Mount Jinfo is a flat-topped karst mountain in Nanchuan district, southern Chongqing, and the highest point of the Dalou Mountains. Its cliff-girt plateau, cave systems and old-growth forest were added to the South China Karst World Heritage site in 2014, and it is a national nature reserve known for rare plants such as the Cathaya silver fir.
- UNESCO World Heritage (natural), South China Karst · 2014
- National nature reserve
- National scenic area
Key facts
Overview
Jinfo rises as an isolated table mountain above the hills of southern Chongqing, its summit plateau bounded on all sides by limestone cliffs several hundred metres high. The name — Golden Buddha Mountain — is said to come from the way the evening sun turns the western cliffs to gold, making the mountain glow like a gilded statue.
The plateau is a karst upland of sinkholes, dolines and caves, covered in forest, bamboo and rhododendron. Its isolation has made it a refuge for relict plants and animals, and it was added to the South China Karst World Heritage site in 2014 as an example of a high, isolated karst plateau that preserves remnants of an ancient erosion surface.
How the landscape formed
Jinfo is a remnant of an old planation surface lifted with the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau and then isolated by erosion. Its flat top is capped by limestone overlying sandstones and shales, and the resistant limestone forms the ring of cliffs. Within the plateau, rainwater dissolving the limestone has created dolines and extensive cave systems, some at high level, left behind as the surrounding valleys cut down. The contrast between the flat, karstified summit and the deep gorges around it is the key to its World Heritage value.
Highlights
Jinfo Temple
金佛寺
A Buddhist temple on the plateau, rebuilt on the site of older foundations dating back to the Ming dynasty.
Gufo Cave
古佛洞
A large cave in the summit area with spacious halls and old saltpetre workings.
Jinfo Cave
金佛洞
A cave in the cliffs of the plateau edge, reached by a path along the cliff face.
Cliff walkways
绝壁栈道
Paths cut into and fixed onto the limestone cliffs around the plateau rim, with views into the gorges below.
Fengchui Ridge
风吹岭
The main summit of the mountain and the highest point of the Dalou range.
Plants and wildlife
Jinfo lies in a zone of subtropical evergreen forest and holds several thousand species of plants, including relict species that survived the Ice Ages in its sheltered valleys. The plateau and cliffs host many endemic and rare species, and the reserve protects old-growth forest that covers most of the mountain.
Plants
Cathaya
银杉
Cathaya argyrophylla, a relict conifer known from fossils before living trees were found in southern China in the 1950s, including on Jinfo.
Square bamboo
方竹
Bamboo with square-sectioned stems, whose shoots are a local speciality.
Rhododendrons
杜鹃
Large old rhododendron trees flower on the plateau in spring.
Jinfo Mountain orchid
金佛山兰
Tangtsinia nanchuanica, a rare orchid first described from the mountain.
Wildlife
François' langur
黑叶猴
A black leaf monkey of limestone forests that sleeps in caves and on ledges in the cliffs of the mountain.
Culture and legend
Jinfo has been a Buddhist mountain since at least the Ming dynasty, when temples were built on the plateau, and it served as a refuge in times of conflict thanks to its cliffs. Local people collected medicinal herbs and bamboo shoots on the mountain, and saltpetre was mined in its caves. Nanchuan's square bamboo shoots and tea remain regional specialities.
Nanchuan
南川
The district of Chongqing in which the mountain lies.
Saltpetre caves
硝洞
Caves where saltpetre was once mined for gunpowder, with remains of the workings.
History
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Temples built on the plateau
Jinfo became a regional Buddhist mountain.
1950s
Living Cathaya found
Botanists identified living Cathaya trees, then known only from fossils, in southern China including Jinfo.
2014
UNESCO World Heritage
Added to the South China Karst in its second phase, together with sites in Guangxi and Guizhou.
Through the seasons
Spring
Rhododendrons and wildflowers flower on the plateau in April and May.
Summer
Much cooler than Chongqing's lowlands, making the plateau a summer retreat, though often cloudy and wet.
Autumn
Clear days and autumn colour in the forest; the best season for walking along the cliffs.
Winter
Snow and rime ice on the plateau draw visitors from the city; paths can be icy.
Routes and ways in
Cable car and plateau paths
Cable cars on the western and northern slopes reach the plateau, where paths link the temple, caves and viewpoints.
Cliff walkway
A walkway along the western cliffs of the plateau gives the classic view over the gorges and the evening light on the rock.
Summit ridge
Paths lead across the plateau to the main summit through forest and bamboo.
Practical notes
- The plateau is much colder than the city below and often in cloud; bring warm and waterproof layers.
- Cliff paths have steep drops; stay behind the railings.
- Nanchuan has rail and expressway links with central Chongqing; accommodation is available near the foot of the mountain and on the plateau.
- The core zone of the nature reserve is closed to visitors; keep to marked routes.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- South China Karst — UNESCO World Heritage Centre (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Chongqing Municipal People's Government — Chongqing Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- 新重庆·老地名丨南川——金佛山 — Chongqing Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau (retrieved 27 September 2026)