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Exploring Lushan: A Journey Through Nature, Culture, and History

The city of Lushan was established on May 30, 2016, with a total area of 913 square kilometers and jurisdiction over 12 townships (towns, fields, and districts), with a population of 276,000. The newly established Lushan City integrates the former Xingzi County, Lushan Administration Bureau, as well as the territories of Haihui Town (formerly part of Lushan District, including Gaolong Township), and Guling Town, combining the renowned Mount Lu, Dahuchi Lake (Poyang Lake), and the Ancient City (Nankang Ancient City) into one. It boasts abundant tourism resources and holds the titles of World Cultural Landscape, World Geopark, National Scenic Area, and National 5A Tourist Attraction, enjoying the reputation of being a "Sacred Mountain of Humanities."

Lushan's culture is profound and has a long history. As early as over 2,000 years ago in the Han Dynasty, Sima Qian recorded Lushan in the "Records of the Grand Historian." Tao Yuanming pioneered Chinese pastoral poetry on Lushan, and the eminent monk Huiyuan founded the Donglin Temple, establishing the Pure Land Sect. Zhu Xi later revitalized the White Deer Grotto Academy, promoting Neo-Confucianism. Over the centuries, more than 3,500 literati and ink painters have visited Mount Lu, leaving behind over 16,000 poems, songs, and abundant works of calligraphy and painting. In modern times, Lushan was once the summer capital during the Republic of China era. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chairman Mao Zedong visited Lushan three times, presiding over three significant meetings that drew worldwide attention. To this day, Lushan still preserves more than 600 modern villas in over 20 national styles.

Lushan's scenery is enchanting and unique. Its diverse geological landscapes, changing natural climate phenomena, and biodiversity constitute a splendid three-dimensional natural landscape of majesty, uniqueness, peril, and beauty. There are 16 natural wonders and 474 scenic spots in the Lushan Scenic Area, with 171 named peaks. Mao Zedong sincerely praised, "Infinite beauty lies among perilous peaks," while General Secretary Xi Jinping commended, "Lushan boasts the most picturesque scenery under heaven."

Lushan's ecology is excellent, and its resources are abundant. The forest coverage in Lushan City reaches 61.8%, while in Guling, it reaches 90.7%, making it a renowned summer resort destination at home and abroad. In 1934, botanist Hu Xiansu established China's first subtropical mountain botanical garden in Lushan. Lushan's rich radon hot springs contain over 30 beneficial minerals and trace elements for the human body, already famous in China since the Jin Dynasty. The water area of Poyang Lake in Lushan City covers 373.4 square kilometers, with a shoreline of 118 kilometers, attracting over 100,000 migratory birds for wintering each year. Lushan City has reserves of 1.5 billion cubic meters of granite and over 100 million cubic meters of bluestone, with the latter's bluestone inkstone being bestowed the name "Golden Star Song Inkstone" by Emperor Huizong of Song and listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage protection list.

Lushan's unique location and convenient transportation make it easily accessible. Located in the heart of Poyang Lake, Lushan City enjoys convenient water transportation, connecting to Wuhan and Chongqing upstream and to Nanjing and Shanghai downstream. The land transportation is also convenient, with the first-class road circling Mount Lu connecting to the Changjiu Expressway, the Jiujiang Ring Expressway fully open, and the Doujiu Expressway under construction. The city center is only half an hour's drive from Jiujiang and an hour's drive from Changbei Airport. Within the core scenic area of Lushan, there are two mountain roads, South Mountain and North Mountain, and a circular mountain road, branch roads, and walking trails. The mountain cableway was completed and put into operation on July 28, 2017, allowing a seven-minute journey from the foot of the mountain to the summit.