Lotus Mountain (lián huā shān 莲花山) is the famous scenic area in Guangdong Province (guǎng dōng shěng 广东省). Located at the riverside of Lion River (shī zǐ hé 狮子河), the mouth Pearl River (zhū jiāng 珠江), Panyu District (pān yú qū 番禺区), Lotus Mountain consists of 48 red hills and has a maximum elevation of 108 meters, covering the area of 2.54 square kilometers. On the mountain there is a Kylin Peak (qí lín fēng 麒麟峰), and the Lotus Mountain is named after the rock which is like lotus in shape on the kylin Peak. With the reputation of Guangdong Great Wall (gǎng dōng cháng chéng 广东长城), the Lotus Mountain is of great military importance in history.

In ancient times, Lotus Mountain is a stone quarry. After hundreds of years’ mining there form the abrupt cliffs and fancy caves which is a good combination of the unique scenery combining the natural beauty and man-made sites. The main scenic spots there are Lotus Rock (lián huā yán 莲花岩), Swallow Rock (yàn zǐ yán 燕子岩), Baxian Rock (bā xiān yán 八仙岩), Statue of Guanyin (Buddha of Charity, guān yīn 观音), Guanyin Rock (guān yīn yán 观音岩) and Stone Gallery (shí láng 石廊), so on and so forth.

The most attractive place for the tourists may be the One-hundred Fu Gallery (bǎi fú láng 百福廊), ancient Lotus Tower (lián huā tǎ 莲花塔), and the Statue of Guanyin (guān yīn xiàng 观音像).

One-hundred-Fu Gallery
There is a wall in the One-Hundred-Fu Gallery, on which there engraved one hundred Chinese characters “福"(fú, means “good fortune”). Each one has different shapes, such as cursive writing, regular script and running script, etc. You can take photo with all these characters and you will be lucky and happy all the time.

Lotus Tower
Lotus Tower stands still on the top of the main peak of Lotus Mountain. It was first built in 1612 during Ming Dynasty (míng cháo 明朝), with a long history of nearly 400 years. It is made of bricks and woods, with an octagon shape. There are 9 stories on the outside and 11 stories inside the tower. And the stairway is corkscrew, which will lead to the top of the tower. With the height of 50 meters, the tower is the summit of the Lotus Mountain. From ancient times to now, all the ships passing by take the tower as the navigation mark. Thus it has got the reputation of “Stele of the Capital of Guangdong”(shěn g huìhuá biǎo 省会华表).

The Statue of Guanyin
There is a broad road which will lead you to a stone square, in the center of which there is a Guanyin statue. It is 40.88 meters high, made of 120 ton bronze and gilded with 9 kilograms gold. It is the highest gilded bronze Guanyin Statue in the world. The statue is facing to southeast, overlooking the Lion Sea. Therefore, people also call the statue “Guanyin overlooking the sea”(wàng hǎi guān yīn 望海观音).

  

Lianhua Mountain is also well-known for its annual lotus festival, when over 100,000 lotuses are in full bloom. Among these varieties, there are local lotus flowers as well as others from Japan, America, Australia, even lotuses that have traveled into outer space.

The park is equipped with all kinds of tourist facilities including BBQ, camping, horse riding and fishing.

Lotus Mountain Scenic Area
Address: Lianhuashan Town (lián huā shān zhèn 莲花山镇), Panyu District, in southern Guangzhou
Admission: RMB 30 for entrance
                  RMB 2 for Lotus Tower
Opening hours: all day
Transportation:
1. Take the bus towarding Panyu Lianhuashan Town at Panyu Bus Terminal (pān yúqì chē zǒng zhàn 番禺汽车总站). It would cost you ranging RMB 2 to 4. And it would take you about 15 minutes on foot to the gate of Lotus Mountain after you arrive at Lianhuashan Town.
2. Take the ship at Xidi Quay (xī dī mǎ tóu 西堤码头).