Hiking on the Huangshi Cliff of Fohui Mountain

Fohui Mountain is located to the south of Thousand Buddha Mountain. It is just across the road from the south gate of Thousand Buddha Mountain Park. In the early years, it was connected with Thousand Buddha Mountain and there were few people at that time. This is the highest mountain in Jinan city, with an altitude of 460 meters. The mountain is steep and there is a giant Buddha head carved on the cliff on the shady side of the mountain. The statue is 7.8 meters high and 4 meters wide. It was carved in the second year of Jingyou in the Northern Song Dynasty, so the locals call this mountain the Big Buddha Head. The Huangshi Cliff Carvings in the scenic area are the earliest cliff carvings in Shandong Province. There used to be an ancient temple, Fohui Temple, at the foot of Fohui Mountain. It was Kaiyuan Temple in the early Ming Dynasty, and now only the ruins remain. In autumn, Fohui Mountain is covered with red trees and yellow flowers. During the Double Ninth Festival, literati from past dynasties often climbed up here to admire the chrysanthemums and recite poems, which is known as "Foshan Chrysanthemum Appreciation" and is one of the eight scenic spots in Jinan. There are multiple entrances to Fohui Mountain. The main entrance is located on the tourist road, at Kaiyuan Square at the southern end of Qianfoshan South Road. It was built after the demolition of a restaurant that had been in business for many years. Several small restaurants in the surrounding area also gave way to the scenic area. Jinan citizens prefer to hike here rather than at Thousand Buddha Mountain, firstly because there is no entrance fee, but more importantly because you can walk in multiple directions and see different scenery. Going straight southeast from the main entrance is the Kaiyuan Temple ruins. Continuing eastward, you can reach the ecological corridor bridge connecting to Laohushan, or you can reach Pingdingshan. To the west, you can go to Huangshi Cliff or the Thousand-meter Gallery, as well as Jinjiling and Youyan Mountain. The Thousand-Meter Gallery is particularly beautiful when the forsythia flowers bloom. The scenery around Kaiyuan Temple is very beautiful when the peach blossoms bloom. Those who are not in good physical condition can enter from the Huangshi Cliff entrance opposite the south gate of Qianfo Mountain or the Kaiyuan Square entrance and walk along the asphalt greenway. There are places where little squirrels 🐿️ often appear on the greenway. Parents often bring their children to knock on the ground with walnuts to attract squirrels. The squirrels here are gradually no longer afraid of people. They run out openly, pick up the walnuts and carry them back to the storage area, and then come back for the next one. I stayed there for a short while before a little squirrel came down three times and took away three walnuts. The children enjoyed cracking walnuts and gave them to the little squirrel willingly. There is a rest pavilion on the roadside leading to Kaiyuan Temple. On weekends, you can see elderly people playing saxophone here, and the music is melodious and pleasant. When you get close to Kaiyuan Temple, you can also see a short section of the thousand-year-old ancient road, which used to be a stone path to and from the southern mountains. There is a shop selling drinks and snacks on the mountainside, and business is pretty good. The bathroom layout is also much more reasonable than before. This time our hiking route was Kaiyuan Square - Kaiyuan Temple Ruins - Walking Greenway - Huangshi Cliff Entrance, and we did not continue to Huangshi Cliff. There are buses No. 169, No. 137 and No. 170 on Tourism Road.