Golden Summit Temple of Jizu Mountain in Binchuan County, Dali
Chinese Name: 宾川鸡足山金顶寺
Chinese Pinyin: Binchuan Jizushan Jinding Si
English Name: Golden Summit Temple of Jizu Mountain in Binchuan County, Dali
Opening Hours: 8:00-19:00
Recommended Visiting Hours: 2-3 hours
Altitude: 3240 meters
Ticket: free
Location: Jizu Mountain, Binchuan County, Dali
Golden Summit Temple
Located in the summit of Tianzhu Peak on Jizu Mountain, Jinding (golden summit) Temple(金顶寺) is the top attraction of Jizu Mountain. It consists of Duguangtai, Maitreya Hall, Lengyan Tower and Daxiong Hall. Jiding Temple enjoys the long and profound history, also the best place for appreciate the landscape, appreciating the sunrise from the east, Cangshan and Erhai Lake in west, the forest of Xiangyun in south and Jade Dragon Mountain in north. The traveler Xu Xiake(徐霞客) also climbed the Jizu Mountain and appreciated four sights here.
History
Golden Summit Temple has gone through a lot. Firstly, monks built the temple here; In Jiajing Period of Ming Dynasty(1522-1566, scholar of Dali Li Yuanyang built Puguang Hall; in 1600, Censor Sun Yu(御史孙愈) built the Guangming Pagoda according to the requirements of monks; in 1641, Mu Tianbo(沐天波) moved the copper temple from Yingwu Mountain(鹦鹉山) of Kunming to Tianzhu Peak in Jizu Mountain(鸡足山天柱峰) and destroy the Puguang Hall. To the 30 years of Kangxi Period of Qing Dynasty(1691), the hall was burned, and the copper temple and pagoda were left. Lengyan Pagoda was built in 1929 by Long Yun(龙云). During the Anti-Japanese War, it was a natural buoy for foreign aid materials flying over the Tuofeng.
Accommodation
There are several hotels on the top of Jizu Mountain, such as Jinding Temple Guesthouse(金顶寺接待部), Jizu Mountain Hotel. Travelers also can stay at the hotels at the foot of Jizu Mountain, like Dali Zhusun Hotel(大理竹笋庄园).
Useful Travel Tips
- Cable car and horse riding are available if you don’t want to climb up to the Jinding Temple.
- Please do not take the photos of the Buddha to show your respect.
- Wear more clothes as the top of the mountain can be cold.
- When the weather is fine in Dali, the sunshine is heated, and ultraviolet light is strong. People should avoid direct sunlight, and the sun hat preparation is required during outdoor activities, a pair of sunglasses will make you comfortable in the trip.
