Mount Mao (Maoshan)

茅山

The birthplace of the Shangqing School of Daoism, known as the 'First Blessed Land and Eighth Cave Heaven.' Highlights include the Jiuxiao Wanfu Palace, the Yuanfu Wanning Palace, and a 33-meter bronze statue of Laozi. It was also the site of the New Fourth Army's Southern Jiangsu anti-Japanese base.

Mount Mao lies on the border between Jurong City in Zhenjiang and Jintan District in Changzhou. Its main peak, Damao Peak, rises about 372 meters above sea level. It is a famous Daoist mountain and the ancestral site of the Shangqing School, also called the Mao Mountain School, and Daoists call it the 'First Blessed Land and Eighth Cave Heaven.' During the Western Han dynasty, the three Mao brothers, Mao Ying, Mao Gu, and Mao Zhong, cultivated the Way here. They were later known as the 'Three Mao Perfected Lords,' and the mountain takes its name from them. Highlights include the Jiuxiao Wanfu Palace at the summit of Damao Peak, the Yuanfu Wanning Palace (known as the Seal Palace), and an open-air bronze statue of Laozi about 33 meters tall, said to be one of the largest Laozi statues in the world. Other attractions include Huayang Cave and Xike Spring. Mount Mao was also the site of the New Fourth Army's Southern Jiangsu anti-Japanese base during the War of Resistance. At the foot of the mountain are the New Fourth Army Memorial Hall and the Mount Mao New Fourth Army Monument, where legend says firecrackers produce an echo. A visit takes about four hours. Peak-season tickets cost about 100 yuan and off-season tickets about 80 yuan. A combined pass including scenic area transport costs about 115-135 yuan. Opening hours are roughly 07:30-17:00. Getting there: take a tourist shuttle or drive from Jurong. From Nanjing, the drive takes about one hour.

Mount Mao (Maoshan)

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