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It is located at the north foot of the main peak of Qianshan Mountain and the summit of north mountain of Peach Canyon at an altitude of 554.12m, being the second tallest peak in Qianshan Mountain Scenic Area. Puan Temple, at the highest altitude in Qianshan Mountain, lies below the cliff of south side of Wufo Summit, only 100m from the summit. It is a three-level courtyard built along the mountain, screened by walls in the east, north and west as the local saying goes ‘A mountain is as high as the Xianrentai Peak, as a temple is as high as Wufo Summit’.
Puan Temple, known as Ximing Nunnery, was built in the 24th year of the Wanli period in the Ming Dynasty (1596), and was rebuilt by a Taoist from Wuliang Temple, Qian Laiji, in the 25th year in Qing Emperor Qianlong’s rein (1760). It is divided into three halls, namely the Hall of the Three Celestial Governors, God of Wealth Hall and Hall of Ultra Supreme Elder Lord. The first hall is a single-eave structure with a hipped-gable roof as the shrine for Official of Heaven, Yao, to bless the people, Official of Earth, Shun, to pardon the people, and Official of Water, Yu, to dispel disasters. The second hall houses the God of Wealth for Literature-Bi Gan, God of Wealth for Military-Zhao Gongming, and God of Wealth for Loyalty and Righteousness-Saintly Emperor Guan. On its both sides Master Cihang and King of Medicine, Sun Simiao, are worshipped. And the third hall enshrines the founder of Taoism, the Ultra Supreme Elder Lord, and on its both sides are the Founder Lv and Jade Emperor. There is a naturally formed cave behind the Hall of Ultra Supreme Elder Lord, called Jade Emperor Cave, measuring 4.5m deep, 3.26m wide and about 2.26m high, where the Jade Emperor statue is worshipped. And there is Heavenly Guardian Hall nearby for the famous figure in the Northeast China, the heavenly guardian Lady in Black.
Developed in the early Tang Dynasty, Wufo Summit covers an area of about 300 m2, 20m long and 15m wide, as a shrine to five black jade stone Buddhas, respectively, Sun-Moon-Lamp Buddha, Aksobhya Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha, Amitayus Buddha and Blazing Shoulders Buddha.
Story has it that it was named “Buddha’s Head Mountain” in the Tang Dynasty. When Li Shimin (Emperor Taizong of Tang) led an eastern expedition, Qianshan Mountain was garrisoned with his soldiers. During the period, he visited the peak with a monk and felt astonished by the scenery, said that “There is no Buddha in the peak even it is such named, why not invite a Buddha to verify its name”. Later, the monk brought back five Buddha statues to be erect on the mountain from Shaolin Monastery, He’nan, and henceforth the mountain was renamed Wufo Summit.
From the top of the mountain, there is a superb panorama of the Wufo Summit, such as multi-peaked mountains, pines and verdant trees in near sight and blue sky in distant sight. Wu Jiaozi, a Taoist in the Qing Dynasty, praised this view in his poem ‘Ancient stone-carved Buhhdas stand high in the famous mountain where is blessed with a splendid scenery, close to Bohai Sea to the south, overlooking provisional capital to the north. From the summit, eastern mountains are very low and western rivers are much short. If you want to ascend the top, much time is taken in climbing it.’