Nanhai Guanyin Area, Putuo Shan, Zhejiang
This is a slightly longer version of an article to be published in the Shenzhen Daily on December 19, 2011. This version also has links, photos, and maps not in the published one.
_In the summer of 2009, I discovered a list of 142 Buddhist sites designated "Key Temples" by the central government back in 1983. I immediately set out to start seeing all of them. In this new column, I'll chronicle my adventures, and offer some tips on seeing these temples and the surrounding places of interest in China.
_The day after my return from Hangzhou, I went to Mt. Putuo, one of the "Four Buddhist Mountains" of China. (The others are Mt. Emei in Sichuan, Mt. Wutai in Shanxi, and Mt. Jiuhua in Anhui. I haven't been to any of these yet!)
The best way to get to Putuo Shan is by direct bus from central Ningbo, by bridge to Zhoushan Island and then to the short ferry to Putuo Shan's island. As I was in Beilun, far from the center of Ningbo, I took a taxi to Beilun port, then a l-o-o-ng local bus ride along Zhoushan before reaching the final ferry.
The best way to get to Putuo Shan is by direct bus from central Ningbo, by bridge to Zhoushan Island and then to the short ferry to Putuo Shan's island. As I was in Beilun, far from the center of Ningbo, I took a taxi to Beilun port, then a l-o-o-ng local bus ride along Zhoushan before reaching the final ferry.
_Landing on the island, I caught a shuttle bus to the Purple Bamboo Hotel, where I checked in before taking an evening walk up to the area around Puji Temple. Outside the gates of the temple I saw the beautiful Duobao ("Plentiful Treasure") Pagoda, the oldest building on the island, dating back to the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). However, I wouldn't enter the temple grounds until two days later.
_The next morning I headed for the 33-meter-tall Nanhai Guanyin, built in 1998. Each of the Buddhist mountains belongs to a Bodhisattva (a kind of Buddhist "saint"), and Putuo Shan is Guanyin's. As the bodhisattva of compassion, he (sometimes she) is one of the most popular in China.
Near the huge modern statue are some older locations.
Near the huge modern statue are some older locations.
_The Xifang Jingyuan is a small temple which guards access to "Guanyin's Leap," a "footprint" in a stone where Guanyin is said to have leapt from Luojia Shan, a small island 10 kilometers away, where she had undergone Buddhist practices.
_Also nearby, Bukenqu Guanyin Temple was built when a Japanese monk tried to take a statue of Guanyin from Mt. Wutai to Japan back in 916. As storms kept driving him back to Putuo, he realized that the statue "refused to leave" (the meaning of "Bukenqu"), and so he built a temple and stayed. Numerous temples (and statues) have replaced the originals throughout history; what we see today was built in 1998. The temple has a fine set of modern Japanese statues of the thirty-three appearances of Guanyin; just below the temple is the Chaoyin Dong, or "Cave of Tidal Sounds," which makes quite a roar when waves crash into it.
_As I left the area, I entered the Purple Bamboo Temple (Zizhulin) which I had passed on the way in. It's a typical small temple, though much larger than the other two I had visited that morning.
_From there, I headed up the hill to catch the bus near Puji Temple, on my way to Huiji Temple on the island's highest point.
References:
Wikipedia
Putuoshan.net: Click the dots on this peculiar map for a local's view of Putuoshan's "Seeings" in English
Wikipedia
Putuoshan.net: Click the dots on this peculiar map for a local's view of Putuoshan's "Seeings" in English
MAPS
Google's mapping for Putuo Shan is not very good, perhaps because of the nearby military installation. The following image stolen from Google Maps is about the best I can do; the "live" version can be found here in the map view. I have included a local map of the area discussed in this article.