Qianshan National Park
| Qianshan National Park | |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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 Location of Qianshan National Park
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| Location | Liaoning, China |
| Nearest city | Anshan |
| Coordinates | 41°1′35″N 123°8′10″E / 41.02639°N 123.13611°ECoordinates: 41°1′35″N 123°8′10″E / 41.02639°N 123.13611°E |
| Area | 44 km2 |
| Established | November 8, 1982 |
Qianshan National Park (Chinese: ; pinyin: Qiānshān; literally: "Thousand mountains") is a mountainous national park in Liaoning Province, China, 17 km by road, south east of Anshan. It is in the Qianshan Mountains (Chinese: 千山山脉), named after itself, that extends from the Changbai Mountains in the China-North Korea border, first westward to Liaoyang, then southward to Dalian in the southern corner of Liaoning Province.
The park is referred to as 'The Northeast Pearl'. The name Qianshan literally means 'Thousand mountains'. This is actually an abbreviation of the full name, Thousand Lotus Flower Mountains (Chinese: ; pinyin: qiān duǒ liánhuā shān). According to legend, a long time ago the four corners of the sky collapsed. The Goddess Nüwa wanted to save the people living below so she patched up the sky with stones. One stone was accidentally dropped to the ground where is splashed, throwing the earth into thousands of peaks in the shape of a lotus blossom. Thus Nüwa created Qianshan. The park area of 44 square kilometres, is filled with both Buddhist and Taoist temples, monasteries and nunneries. Here is one of few locations where both religions are found sharing the same site. Among the peaks, a naturally wrought statue of the Buddha stands 70 meters high. It is claimed to be largest naturally occurring image of Maitreya Buddha in the world.
The area has a long history of religious worship dating back to the Tang dynasty of China. The site was enhanced during both Ming and Qing dynasties. The revolutions of the twentieth century saw the site abandoned and some buildings damaged. The park has since be restored and expanded with new Pagoda and temples for the Maitreya Buddha.
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