Yushan Mountain has beautiful scenery, and its southeast foot extends into the urban area of Changshu, and it has the reputation of "ten miles of green hills and a half into the city". Climbing the mountain is free. There are only a few scenic spots on the mountain that need to buy tickets, so you can see many local people relaxing or exercising on the mountain.
Yushan is northwest-southeast, 6.5 kilometers long, 3 kilometers wide and 263 meters above sea level. It was named after Zhong Yong (Yu Zhong), the son of Zhou leader in the late Shang Dynasty. He gave way to his younger brother, came to the south to become the ancestor of Jiangnan, and was buried here after his death.
Yushan is a cave scenic spot in the west, Baoyan scenic spot in the southwest, Jianmen scenic spot at the top of the mountain in the middle, Xingfu scenic spot where Guangfu Temple is located in the north, Yushan City Wall in the east and Yushan Park in the northeast. There is a road leading to the top of the mountain. You can drive by car and the bus runs on the mountain. This mountain has many entrances. If you want to climb the mountain on foot, it is recommended to climb the mountain from Xiaofu Temple, which is closest to the top of the mountain. Two minutes to the right from the temple gate is the Yushan cableway, which goes directly to Jianmen Scenic Area, one-way to 30 yuan and back to 50 yuan.
Kofukuji was founded in Nanqi, also known as Broken Mountain Temple. A stone tablet in the temple is engraved with a Buddhist retreat behind Duanshan Temple, which was usually built in the Tang Dynasty. This was written by Mi Fei, a great calligrapher in the Song Dynasty. The famous sentence in this poem, "My road has been curved, through a sheltered valley, branches and flowers, to a Buddhist retreat", was written by Kofukuji. The temple was rebuilt many times in the 1980s. It is the largest and most famous temple in Changshu at present, with strong incense and effective praying. Don't forget to eat a bowl of mushroom oil noodles at Xiaofuji noodle restaurant. There is a Kofukuji teahouse on the east side of the temple, and a pot of Yushan green tea is also very good.
When you climb from Happiness Temple to Jianmen Scenic Area on the top of the mountain, the first thing you see is the Jiange which stands on the top of the mountain. There is a model sand table in Changshu on the first floor, and the second floor is not open to the public. The cliff in front of Jiange can overlook the panoramic view of Shang Hu, another famous scenic spot in Changshu. Further on, you can climb the sword gate, see the cliff stone carvings, visit the Tibetan Sea Temple, the Courtyard of the Country and Qingyan Mountain. This road leads to the foot of the western end of Yushan Mountain. Look at it and go back the way you came. Don't go down to the west. Scenic spots in the east are more important than those in the west.
To the east, you can walk or take a bus to Gui Xiang Garden, not far from the main entrance of Jianmen Scenic Area. On the way, after Mo Wei Villa, you can see a big tea garden. Mo Wei Villa is a modern reconstruction on the site of Mo Wei Temple in Song Dynasty. There is a stone well in the backyard, which is a relic of the Song Dynasty. The watchtower in the villa is a good place to watch the sunrise.
Then go to the wall of Dongyu Mountain, which is also one of the important scenic spots on Yushan Mountain. The city wall is a part of the ancient city wall of Changshu, which surrounds the eastern foot of Yushan Mountain. It was built in the Wude period of the Tang Dynasty, and now what we see is a modern restoration based on the Ming city wall. In the middle of the city wall is the gate of Yushanmen, which is 1400 meters long, southwest to Xicheng Pavilion and Fuchengmen, and northeast to Zhenhai Terrace. Walking on the city wall, you can overlook the city scenery of Changshu.
Then you can go to Yushan Park in the northeast. This park is built a bit like a Jiangnan garden. Changshu has the only zoo, Yushan Park Zoo. The zoo is not big and there are not many kinds of animals. Yushan Park is free, and you need to pay extra for visiting the zoo. Reference price 20 yuan.
If you choose to walk eastward from the Yushan Gate of Yushan City Wall to the foot of the mountain, you can see the tomb of Zhangzhou, the first king of Wu. At the foot of the eastern end, there is the only southern swallow tomb among Confucius disciples. At the entrance of Swallow's Tomb, you can see several stone workshops on the south side leading to Zhong Yong's Tomb, the earliest tomb in Changshu with a history of more than 3,000 years. Many tombs are also the characteristics of Yushan. These tombs represent the history and culture of Changshu for thousands of years, but they are scattered all over Yushan and need time to find. Such as the Yellow Tomb near the Cave Scenic Area in Yushan Mountain, Weng Tonghe, Emperor of Tongzhi and Guangxu, Qian Tomb at the foot of Yushan Mountain, and Liu, a famous prostitute in Qinhuai in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties.
There are fewer people going to Shidong Scenic Area and Baoyan Scenic Area in the west of Yushan Mountain. There are small caves covered by Gu Teng and Xiaoyunqi Temple built in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Baoyan scenic spot is mainly to experience farmhouse music. In early summer, Bayberry can be picked in Baoyan Ecological Sightseeing Park. Baoyan Temple in the scenic spot was built in the period of Liang Tian Jian in the Southern Dynasties, and it is also newly built now.
You need to take your time to play Yushan. If you go directly to the top of the mountain and then go down, you will feel that it is just a hill, just like the locals. In Yushan, you can see people who call friends for 80 points while drinking tea. You also sit there staring blankly at the blue sky, or buy some dried tofu, which has 7 or 8 flavors. While eating, leisurely visit the hidden small streams on the northern slope of Yushan Mountain, such as Qinpo Stream and Taoyuan Stream. After the rain, the springs tinkled and the waterfalls surprised people. In autumn, when I meet some chestnut sellers, I will come back to share with my friends and relatives.
South of Yushan is Shang Hu Scenic Area, with one mountain and one lake, which is a must-see attraction in Changshu. You can go together.