in 1978 and designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1986. Fanjingshan is a sacred mountain in Chinese Buddhism, considered to be the bodhimaṇḍa of the Maitreya Buddha. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018.
Fanjingshan or Mount Fanjing, in Guizhou Province in southwest China, is a sacred Buddhist site and a place of great natural beauty with unusual rock formations and rich biodiversity.
Many Buddhists believe that Fanjingshan is where one can reach spiritual enlightenment as Maitreya Buddha did. Since the Tang Dynasty, which ruled over China from the 7th to the 10 centuries, scores of temples have been built here but only a few survive.
One of these pairs of temples are located on a top of a lonely column of rock that looks like a giant thumb. Known as the Red Cloud Golden Peak, the rocky thumb soars nearly a hundred meters above the surrounding mountains, at the summit of which are two temples—the Temple of the Buddha and the Temple of Maitreya—that are separated by a narrow gorge that visitors can cross via a short bridge.
Climbing this 8,000-steps peak is one of the main appeals of visiting Fanjingshan for the stunning above-the-clouds views of the Wuling mountain range from the summit…
Fanjingshan is located in Tongren, Guizhou Province in southwest China. It is the highest peak of the Wuling Mountains. The elevation of its terrain ranges from 480 to 2,570 meters (1,570–8,430 ft) above sea level.
The Fanjingshan National Nature Reserve was established in 1978 and designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1986. The reserve covers a total area of 567 km2 (219 sq mi) and is a conservation area for primitive vegetation of the mid sub-tropic alpine region of western China. The mountain was designated a World Heritage Site in July 2018.
Fanjingshan’s relative isolation has ensured a high degree of biodiversity. Endemic species such as the rare Guizhou golden monkey (Rhinopithecus brelichi) and the Fanjingshan fir (Abies fanjingshanensis) occur only in a small region centering on Fanjingshan. Several endangered species, including the Chinese giant salamander, forest musk deer, and Reeve’s pheasant are also found in Fanjingshan. It is also home to the largest and most contiguous subtropical primeval beech forest.
