Lianhuashan 莲花山 (Lotus Mountain) – Guangzhou, China

Some of the major interesting sites in the mountain are Lotus Pagoda from the Ming Dynasty, Lotus Wall from the Qing Dynasty, and the holy land of Guanyin which makes up of the Bodhisattva statue and Guanyin pavilion with 1000 Guanyin images.

The Lotus Pagoda

The pagoda was erected in the Ming Dynasty in 1612 known as the memorial column of the capital of Guangdong, while the lotus city was built in the Qing dynasty in 1664. Towering to 50 meters high, the pagoda is located at the highest peak of the mountain. It has been nominated as the protected natural site which consists of nine floors outside and eleven floors inside. The building looks like an octagon from outside and was built using bricks and timber. Climb the small staircases to reach the top of the building. Since the tower is the highest point of the mountain, people used it as a mark when they traveled by ship to the pearl river. The tower once experienced several threats and damages. In 1938, the Japanese army dropped a bomb at the site causing severe damages and countless bullets marks left on the body of the tower. Fortunately, in 1981 and 1997, the tower was renovated. Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to take a photograph of the pagoda since the route I took when I exited the park was different from the one I took when I entered.

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The Guanyin Bodhisattva Statue

Towering to 40.88 meters, the Guanyin Bodhisattva statue facing the sea stands remarkably at the peak of the mountain and is the highest gold-foiled bronze statue in the world.

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The statue was set up on October 23, 1994, weighing 120 tons and coated with 180 liang of gold which makes it become the largest statue of Guanyin in the world. Pious men and women even tourists worshipped the statue. At the night of Guanyin's birthday, every first and fifteenth day of the month, the statue would shine out light to an area of several miles.

Guanyin Pavilion

Built on October 20, 1997, the Guanyin pavilion is located next to the Guanyin statue. It houses Guanyin goddess of mercy of a thousand hands and eyes statue with other statues surrounding the main statue.

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Occupying an area of 3872 square meters, the pavilion houses 1000 Guanyin icons made of various materials such as jade, wood, copper, and colorized porcelain. Therefore, it is named the pavilion of a thousand Buddhas.

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The pavilion showcases architectural artworks. Almost everything inside the pavilion including the windows, doors, wooden square blocks between the top of a column and a crossbeam, shrines and altars are made of rare rosewood with walls made of levigated old blue bricks. On the first floor of the pavilion in the middle of the hall, there is a giant statue of Guanyin with a thousand eyes and hands, sculpted using fragrant champor wood.

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Standing as high as 12 meters, the Buddha statue sits with crossed legs and shows a serene expression. The Buddha statue in this pavilion is different from Buddha statues in other temples. In most temples, a Buddha statue only has 42 arms, however in this place, it really has a thousand eyes and a thousand hands. If you do not believe it, you could try to count them.