Jizu Mountain

Another name of Jizu Mountain is Nine Strata Cliffs. It is situated in Liandong District of Binchuan County, 20km. west of the county seat and 90km. from Dali. With three mountain ranges in front and one branch at the back, it looks like a cock's foot, hence its name.

The mountain ranges stretch to several hundred li and Tianzhu Peak is the highest, measuring 3,240 metres in elevation. Ascending the top of the mountain, you can enjoy the splendid view of sunrise and have a glance at the plain of the county, Cangshan Mountain, Erhai Lake and the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the east, south, west and north respectively. The mountain is covered with dense forests and bamboo groves. During the period of Shu Kingdom of the Three Kingdoms, small nunneries were first constructed and later expanded in the Tang Dynasty, and the most flourishing period followed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There were more than one hundred monasteries of different sizes and the noted ones were Xitang Temple, Shizhong Temple and Huayan Temple constructed in the Ming Dynasty and Jinding Temple (Golden Top) which had been moved from Kunming to the mountain. Later, many temples fell into ruins, and now, only Zhushengsi Temple, the gate tower of Jinding Temple and Lengyan Pagoda are kept in the original shape. Jizushan Mountain is one of the most famous Buddhist mountains in China.