Jinshan in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province is famous for Jinshan Temple. Jinshan Temple, also known as Jiangtian Temple, was built in the Eastern Jin Dynasty with a history of 1600 years. Formerly known as Zexin Temple, also known as Longyou Temple. Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty wrote Jiangtian Temple in his own handwriting, but since the Tang Dynasty, people have called it Jinshan Temple.
Entering the mountain gate is the Temple of the King, which is a palace-style building with a single eaves and a back hill. Maitreya has been smiling in it, and there are four heavenly kings on both sides, also known as the Four donkey kong. Behind the King's Hall is the magnificent Hall of the Great Hero, which rests on a double eaves. In the center of the hall are three golden Buddha statues of Sakyamuni Buddha, Pharmacist Buddha and Amitabha Buddha, eighteen arhats on the west wall, and fifty-six Buddha statues in the left and right attics. There are islands on the back of the three giant buddhas. Around the top and bottom of the island, there are auspicious boys of different sizes and shapes who pay tribute to the statues of 53 bodhisattvas.
The wings on both sides of the main hall are abbots' rooms and reception places for donors.
Climb up from the back of the main hall and enter the Zhao Xi Pavilion. There are seven Qianlong Imperial Monuments in the pavilion, from Zhaoqian Pavilion to Guanyin Pavilion. There are four treasure rooms showing the four treasures of Jinshan-Zhou Ding, Zhuge bronze drum, Dongpo jade belt and Wenming Zhiming's Jinshan painting.
Guanyin Pavilion is connected with Miaogaotai and Lenggatai in the south, and Cishou Tower and Fahai Cave rafters in the north. It is green and bright. Climbing from Lenggatai to the north, you can reach the Liuyun Pavilion at the top of Jinshan, where there is a stone tablet of Emperor Kangxi's imperial pen Jiangtian, so the pavilion is also called Jiangtian Tour Pavilion. In the northwest of Liu Yunting, there is a Qifeng Pavilion to commemorate Yue Fei, a national hero of the Southern Song Dynasty. In the north of this pavilion, there is an ancient fairy cave, which is a relic of Taoism.
From Guanyin Pavilion to the north, you can climb the Cishou Tower, which was built in Qiliang, and it has been 1400 years. There used to be two towers in Jinshan, which are now abandoned. The existing tower was rebuilt in the 26th year of Guangxu (AD 1900). The tower is a wooden structure, with seven floors, stairs up and down, corridors and guardrails around each floor.
From Cishou Tower to Fahai Cave, this is the penance place of the founder of Jinshan Temple and monk Pei Toutuo, and there is a statue in the cave. There is a Bailong Cave next to Fahai Cave North Daiyu Bridge. According to myths and legends, there are stone statues of White Empress and Xiaoqing in the cave.
Go to the right not far from Bailong Cave and you will arrive at Chaoyang Cave, also known as Rizhao Rock. The hanging rock at the top of the cave is engraved with the word Rizhao rock. Whenever the sun rises, the stone walls in this area face the morning sun with golden light, and the water and sky are the same, which is a spectacle. It is the best place to watch the sunrise in Jinshan. The three characters of Chaoyang Cave carved on the rock wall were written by Teng Mi in Ming Dynasty.
There is Zhong Ling Spring 500 meters west of Jinshan Temple, which was called the first spring in the world by Lu Yu in the Tang Dynasty. The south wall of Shilan is engraved with the four characters of "the first spring in the world" inscribed by Wang Renkan, the champion of the late Qing Dynasty and the magistrate of Zhenjiang.
Scholars of all ages yearned for Zhong Ling Spring, leaving many famous sentences.