There are a lot of mountains and rivers in the urban area of Nanjing, and there are not a few ancient temples in the mountains, which seems to be far away from the urban area of Qixia Mountain, which is not very conspicuous. In fact, Qixia Mountain is full of historic sites, beautiful mountain scenery, and was called "the first Jinling Mingxiu Mountain" by Emperor Qianlong. Qixia Mountain is one of the four major red leaf viewing scenic spots in China.

Qixia Mountain was called Setshan in ancient times, there are more than 80 historical sites and sites, Sui Relic Pagoda, Tang Ming Zhengjun Monument, Thousand Buddha Caves, Yuwang Monument, Qianlong Palace, etc., known as "a Qixia Mountain, half of the history of Jinling". Qixia is surrounded by mountains on three sides, borders the Yangtze River in the north, the main peak Fengxiang Peak, with an altitude of 286 meters, you can observe the scenery of the Yangtze River, and you can feel the nature of the mountains. Tourists can also go to the viewing platform near the river of the First Emperor to experience the scenery on both sides of the Yangtze River. It is an antique building, including a pavilion with heavy eaves, a corridor, a pavilion and a viewing platform.

But what attracts tourists regardless of the long distance is the maple leaves of Qixia Mountain. The plum blossoms of the Ming Tomb are all over the place, the cherry blossoms of the ancient Jiming Temple are blooming, and the Qixia Mountain is the red maple mountain. Since the Ming Dynasty, there is the saying of "autumn Qixia", there are many kinds of red leaves in Qixia Mountain, especially the sweetgum fragrance, including red maple, chicken paw maple, triangular maple, feather maple, etc., more than 500 maple trees for more than 100 years. In the late autumn season, the forests of Qixia Mountain are gradually dyed, like the color of the sunset. At this time, whether it is on the trail of Qixia Mountain or under an unknown tree in the mountain, it is an excellent place to take pictures.

At the foot of Qixia Mountain, there is a thousand-year-old temple Qixia Temple. Qixia Temple was founded in the Southern Qi Dynasty, the center of Buddhism in China during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and the Jiming Temple and Dingshan Temple in the Southern Dynasties. Today's Qixia Temple still retains many historical sites, which are worth visiting. Qixia Temple relics pagoda is the Buddhist stone pagoda of the five dynasties period, is the largest relics pagoda in China, the tower is 18.74 meters high, is eight sides and five levels of dense eaves type, stands on the base of the octagonal Sumeru seat type, all levels are engraved with the relief of Buddhist stories with different contents. The Thousand Buddha Rock not far from the relics pagoda, is the only one in Nanjing that is the remains of the Buddhist stone carvings of the Six Dynasties, there are more than 200 existing cave Buddha shrines, more than 500 stone statues, the size of the grottoes is different, among them, the "No. 102" cave niche is more flying into the sky, which is the most typical performance in the Dunhuang murals, and this mural is created in the Sui Dynasty. Although it has been damaged a lot due to natural disasters and man-made disasters, the historical value of its stone carvings is no less than that of Longmen Grottoes and Yungang Grottoes.

However, the Qixia Mountain that has lost the blessing of the red maple is no different from the ordinary mountain, if it is not for the red maple during the tour, only the Qixia Temple can be visited carefully, plus the drive to and from the city for nearly 2 or 3 hours, and there are only fewer people in the off-season. And during the off-season, there are fewer tourists, many scenic spots in the scenic area are relatively remote, and the scenic spot instructions are not obvious enough, and tourists who are not familiar with the route are easy to go wrong. It is recommended to go to Qixia Mountain to watch when the maple leaves are red.

There is no direct subway from downtown Nanjing to Qixia Mountain, and you need to take a bus to get there. Most of the nearby areas are suburban locations, and it is difficult to take a taxi, so it is recommended to check the bus route or travel by car.

Tips for Visiting:

Tickets: 20 yuan/person (off-season); During the Autumn Red Maple Festival, the ticket price is 40 yuan/person (peak season),

Before half past six in the morning, Qixia Mountain is open for free for nearby residents to exercise in the morning, and they can enter and exit freely.

Opening hours: 7:00-17:30

Best time: Spring and autumn, spring and autumn, autumn to see the maple leaves.