Zhiyuan Temple is the largest monastery on Jiuhua Mountain and the most architecturally imposing, a complex of interconnected halls rising in tiers up a steep hillside. The entrance is through a massive mountain gate flanked by fierce guardian statues; beyond it, successive courtyards and halls ascend the slope, with the main Buddha hall at the top commanding views down over the monastery rooftops and the valley below.
The scale of Zhiyuan is deliberately overwhelming — it was designed to make a physical impression on pilgrims arriving from below. The monks who live here are engaged in active religious community life, and morning and evening services are open to respectful visitors. The drum tower and bell tower at the entrance are struck at dawn and dusk, and the sound carries across the mountain valley.