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The mountain was called Mt. Li in ancient times. However, in the early days of Sui Dynasty (581-618) a great many statues of Buddha were chiseled on the rocks of the mountain and the Thousand-Buddha Temple was built and soon became famous, so the name of the temple was to become that of the mountain. There are many scenic spots and historical relics distributed in the mountain. You can enjoy the beautiful sceneries all along the way wandering up either by foot or by bus.
The Thousand-Buddha Cliff is located on the northern flank of the hill behind the Xingguochan Temple. More than 130 statures of Buddha carved in the Sui Dynasty are bearded on the south side of the mountain. And the cliff holds four caves abreast from west to east, namely Longquan Cave, Jile Cave, Qianlou Cave and lvzu Cave.
The caves' height ranges from 3 meters down to only 20 centimeters. About 130 Buddha statues which were carved into Thousand-Buddha Cliff during the Sui period remain today. The Jile Cave houses 16 Buddha statues, the tallest of which is 3 m high.
Xingguochan Temple is located at half way of the mountain, leaning against the cliff on the south and overlooking the Jinan City on the north. There are Buddha statues in a cave south of the Xingguochan Temple. Along with the Buddha statues, temples and other buildings were erected on the hill. The most renown of these structures is the Xingguochan Temple which was originally built during the reign of Emperor Taizhong of Tang as an expansion of the Sui-Dynasty Qianfo Temple.
There are the Daxiong Baodian, Kwan-yin Hall, the Laughing Buddha Hall and Duihua Kiosk distributed in the temple. Four seal characters carved on the cliff southwest of the temple is a celebrated stone inscription in the city of Jinan. The Lishan Courtyard, to the east of the temple, where you can see Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism harmonize with each other in one courtyard. The Shun Temple, the Luban Temple, the Wenchang Pavilion and the Yilan Kiosk are to be found in it.
What’s more, the Park of Thousand-Buddha Mountain is another hottest spot in Thousand-Buddha Mountain. Flanked by a cemetery honoring the fallen of the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 on the east side, the Shandong Provincial Museum to the northeast, and the Jinan Botanical Garden on the west side, the Park of Thousand-Buddha Mountain was listed as one of the Seven Beauty Spots of Shandong Province in1995.
Great efforts have been made to add many scenic spots such as water pull, gardens and ropeways, etc. in recent years, so tourists may never feel bored during their Thousand-Buddha Mountain tour.