Where to go hiking in Nanjing

Nanjing has not only historical and cultural attractions, but also beautiful natural scenery. The weather is now cool, which is very suitable for hiking. So, what are some of the places worth visiting for hiking in Nanjing? Let’s take a look!

1、Purple Mountain

The highest mountain in Nanjing is Purple Mountain. Nanjing Zijin Mountain National Forest Park, located in Xuanwu District, Nanjing, is a large urban forest park that has been rated as a “National Forest Park”. You can overlook Nanjing city from the top of Purple Mountain! Nearby there are: Ming Xiaoling Scenic Area, Zhongshan Mausoleum Scenic Area, the two most popular attractions in Nanjing on holidays.

Price: Free. You can take the cable car when you are tired and don’t want to climb (the cable car needs to be purchased separately)~

Address: No. 8, Huanling Road, Zhongshan Mausoleum Scenic Area, Xuanwu District, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province

2、Niushou Mountain

Niushou Mountain is located in Jiangning District, Nanjing. It is composed of many mountains, including Niushou Mountain, Zutang Mountain, General Mountain, East and West Tianmu Ridge, and Yinlong Mountain. Niushou Mountain belongs to the southern branch of the Ningzhen Hills in the western part. The mountain is 248 meters high and is named after the two peaks that face each other like bull horns. “Jinling Lanyu” says: “Looking at the two peaks from a distance, they are like bull horns.” Niushou Mountain is a famous Buddhist mountain in China with profound cultural heritage. It is the birthplace of Niu Tou Zen, the founder of Buddhism.

Attractions

Buddha Top Palace

As one of the core areas of the Buddha Top Holy Land, the Buddha Top Palace is located on the west peak of Niushou Mountain. It is built on the basis of historical abandoned mines. The total construction area is about 136,000 square meters. It forms a new landscape on the west peak of Niushou Mountain with the Buddha Top Pagoda, which echoes the east peak of Niushou Mountain, recreating the magnificent scene of Niushou “two peaks and two pagodas” standing side by side.

Zen Realm Grand View

The Zen Realm Grand View is 112 meters long from north to south, 62 meters wide from east to west, and has a net height of about 41.2 meters inside, covering three floors above ground. The whole space area is over 6000㎡, elliptical in shape, with yellow, white and gray as the main tones, creating human landscapes, so that people can appreciate the Zen meaning while walking. It consists of three parts: the Zen Garden of the Buddha’s birth and enlightenment and the Lotus Theater in the middle, which shows the life of the Buddha.

Hongjue Temple

Hongjue Temple was originally called Foku Temple. It was built by Si Kong Xu Du in the second year of Liang Tianjian (503), located in the south of Niushou Mountain, and later renamed Pujue Temple. Later, Emperor Liang Wu, Xiao Yan, built Xianku Temple below Foku Temple. Therefore, Niushou Mountain is also called “Xianku Mountain”.

Tickets: 98 yuan/person

Address: No. 18, Ningdan Avenue, Jiangning District

Transportation: Take Metro Line 1 to Tianlong Temple Station, transfer to Bus No. 712/755 to Niushou Mountain Scenic Area Station; Take Metro Line S3 to Tiexinqiao Station, transfer to Bus No. 712 to Niushou Mountain Scenic Area Station

3、Qixia Mountain

Qixia Mountain is located in Qixia District, Nanjing. It is also known as Sheshan Mountain and is known as the “First Beautiful Mountain in Jinling”. It is one of the four best places to admire red maple leaves in China. Qixia Mountain is known as the “Six Dynasties Ruins”. It was listed as one of the “Forty-Eight Scenic Spots in Jinling” in the Qing Dynasty and has the reputation of “One Qixia Mountain, Half of Jinling History”. In history, five kings and fourteen emperors had climbed Qixia Mountain. There are more than 80 historical sites and relics, which bring together religious culture, imperial culture, celebrity customs culture, geological culture, stone carving culture, and tea culture. The ancient Qixia Temple, a thousand-year-old Buddhist temple, the ancestral temple of the “Three Treatise School” of Buddhism, and one of the “Four Major Buddhist Forest Temples”, is located on the west foot of Qixia Mountain.

Attractions

Qixia Temple

Qixia Temple is located on the west foot of the middle peak of Qixia Mountain, surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing the Yangtze River to the north. It is one of the four famous temples in China, as famous as Jiming Temple. The fame of Qixia Temple really doesn’t need to be introduced much by orange.

Thousand Buddha Cliff

The Thousand Buddha Cliff is located on the southwest foot of Fengxiang Peak. In the seventh year of Yongming (489) in the Southern Qi Dynasty, Ming Sengshao’s son and Zhi Du Zen Master cooperated to excavate the three holy statues to commemorate Ming Sengshao. The Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties successively excavated on the Shamao Peak. Including the Southern Dynasty, there are a total of 700 statues.

Emperor Qianlong’s Royal Garden

The Royal Garden is one of the ten scenic spots in Qixia during the Qing Dynasty. Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty visited the south six times and stayed at the Qixia Palace five times. The Royal Garden was a place for him to appreciate flowers, explore the scenery, compose poems, and write calligraphy.

Mingjing Lake

Mingjing Lake is located west of the gate of Qixia Temple, covering an area of about 3,000 square meters. It was built in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. There is a pavilion in the middle of the lake, and there is a nine-curved bridge connecting it to the shore. The design is exquisite, and the scenic spot is named “Rainbow Mingjing”. There is a stele inscribed with “Rainbow Mingjing” erected by the lake.

Tickets: Adult ticket 25 yuan/person, 40 yuan/person during the red maple festival

Address: No. 88, Qixia Street, Qixia District, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province

Transportation: Take Bus D21 to Qixia Mountain East Station

4、Laoshan Mountain

Nanjing Laoshan National Forest Park is located in the Laoshan Forestry Farm in the middle of Pukou District, Nanjing. It runs across Pukou District, with the Yangtze River to the south and the Chuhe River to the north. Laoshan Mountain is the remnant of the Huaiyang Mountains. The mountains are undulating and undulating, with nearly 100 mountains of different sizes. It is 35 kilometers long from east to west and 15 kilometers wide from north to south, covering a total area of 7493.33 hectares, with a forest coverage rate of over 80%. The natural landscape is known for its four wonders: “forest, spring, stone, and cave”. Nanjing Laoshan National Forest Park is known as the “Green Lung of Nanjing and the Pearl of North Jiangsu”.

Attractions

Seven Buddha Temple

The Seven Buddha Temple Scenic Area is located in the eastern part of the forest park, covering an area of over 4 million square meters, consisting of Hat Mountain, Zhongyizi Mountain, Fulong Mountain, Laoyingshan Mountain, etc. The valleys are deep, the mountains are stacked, the forests are dense, and the scenery is beautiful.

Lion Ridge

Lion Ridge is located under Xihua Peak, between Daci Mountain and Xihua Mountain, 363 meters high. There are 5 peaks on the mountain, with Xihua Peak and Lianhua Peak being peculiar. According to legend, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva sat on Xihua Mountain for one night, and then the stones from the mountain rose from the ground, forming a shape that looks like a lion. Therefore, it was named after this.

Tickets: Adult ticket 30 yuan/person and up

Address: Huangshanling Road, Pukou District, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province

Transportation: Take Metro Line 10 to Longhua Road Station, transfer to Bus No. 611 to Laoshan Forest Park

5、Youzi Mountain

Nanjing Youzi Mountain National Forest Park is located on Huanshan Road, Dongba Street, Gaochun District, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province. It is a “Three Religions Holy Land” that combines Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, and it is also a leisure mountain villa that combines leisure, vacation, and entertainment. The park is mainly composed of Youzi Mountain, Xiaoyou Mountain, Santiaolong, Tangmen Mountain, Nanli Mountain, Beili Mountain, and Huashan Mountain, Xiushan Mountain, and Chanlinshan Mountain.

Attractions

Huashan Scenic Area

The Huashan Scenic Area is located between Youzi Mountain and Guceng Lake. The cliffs are steep and the valleys are deep. It was once the back mountain of the Gaochun Prison and Labor Farm in Nanjing. Few people have ever been here. This unique geographical location is a typical transitional zone between the North Subtropical and Central Subtropical zones, making the vegetation in this 5.5 square kilometer mountain area, after three or four hundred years of evolution, form a complete natural secondary forest community.

Prayer Garden

The Prayer Garden is located in the core scenic area of Youzi Mountain National Forest Park, themed on the historical context and “traveler” humanistic landscape of the top of Dayou Mountain. There are buildings such as Wensheng Temple, Zhenwu Temple, Lingguan Temple, Bell Tower, Drum Tower, and Wooden Pavilion.

Youzi Mountain Martyrs Cemetery

Youzi Mountain Martyrs Cemetery is a patriotic education base in Gaochun District. “The Tomb of the Late Qing Dynasty Jie Yuan”, “The Stele of You Mountain Zhenwu Temple”, “The Tomb of Yang Zuo”, etc., are county-level cultural relics protection units.

Address: No. 6, Huanshan Road, Dongba Street, Gaochun District, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province

Transportation: It is recommended to travel by car

6、Wu xiang Mountain

As a national forest park, Wu Xiang Mountain has a forest coverage rate of over 95%! “Four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasty”, Wu Xiang Temple in the mountain is one of them!

Bamboo sea, clear springs, treasure forests… you can find them all here! Hike during the day and go shopping in Wu Xiang Water Town at night. It’s so comfortable!

Tickets: Adult ticket 10 yuan

Address: Wu Xiang Mountain Avenue, Lishui District, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province

Self-driving route:

1. Ningxuan Expressway direction: Tianshengqiao exit → Tianshengqiao Avenue → Zhenzhu South Road → Wu Xiang Mountain Scenic Area

2. Ninghang Expressway direction: Lishui East exit – Transportation East Road – S246 Provincial Highway – Wu Xiang Mountain Avenue – Wu Xiang Mountain Scenic Area

7、Fang Mountain

Fangshan Mountain is about 208 meters above sea level, about half the height of Purple Mountain. Although it is not high, it is still majestic and towering, as it is located on the plain.

The most unique feature of Fangshan Mountain is that it is a dead volcano! The volcanic eruption of basalt layers is stacked to form the main body of Fangshan Mountain! Due to its unique environment, Fangshan Mountain has also been awarded the qualification of “National Geopark”! In addition to hiking, you can also visit the temple! The famous Dinglin Temple is located here. It is a famous temple in Jinling and is one of the Forty-Eight Scenic Spots in Jinling!

Address: Tianyin Avenue, Jiangning District, Nanjing City

Transportation: Bus No. 803 to Fangshan East Gate Station; Bus No. 817 to University Town Park Station; Take Nanjing Metro Line 1 to Tianyin Avenue Station or Nanjing Jiaoyuan Station, and then transfer to a bus line for about 10 minutes to reach Fangshan Scenic Area.