In 719 AD, a Korean Buddhist disciple, Kim Kiao Kak, arrived. He stayed for the next 75 years and founded a place of worship to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, the Guardian of the Earth. After his death, he was honoured as the reincarnation of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. Since then, the mountain has gradually developed into a sacred place.

In its heyday during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), as many as 5,000 monks and nuns, living in more than 300 monasteries, worshipped at Mt Jiuhua. Today some 1,000 monks and nuns remain.
To see as many of the sites as possible, I decided to catch the cable car to the top of Motian Peak and start with a visit to Baisui Temple.

Nestling on top the temple features connected five-storey stone buildings, which enclose a square courtyard. From a distance, it looks like a white castle overlooking the surrounding woods.

Originally built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and renovated in the Qing (1644-1911), the temple houses the gold-covered corpse of Monk Wuxia (means flawless).

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