Qiyuan Vegetarian

Top choice in Anhui


Come here to sample (and study: the picture menu is well translated) the exotic edible fungi, shoots and roots of the mountain. Dishes range from humble Chinese chestnuts flavoured with osmanthus (a flowering shrub; 桂花板栗, guìhuā bǎnlì; ¥30) to prized 'stone ear' mushrooms (石耳, shí'ěr; ¥188), a kind of lichen that grows on rock and is believed to possess medicinal properties.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Anhui attractions

1. Zhiyuan Temple

0.04 MILES

Just past the village’s main entrance on your left, worshippers hold sticks of incense to their foreheads and face the four directions at this enticingly…

2. Huacheng Si

0.19 MILES

Set back off the road, behind a pond, Huacheng Si was originally founded in the Tang dynasty (though the current structure is not that old). It has…

3. Baisui Gong

0.26 MILES

A 30-minute hike up the ridge behind Zhiyuan Temple leads you to Baisui Gong, an active temple built into the cliff in 1630 to consecrate the Buddhist…

4. Jiuhua Shan

0.34 MILES

The Tang-dynasty Buddhists who determined Jiuhua Shan to be the earthly abode of the Bodhisattva Dizang (Ksitigarbha), Lord of the Underworld, chose well…

5. 10,000 Buddha Pagoda

0.37 MILES

Atop the ridge overlooking Jiuhua village stands this arresting seven-storey pagoda fashioned entirely from bronze. Reach it by following the signs for…

6. Zhaji

14.23 MILES

Stuffed with old stone bridges and creaking, white-washed ancient buildings, the charming, very pretty and large village of Zhaji dates originally back to…