Buddhist pilgrims gather at the Yueshen Palace at Jiuhua Mountain.

Temples at Jiuhua Mountain held grand Buddhist ceremonies and folk artists performed dragon dances and local dramas to celebrate the birthday of Ksitigarbha bodhisattva on Aug 28 (July 29 in the lunar calendar). Tourists and Buddhist pilgrims gathered here as well, going to a temple fair, appreciating the beautiful scenery, listening to local operas, watching dragon lanterns and praying for blessings.

Both people and the traffic flow broke the record from previous temple fairs, making the 29th Jiuhua Mountain Temple Fair climax in an all-round manner.

Each unit of the Jiuhua Group on the hill fulfilled responsibilities for the sake of safety, order and harmony during the peak of the temple fair. Company leaders held fast to the frontline in spite of the rain and the faculty stayed at their posts with tenacious will. At 3:50 am, before dawn, Jiuhua Transportation Company carried the first batch of guests up to the mountain. All vehicles were put into service through scientific allocation of hauling capacity that day. The tourist center, each cableway (cable car), hotel and travel agency took action to relieve traffic and keep the order of each tourist hall and station, in an effort to guarantee travel safety, tourist reception and services.

Pious Buddhist pilgrims

Pilgrims prayed for blessings together.

(chinadaily.com.cn)