"Where twin temples for the present and future Buddha sit atop a mushroom of stone above the clouds"
Mt. Fanjing, Guizhou
Yinjiang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, Guizhou, China
Fanjingshan rises 2,570 meters from the forests of northeastern Guizhou Province, a UNESCO World Heritage Site recognized for its extraordinary biodiversity and revered as the bodhimanda of Maitreya, the Future Buddha. The Red Clouds Golden Summit, a 100-meter mushroom-shaped rock pillar split by a crevice, holds twin temples connected by a bridge in the sky: one for Shakyamuni, the present Buddha, one for Maitreya, who is yet to come. The 8,888 stone steps of the pilgrimage path ascend through primeval forest where the endangered Guizhou golden monkey still lives.
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Quick Facts
Location
Yinjiang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, Guizhou, China
Coordinates
27.9203, 108.6903
Last Updated
Mar 29, 2026
Learn More
Fanjingshan is the bodhimanda of Maitreya, the Future Buddha, a distinction that sets it apart from China's four canonical Sacred Buddhist Mountains. The mountain's Buddhist heritage dates to the Tang Dynasty, with major development during the Ming Dynasty.
Origin Story
Fanjingshan is identified as the earthly bodhimanda of Maitreya, the Future Buddha who will appear when the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha have been forgotten. The name Fanjingshan, derived from Brahma's Pure Land, declares the mountain to be an earthly manifestation of a heavenly pure land. The Red Clouds Golden Summit, where twin temples for the present and future Buddha face each other across a bridge in the sky, gives this theological concept a physical form of unusual power.
The mountain's association with Maitreya likely dates to the Tang or Song Dynasty, with the relationship firmly established during the Ming Dynasty when imperial patronage funded extensive temple construction. The exact origins of the Maitreya connection are not fully documented and may relate to lost sectarian traditions.
Key Figures
Maitreya
The Future Buddha, prophesied to appear on earth when the teachings of Shakyamuni have been forgotten, to achieve complete enlightenment and restore the Dharma. Fanjingshan is his bodhimanda, the place where his presence is most accessible in the present age.
Ming Dynasty imperial patrons
Successive Ming emperors, particularly during the Wanli era (1573 to 1620), funded the construction of over 48 temples and monasteries on the mountain, establishing Fanjingshan as one of China's great Buddhist sacred mountains.
The Guizhou golden monkey
An endangered primate found only on Fanjingshan and its immediate surroundings. The monkey's survival is directly linked to the mountain's sacred status, which protected its forest habitat through centuries when surrounding areas were deforested.
Spiritual Lineage
Fanjingshan's Buddhist lineage connects to the broader Chinese Mahayana tradition, specifically to the devotion to Maitreya that has been a significant strand of Chinese Buddhism since the early centuries of the faith's presence in China. The mountain's unique position outside the canonical four Sacred Buddhist Mountains yet deeply embedded in the devotional landscape gives it a distinctive theological character: it is oriented toward the future rather than the past, toward the Buddha who is coming rather than the Buddhas who have already taught.
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