Time to Inn

Putoshan is well off the foreigner travel path and information in English is limited. That the nearest train station is a few hours away in Ningbo only makes it more complicated. That’s why I was happy to find this homestay/hotel with its helpful English speaking owner “良筑”. I called and he added me on WeChat to give me advice and drop me pins (hint:the “south” bus station in Ningbo is adjacent to the train station, next to the taxi queue). He explained where the four main sightseeing spots on the island were and gave me advice about how to tackle them in a day. As for the hotel itself, perfectly fine: clean and comfortable and affordable. Only disadvantage is it’s about a 10-15 minute drive to the ferry building, about an hour walk. But it’s easy to catch taxis to the hotel and then 良筑 will drive you back to town (about 20 rmb each way). Also, immediately across the street is an enormous new Buddhist temple with a really beautiful interior that I would have missed seeing if I hadn’t stayed at this hotel. It needs at least an hour. The nearby town is small but has many seafood restaurants. All in all, if you’re a foreigner with limited Chinese ability hoping to visit Putoshan, then this is probably the right hotel for you as 良筑 will help you to plan and organize your visit. Plan to arrive by midday and stay for two nights. You can see it all in that time.