Mount Drum 鼓山

Mount Drum, a major scenic attraction in Fuzhou, has enjoyed a long history and reputation. As early as the Jin Dynasty, it was appraised as one of “The Two Matchless Scenic Beauties in Fujian Province.” Lying 10 kilometers southeast of the city on the northern side of the Min River , the beautiful mountain with four peaks named Lion, White Cloud, Alms Bowl 钵盂 (of a Buddhist monk ) offers over 160 sites of interest, centered by the Gushing Spring Temple. Since ancient times, men of letters and celebrities vied to visit the place, wrote poems and had their inscriptions carved on rocks, adding to the attraction of the mountain.

The Gushing Spring Temple 涌泉寺, half-way up the mountain, proves the best of its kind in Fujian Province, with a history of more than 1,000 years. Emperor Kangxi (1654-1722, reigned 1662-1722) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) wrote the inscription: “the Gushing Spring Temple” on the lintel of the entrance. In front of the temple stand two earthen pagodas made in the 1080 of the Northern Song Dynasty. Each of the seven-meter-high, nine-storey octagonal pagodas has 1,038 figures of Buddhas, 72 monks and warriors and same number of bells carved on its sides, all vivid and true to life.

Out of the rear of the temple, a path leads to the summit of Mount Drum, with an elevation of 925 meters, a place, which lends itself to a magnificent view of the sunrise. In front of the temple, a 2,145-step flagstone path, accompanied by an 8.5-kilometer-long spiral highway, goes down to the office block at the foot of the mountain. To the west of the temple stand the famous Eighteen Caves. To the east, past the Rolling Dragon Pavilion, through a thick forest, a quiet path leads to the Lingyuan Cave, where jagged, grotesque rocks cover the ground and towering ancient trees give heavy shade to the deep, old pool. Connected with the place are many beautiful tales and myths. On the rocks are more than 300 inscriptions over the past nine hundred years since the Song Dynasty (960-1279), which deserves the title of a museum of Chinese calligraphy for the full variety of styles—from the regular script真书 , cursive script 草书,seal character 篆书to official script隶书 .

Fungus---flossy ganoderma (ganoderma lucidum; used in medicine; formerly credited with miraculous powers and considered a symbol of good luck)

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