Skip to content
中|CHINANETZ

Nature reserve · Zhejiang

Tianmu Mountains

天目山 (Tiānmù Shān)

Giant cryptomerias, wild ginkgo and the mountain that named tenmoku

The Tianmu Mountains, the “Eyes of Heaven”, rise to about 1,500 metres in Lin'an, north-western Hangzhou, where West Tianmu is protected as a national nature reserve and a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The mountain is known for its ancient forest of giant cryptomerias, for a population of ginkgo long thought to be among the last wild ones, and for the Chan monasteries whose tea bowls gave the Japanese word tenmoku.

  • UNESCO biosphere reserve · 1996
  • National nature reserve · 1986

Key facts

Highest point
Xianren Ding, West Tianmu, about 1,506 m[2]
UNESCO biosphere reserve
1996[1]
Higher plant species
more than 2,000[2]
Province
Zhejiang (Lin'an, Hangzhou)
1,506 m above sea level · highest point: Xianren Ding (仙人顶), West Tianmu

Overview

Tianmu has two summits, East and West Tianmu, each with a small pond near the top — the two “eyes” of the name. West Tianmu, the higher, carries the nature reserve: a steep, stepped slope of forest from subtropical evergreen woods at the foot through mixed deciduous forest to dwarf woodland on the summit ridge.

For botanists it is one of the classic collecting grounds of eastern China, with a long list of species first described here. For Buddhism it is the mountain of Gaofeng Yuanmiao and Zhongfeng Mingben, Yuan-dynasty Chan masters whose monastery drew students from Japan; the dark-glazed tea bowls those students took home were called tenmoku, the Japanese reading of Tianmu.

How the landscape formed

The Tianmu range forms the watershed between the Taihu basin to the north and the Qiantang River to the south. Its core is Mesozoic volcanic rock — rhyolite and tuff — with granite intrusions, lifted into steep ridges and cut by deep valleys. Weathered cliffs, rock towers and waterfalls mark the upper slopes. The mountain's position near the coast and its height give it high rainfall and frequent fog, which sustain the dense, moss-hung forest.

Highlights

  • King of Trees

    大树王 (Dà Shù Wáng)

    A giant cryptomeria, now dead but still standing, once the largest tree on the mountain; the Qianlong Emperor is said to have named it.

  • Kaishan Old Hall

    开山老殿 (Kāishān Lǎodiàn)

    The monastery site where Gaofeng Yuanmiao lived in the rock cave of Lion Cliff, surrounded by giant trees.

  • Immortals' Summit

    仙人顶 (Xiānrén Dǐng)

    The top of West Tianmu, with wind-bent trees and wide views over the ranges.

  • Chanyuan Temple

    禅源寺 (Chányuán Sì)

    The large Chan monastery at the foot of West Tianmu, rebuilt in recent decades.

Plants and wildlife

The reserve is small but exceptionally rich, with more than 2,000 species of higher plants recorded and dozens of species named after the mountain. Its old-growth cryptomeria stand, with hundreds of trees of great girth, has been protected by the monasteries for centuries.

Plants

  • Chinese cryptomeria

    柳杉 (liǔshān)

    Towering trees along the old pilgrim path, several more than 50 metres tall.

  • Ginkgo

    银杏 (yínxìng)

    Old multi-stemmed ginkgos on the lower slopes, long regarded as a possible wild population of this living fossil.

  • Tianmu hornbeam

    天目铁木 (Tiānmù tiěmù)

    Ostrya rehderiana, a critically endangered tree known in the wild only from a handful of individuals on the mountain.

Wildlife

  • Black muntjac

    黑麂 (hēijǐ)

    A rare deer of the forests of the Zhejiang–Anhui–Jiangxi border hills.

  • Elliot's pheasant

    白颈长尾雉 (báijǐng chángwěizhì)

    A shy long-tailed pheasant of the evergreen forest.

Culture and legend

Buddhist and Daoist hermits used the mountain from early times, and Prince Zhaoming of the Liang dynasty, compiler of the Wen Xuan anthology, is linked by legend with East Tianmu. Its great age was the Yuan dynasty, when Gaofeng Yuanmiao and his disciple Zhongfeng Mingben made West Tianmu a centre of Linji Chan. Japanese monks who studied there carried back its teachings and its tea culture.

  • Lion Cliff monastery

    狮子正宗禅寺 (Shīzi Zhèngzōng Chánsì)

    The Yuan-dynasty Chan community on the upper slope, today marked by the Kaishan Old Hall.

  • Tenmoku bowls

    天目盏 (tiānmù zhǎn)

    Dark-glazed tea bowls, mostly made in Fujian's Jian kilns, which Japanese monks associated with the Tianmu monasteries.

History

  1. Liang dynasty (502–557)

    Prince Zhaoming's retreat (legend)

    East Tianmu is linked with the compiler of the Wen Xuan anthology.

  2. 1279 onward

    Gaofeng Yuanmiao settles on Lion Cliff

    West Tianmu becomes a leading centre of Linji Chan in the Yuan dynasty.

  3. 1956

    Forest protected

    West Tianmu is among the first protected forest areas of the People's Republic.

  4. 1986

    National nature reserve

    The reserve is raised to national status.

  5. 1996

    UNESCO biosphere reserve

    Tianmushan joins the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

Through the seasons

  • Spring

    Fresh leaves climb the mountain from April, with magnolias and rhododendrons on the upper slopes.

  • Summer

    Several degrees cooler than Hangzhou and long a summer retreat; frequent afternoon storms.

  • Autumn

    Colour in the deciduous belt from late October and the ginkgos turning gold in November.

  • Winter

    Frost and snow on the summit ridge, with rime ice on the trees in cold spells.

Routes and ways in

  1. Pilgrim path through the giant trees

    Old stone steps climb from the Chanyuan Temple area through the cryptomeria forest to the Kaishan Old Hall; a strenuous half-day on foot.

  2. Summit ridge

    From the Kaishan Old Hall on to Xianren Ding for views over the range.

Practical notes

  • The reserve lies in Lin'an district of Hangzhou; the scenic road climbs to the upper slopes.
  • Parts of the core reserve are closed to visitors; keep to marked paths.
  • Mountain weather changes quickly; paths are wet and mossy for much of the year.

Cities to start from

Frequently asked questions

Sources

  1. Man and the Biosphere Programme: Tianmushan — UNESCO (retrieved 27 September 2026)
  2. Lin'an District People's Government — Lin'an District People's Government, Hangzhou (retrieved 27 September 2026)
  3. Hangzhou Municipal People's Government — Hangzhou Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)

More mountains and nature in Zhejiang

Related

Province

Zhejiang →

Zhejiang is a coastal province south of Shanghai whose northern plain belongs to the lower-Yangtze Jiangnan region and whose south is mountainous and…

City · Zhejiang

Hangzhou →

Hangzhou is the capital of Zhejiang, at the southern end of the Grand Canal on the Qiantang River. Capital of the Wuyue kingdom and of the Southern…

Philosophy

Chinese Buddhism →

Dynasty

Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 CE) →

The Yuan dynasty (1271-1368 CE) was the Mongol dynasty established in China by Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, who adopted the dynastic name…