Lianyungang Huaguoshan Mountain (Bloom Mountain)
Known as "Hua Guo Shan" in Chinese, it is the birthplace of the Sun WuKong.
The mountain is in the Yuntai Ranges, located seven kilometers from Lianyungang city. The highest peak is 625.3 meters high, which is also the highest peak in Jiangsu province. Enjoying a trip to this mountain is just like the happiness of reading the novel, Journey to the West. Huaguo in Chinese means "flowers and fruits." People used this word to name the mountain in order to show its beauty. The mountain is also a literal home of many flowers and wild fruits. Huaguo Mountain has more than 100 scenic spots, most of which are connected with the story of the Monkey King. The chief scenic spots such as Water Curtain Cave, Sanyuan (Triple Origin) Palace, Yunu (Jade Maiden) Peak and the South Gate of Heaven are ideal for travelers.

This is one of the significant places in Journey to the West. The book begins with a beautiful allegory that the soul of a divine conception by the Sun and the Moon (the essence of Life Force from the Sun and the Moon) descended and lived inside a cliff-ridge rock. The soul dwelled inside the rock for thousands of human years in Spiritual Incubation before manifesting itself in an animated form of a monkey, later named Sun Wukong. The cliff-ridge rock exploded into shreds and pieces when the new-born monkey effortlessly burst it open by striking from within. However, the magnitude of explosion was so great that its impact shook both the Devas Realms and the Earth.

Nanjing Purple Mountain
Purple Mountain, also known as Bell Mountain, is located on the eastern side of Nanjing. It is 447.1 m (1467 feet) high, and has an area of about 20 square kilometers (4,900 acres). Its peaks are often found enveloped in mysterious purple clouds at dawn and dusk, hence comes its name "Purple Mountain.” Purple Mountain has 621 species of vascular plants, from 383 genera, 118 families (including 78 cultivated species).Located in or close to the hillside of Purple Mountain, there are about a dozen national research institutes and universities.

Purple Mountain is a mountain related to many historical events of both ancient and modern China. More than 200 heritage and scenic tourist sites are located in or around the mountain, among which include three national historical sites, nine provincial historical sites, and 33 prefectural historical sites.

The mountain contains a huge network of paths. There are several entrances and from each entrance, paths converge and crisscross all the way to the top of the mountain. Neither English nor Chinese maps encompass the entire network of paths on Purple Mountain. Signs along the paths on Purple Mountain are difficult to decipher even for people fluent in Chinese.

Yuntai Mountain in Lianyungang
Yuntai Mountain, as high as 625 meters above sea level, is the highest mountain in Jiangsu. Lying across the city proper of Lianyungang and with a circumference of more than 140 kilometers, it comprises 136 peaks. Yuntai Mountain has been called the "number one fairyland in the East China Sea" for its beautiful scenery, deep caves, flowers, and fruits.

Jinshan Hill in Zhenjiang
Jinshan is located in the northwest of Zhenjiang. It is about 44 meters high. There are over 30 scenic spots on the mountain. Throughout history, the mountain has gained its fame for its beautiful landscape, its important status in relation to Buddhism, as well as having soul-stirring legends. Jinshan Temple, Spring Zhongling, and Jintian Garden are among the most famous scenic spots.

Jinshan was originally an islet in the Yangtze River. Through centuries of silting the riverbed rose higher and higher until the island became a peninsula, part of the land. At the summit of Jinshan stands the elegant Tower of Benevolence and Longevity. It is octagon-shaped with seven tiers and from the uppermost tier tourists will find themselves above the tree line, and, unfurling below them, a marvelous view of Zhenjiang and the Yangtze River. On the hillside is a temple more than 1,500 years old. In its prime, it was the home of 3,000 monks. The architecture is quite unique. Built according to the contour of the slope, the halls, towers and pavilions seem to be a natural part of the hill.

Jiaoshan Hill in Zhenjiang
Jiaoshan stands right in the middle of the Yangtze River to the northeast of Zhenjiang. Seventy-one meters high, the hill covers an area of thirty-eight hectares. It was named after Jiao Guang, a renowned figure of the late Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), who lived in seclusion on the hill. Jiaoshan is covered with luxuriant woods and bamboo groves. There grow many famous old trees, such as cypresses planted in the Southern Dynasties (420-589), Chinese scholar trees from the Song Dynasty, and thee ginkgo trees of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Looking at a distance, you will find that Jiaoshan Hill is just like a jade flouting on the Yangtze; thus also the name "Flouting Jade Hill.”

The magnificent view of the hill is best described as "A Firm Rock In Torrent", the characters of which were calligraphed by a 15-year-old boy Wang Xiehe during the years of Emperor Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty, and later engraved on the stone and put on the wall in the entrance of the hill. Jiaoshan is described as a hill wrapping the buildings. Old temples, pavilions and other decorative structures and green trees set each other off on the hill. The oldest structure is the 1,700-year-old Dinghui Temple built in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Maoshan Mountain
Maoshan Mountain Lies in the southwest of Jiangsu and in 60 kilometers west of Changzhou, covering an area of 50 square kilometers. The highest peak, the Great Maoshan, is 372.5 meters above the sea level. It is not famous for the height, but is a famous holy place of Taoism, because of the old saying in China "mountain is not famous for its height but for its legend.”

Maoshan Mountain Scenic Spot has four characteristics. The first is the charming natural scenery. There are nine peaks, 18 springs, 26 caves and 28 pools, together with sheltered cliffs and rocks. The second is the holy place of Taoism. It is regarded as "the first blessing land and the eighth cave" in Taoism. The third characteristic is its role as the center of the anti-Japanese foundation base, which is one of the six bases noted by Chairman Mao. The fourth characteristic is as the base of traditional revolutionary education.

Qianyuan Taoist Temple, originally named "Jihu Temple", is located in the west slope of Yuguang Peak of Maoshan Mountain. It was the source for making alchemy by Li Ming Zheng Ren in Qin Dynasty. It is said that Emperor Qin Shihuang came here to seek medicine which would keep people alive forever. In the Qi and Liang Period of South Dynasty, Tao Hong lived here, who was called "the premier minister in the mountain.” Now it is the only kun nunnery in Jiangsu.