Nanjing in autumn
Red maple leaves, yellow ginkgo leaves, gold sycamore trees
When the wind blows, Nanjing becomes Jinling

A Qixia Mountain, half of the history of Jinling

The long years are as beautiful as songs

She is graceful and graceful, and she is like water

It has always been believed that autumn is the most beautiful of the four seasons. After the scorching heat of summer, but not yet as cold as winter, autumn releases the atmosphere contained in the earth with golden and fiery red colors.

This autumn, I brought myself to Nanjing

Don't blow the downplay of Xuanwu Lake, and don't fall in love with the bright and charming nights of Qinhuai River

In the beautiful land of Jiangnan, Jinling Imperial Prefecture

I only love the colorful mountains of Qixia. It is the dream Jinling in my heart.

Qixia Mountain is located 22 kilometers northeast of Nanjing City. It is also known as Shashan. In the Southern Dynasties, there was also "Qixia Jingshe" in the mountain, hence its name.

Since the Ming Dynasty, there has been a saying that "the head of the ox in spring and the Qixia in autumn". The patches of maple trees on the west side make Qixia Mountain one of China's four major maple attractions, which is as famous as Beijing Xiangshan Mountain, Suzhou Tianping Mountain, and Changsha Yuelu Mountain.

Qixia Mountain is full of historical relics, beautiful mountain views and profound cultural heritage.

In history, there have been five kings and fourteen emperors who have climbed Qixia Mountain. Among them, Emperor Qianlong visited the south of the Yangtze River six times and stayed in Qixia Mountain five times.

Here is a fusion of religious culture, imperial culture, green culture, folk culture, geological culture, stone carving culture, tea culture and other diverse cultures.

Dangerous peaks, strange rocks, famous springs, and deep streams in the mountains are integrated with pine trees, cypresses, peach blossoms, and red leaves, making them natural.

My trip to admire maple in the golden autumn began with this tranquil and beautiful Qixia Mountain with stacked mangroves, patches of Danxia:

"Qixia Zen Temple" where Qixia Appreciation of Maple:

A thousand-year-old temple, Qixia Ancient Temple, one of the "Four Great Jungles" of Buddhism, is located at the western foot of Qixia Mountain. The morning bells and evening drums are heard, and the chanting of scriptures is leisurely.

As soon as you walk into the gate, your eyes will be immediately attracted by the archway engraved with the four characters "Qixia Zen Temple". Further inside, you will step into a ginkgo forest avenue, as if leading from the world to a fairyland.

Large red lanterns hanging on the maple trees for blessing add a touch of brilliance to this season's autumn.

It was the first day of November when I went. Perhaps it was because the temperature was warmer this year. Some ginkgo trees had not yet turned yellow, and some maple leaves were still burning red. Perhaps it was this green with yellow, yellow with gold, and gold. The red color of the gold has made the thousand-year-old Qixia Temple covered with a layer of autumn color.

The red temple gate attracted a woman in a white dress. Her frown, smile, and every gesture were all charming that matched this autumn. If you are a devout believer, don't miss entering the temple to light a incense for yourself and your family, and pray for the peace and joy of the whole family.

This is a Buddhist stone pagoda from the Five Dynasties period in China and the largest stupa in China. It can be regarded as a masterpiece of Chinese stupa art.

Enjoy the maple in Qixia: "There is a bell in Qixia"：

Ding ring ring

The crisp sound of bells brings people into the beauty of autumn.

Before entering Qixia Temple, you can go to the next "Qixia Youling" to make a wish. In Qixia Mountain, a place full of aura, all the good wishes you make may be realized.

These special cultural and creative cute people are waiting for your arrival.

"I am compiling ancient books in Qixia":

Walking through the quiet courtyard, the trees outside the window are still as prosperous as summer, and opening the old pages feels like going back to the past.

We received special approval to visit the ancient book restoration room and experience the "I repair ancient books in Qixia" activity.

Thousands of years old Qixia Temple has left many ancient books, documents and manuscripts, which are all handed down treasures of ancient Chinese books.

One meter of autumn sunshine shines into the restoration room, where several ancient book restorers are busy. They held their breath and focused, used a brush to stick the paper the size of rice grains bit by bit to the moth-eaten ancient scriptures. They worked for more than 8 hours a day, day after day, year after year.

There are tens of thousands of ancient books in the huge Qixia Ancient Temple, many of which are waiting for them to repair one by one due to insect bite, floculation, mildew erosion and other reasons.

So, let us be sewers and guardians of the old times like these respectable craftsmen in this autumn day!

"The most beautiful scenery is on the road" of appreciating the maple in Qixia:

We often say that travel is not simply about arriving at the destination, but about enjoying the entire process on the road.

When enjoying autumn on Qixia Mountain, as long as you have the heart, you can discover the scenery on the road at any time.

An unknown maple forest may have a different scenery;

On the road, finding a car bound for late autumn, driving from green summer to golden autumn, will also make you sigh a little about life.

On the road, there were young ladies wearing white dresses and holding white umbrellas, dancing in the colorful autumn colors, intoxicated and unaware of their way home.

On the road, there are colorful fallen souls, dreams and hopes...

"Luyu Tea House" where Qixia Appreciation of Maple:

By taking a sightseeing bus in the park, you can reach Lu Yu Tea House located on the top of Longshan Mountain. It was built in 2001 to commemorate Lu Yu, the "tea saint".

Standing on the top of Longshan Mountain, you can overlook the scenery of Qixia Mountain, and you can also overlook Nanjing City with many high-rise buildings in the distance.

Luyu Tea House is an imitation Tang building complex composed of buildings, pavilions and corridors. It has a four-story frame structure. The layout is adapted to local conditions, with the main face facing south.

Hidden in the jungle on the top of the mountain, Lu Yu Tea House looks from afar,"flying from a corner to a building and deep tree tops", which attracts people's imagination. Historical records record that Lu Yu picked tea in Qixia Mountain in the sloping valley between the current Zhongfeng and Longshan Mountain, which is now the scenic spots of Bailu Spring, Qingfeng Sword, and Tea Taiting. His residence is called "Lu Yu Jingshe".

On the day we went, we met Lu Yu Tea House that was under renovation, so we couldn't fully appreciate the essence of it. However, we still suggested that friends who will go later can visit here and experience the beauty of "Lu Yu Jingshe".

What is amazing is that when I came out of Lu Yu Tea House, I found another colorful autumn road; although the leaves have not turned red yet, the color can already charm all living beings.

Beautiful women with long skirts and good dancing walked gracefully on the road, adding more movement and elegance to this autumn scenery. On both sides of the road are different tree species such as red maple, beech tree, sweet gum, triangular maple, and five-pointed maple, so the colors are also colorful.

Light yellow, red yellow, orange, purple, and dark green all compete for beauty in this autumn... like a dream

The "Maple Forest Lake" of Qixia Appreciation:

Judging from the name alone,"Fenglin Lake" knows that this is a must-visit place in Qixia to admire the maple trees. The beauty of Qixia Mountain lies in the mountains and rivers.

Fenglin Lake is the source water of Taohua Stream. It is backed by the main peak of Qixia Mountain. Every late autumn, the tall maple leaves here are as red as flames, and they appear red and orange after frost.

Looking at the double pavilion opposite from the lake, a graceful woman is enjoying the autumn scenery in the pavilion. Although in early November, most of the green is still mixed with a little red, it does not affect people's mood to enjoy autumn.

Even if there is no overwhelming red, at least there will be colorful autumn.

The "Red Leaf Valley" of Qixia Appreciation Maple:

Like Fenglin Lake, Hongye Valley is also a must-visit place to enjoy autumn in Qixia. Hongye Valley is not far from Fenglin Lake and is located at the junction of Imperial Garden and the southwest mountainside of Fengxiang Peak.

In the Red Leaf Valley, which covers an area of about 50,000 square meters, there are strange rocks, swaying red maples, and winding ancient vines. The Red Leaf Valley is a red leaf viewing area integrating mountains, stones, water forests and pavilions.

At the entrance of Hongye Valley, it is easy for people to cross through when encountering beautiful girls wearing Hanfu.

Climbing up the steps, this is an autumn journey that has nothing to do with anything else but for the red leaves.

It is said that starting from mid-November, the best season for Qixia Mountain to have "maple leaves turn red", and it can be said that it changes day by day, and every kind has a look you like.

By then, I hope I will still have time to visit Qixia again and have a colorful dream in my favorite autumn day,"the forest is all dyed".

Travel tips for appreciating maple trees in Qixia:

1. Address: No. 88, Qixia Road, Qixia Mountain, Nanjing

2. Transportation: Take 206 from Nanjing Station to Qixia Mountain Scenic Area;

Can you take buses No. 138, 194, 195, 196, 206, 207, 326, 327, and 332 in Nanjing City? The road reaches Qixia Mountain.

During the Red Maple Festival, a through train was opened from the Nanjing Presidential Palace to Qixia Mountain;

3. Ticket price: During the Red Maple Festival, the ticket is 40 yuan/person. Anyone who purchases an adult ticket can bring a child under 1.3 meters for free; people over 70 years old can enter for free with their senior card.

4. Maple appreciation route in Qixia Mountain:

- Shuanghong Garden-Qixia Ancient Temple-Peach Blossom Fan Pavilion-Tiankai Rock-Huashan Pavilion-Leafanwen-Xiaoyingpan-Luyu Tea House

- Peach Blossom Lake-Qianlong Imperial Garden-Red Leaf Valley-Fenglin Lake-Taixu Pavilion

- Qixia Ancient Temple follows the Hushan Lingyun Plank Road to the Biyun Pavilion-Hongye Valley

- Qixia Ancient Temple-Chunyu Bridge-Qianlong Palace Site-Xiaoyingpan

5. Red Maple Festival time: October 19 to December 22, 2019