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Tuoshan () is a mountain located south-west of
Qingzhou
Qingzhou () Wade–Giles: Tsing-chou, sometimes written as Ching-chow-fu, formerly Yidu County (Yitu) (), is a county-level city, which is located in the west of the prefecture-level city of Weifang, in the central part of Shandong Province, Chin ...
city, Shandong
Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...
province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. It features a number of historic sites and a native pine forest. Tuoshan is the core scenic zone of Qingzhou National Park.
Qiaoyu's Calligraphy
Qiaoyu was a chief official of Qingzhou during the Ming dynasty, and inscribed the characters 'Tuo Shan' on the eastern face of the mountain.Haotian Temple
Haotian Temple (''Hao Tian Gong'' inpinyin
Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...
) measures 150 m from north to south and 100 m from east to west. It lies on the summit of Tuoshan, and commands a view northward to Qingzhou. The temple itself consists of a group of ancient structures, including an old theatre, Yuhuang Palace, Seven Treasures Cabinet, and a garden of stone 'stelae' or tablets. A tablet on the site records the rebuilding of the temple in the Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...
(1271–1368). The temple has undergone further repairs since 1986.
Yuhuang Palace
This building is part of Haotian Temple on the summit of the mountain.Qibao Cabinet
Seven Treasures (''Qi bao'') Cabinet was built in the Yuan dynasty. It is a non-beam, double-arched stone structure and is rare in China.River in the Sky
''Tian He''. Adjacent to Haotian Temple. It was completely dry as of 2004 and it is doubtful that it ever 'flows'. A more realistic translation might be 'pool' or 'pond'.Bridge in the Sky
''Tian Qiao''. The bridge crosses the 'River in the Sky', and provides an entrance to Haotian Temple.Heavenly Spring
''Tian Quan''. Possibly another name for the 'River in the Sky'.Wulong Pool
Possibly another name for the 'River in the Sky'.Gate of the Southern Heaven
''Tian Nan Men'' inpinyin
Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...
. A recently constructed or reconstructed Chinese gateway atop mountain.
Buddhist Grottoes
There are 638 stone Buddhas in five main grottoes, which were chiselled in theNorthern Zhou
Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties of China's ...
(577–581) and Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...
(613–907) and lie along the mountain's eastern edge, close to the summit. All of the smaller grottoes are now empty. The main grottoes are mostly intact with the exception of many of the smaller-Buddha's heads. They are protected by cages. The tallest statue, that of a seated Buddha, still survives. It is over 7 m high, making it the largest in the province. The smallest statues at the site are about {{convert, 10, cm, 0, abbr=on tall. The site was placed under national protection in 1988.
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