Mount Huaguo — Flower Fruit Mountain — is the legendary home of the Monkey King from Journey to the West and the single most popular tourist attraction in Jiangsu's northern coastal region. The mountain itself is genuinely striking: 625 metres at its summit, composed of red granite shaped by weathering into formations that imagination readily turns into the animal and mythical figures the novel describes. More than 300 macaque monkeys live in the forest around the upper slopes, whose presence validates the literary associations at every turn.
The main pilgrimage site is Shuilian Cave (Water Curtain Cave), where a spring running over the cliff face creates the water curtain described in the novel. The cave is large enough to enter, with interior spaces decorated with shrines to Sun Wukong and incense-burning worshippers treating it as an active religious site rather than a literary curiosity. The surrounding temple complex — Sanyuan Temple — is one of the oldest on the mountain, founded in the Tang dynasty. Admission varies by season; the summit cable car is a popular option for avoiding the full climb.