Qixia Mountain is located in the northeast corner of Nanjing. Getting there requires a short drive on the expressway. It gets quite crowded on weekends, especially in autumn. I have to say, there are quite a few small mountains like this around Nanjing; it’s just that famous ones like Purple Mountain are often packed with people.
Qixia Mountain is renowned for its red maple leaves. In late autumn, when the ground is covered with fallen red leaves, it is truly a delightful sight. But it’s pretty nice right now too—the massive ginkgo trees full of golden-yellow leaves are also very beautiful. On the day we visited, the pollution was rather heavy, as it is every day in Nanjing, but the sunlight was still lovely, filtering through the leaves to create beautiful dappled light patterns on the ground.
The entire scenic area isn’t very large. There is a winding uphill road accessible by car that leads directly to the summit, and then there are over a thousand stone steps. We took the steps up, which was relatively easy, and walked down via the side path, which offered nice views.
This place feels pretty similar to Sanhaowu at Tongji University…
A massive ginkgo tree, next to a shop selling consecrated Buddhist items…
Steps leading up the mountain
At the summit stands a pavilion called Dufeng (Reading Maples).
Looking towards the mountain~
The Yangtze River lies behind, though unfortunately the smog is quite heavy…
Some scenery along the way:
Another highlight is the famous Qixia Temple:
Wishing Tree:
I have to say, going hiking on the weekend is a really great leisure activity, plus it’s good exercise~~ There were even street vendors selling McDonald’s inside the scenic area, and surprisingly at regular prices—not bad at all…
Photos in this post taken with SONY NEX-5R + 16-50 f3.5-5.6, post-processed in Lightroom.
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