The Thousand Buddha Mountain () is a hill located about 2.5 kilometers southeast of the city of Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, China. It covers 1.518 square kilometers (375.1 acres) and has a peak of 285 meters (935 ft) above sea level. It is renowned for its numerous Buddha images which have been carved out of the hill's rock faces or free-standing structures erect since the times of the Sui dynasty (581–618) and its Xingguochan Temple. It is considered one of the "Three Greatest Attractions in Jinan" together with Baotu Spring and Daming Lake. It is also one of the 4A-rated Tourist attractions in China. Thousand Buddha Mountain is opened up as a public park in 1959, rated as AAAA-rated Tourist Attractions of China in 2005, and rated as National Park of China in March 2017. Legend According to local tradition, the legendary Emperor Shun was credited as opening up the land and cultivating it under the mountain. Thus, the Thousand Buddha Mountain is also known as the Shungeng Hill (meaning the hill where Shun cultivated). According to a legend related in the Youyang Zazu (Youyang Miscellanies) by the Tang dynasty writer Duan Chengshi (800–863), the Thousand Buddha Mountain was originally located by the sea and the sea god had locked it in place there by a large lock in order to prevent the god in charge of the mountains from moving it around. However, eventually the lock broke and the mountain was hurled through the air into its present position. An artwork shaped as a large lock and a piece of chain has been placed on the summit of the mountain as a reference to the legend. History Buddhism became popular in the Jinan area during the reign of Emperor Wen, the founder of the Sui dynasty. With Buddhism, monks came to the area and chiseled Buddha statues out of the flanks of the hill, which was originally called Miji Hill or Li Hill. A temple, called the Thousand Buddha Temple (Qianfosi), was founded at the foot of the hill. Eventually, the hill was renamed after the temple into "Thousand Buddha Mountain". One of the old names, Li Hill (Li Shan), survives in the name of Lishan Road, the major avenue which runs through Jinan towards the Thousand Buddha Mountain in north–south direction. Main Attractions The Thousand Buddha Mountain Public Park has been developed extensively for—mostly local tourism—by