[2025 Rugao Attraction] Travel Guide for Dinghui Zen Temple (Updated Apr)

Located in the southeast corner of Rugao's old city, Dinghui Zen Temple faces the Yudai River at its main gate, borders the Releasing Pond to the east, and is flanked by the Yulian Pond to the southwest. The temple's layout is in the shape of the Chinese character "回" (return), with halls and buildings surrounding a central courtyard where the main hall stands. This creates a unique structure where "water surrounds the temple, and buildings embrace the hall." Its most distinctive feature is the north-facing temple gate and the towering seven-story, octagonal Guanyin Pagoda. From the top of the pagoda, visitors can see both the old and new cities of Rugao, encircled by the moat. Opposite the temple is the former site of Rugao Public Normal School.

| Dinghui Temple (1579). Dinghui Temple is located at No. 34, Dinghui Temple Lane, Fenghuang Street, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. It was originally built during the Tang Dynasty's Xiantong period and has been destroyed and rebuilt several times. The existing buildings from the Qing Dynasty include the mountain gate, the Hall of Heavenly Kings, and the main hall, all facing south with the back to the north. In 1982, it was listed as a Suzhou municipal cultural heritage site.

Suzhou, this is too magical Is this something you can see without spending money!? Yes!! The free scenery is just wonderful!! Always admire Suzhou aesthetics!! Suzhou is divine when the weather is good!! Location: After entering Dinghui Temple Lane, there is a Double 6 Tower attraction, which are the two towers in the picture, the ticket price is not expensive at eight yuan. This time I went to see the Wu Zuoren Art Museum next door, I didn't expect that there would be this koi pond and double tower view inside, this is free~ but you need to make a reservation in advance! Next to it is Dinghui Temple, you can visit it together, and there is also the Double Tower Market, you can arrange half a day's time, if you have time, you can also visit the nearby Suzhou Park, Guanqian Street, a day trip to Suzhou is set Dinghui Zen Temple

Jiaoshan, surrounded by green waves, full of green mountains, like a jade floating in the river, and facing the Elephant Mountain on the opposite bank, is known as 'thousands of rivers flow eastward, one island stands in the middle', known as the 'Water Park of the South of the Yangtze River', and is known as the 'Floating Jade in the River'. The mountain is 71 meters high and has a circumference of more than 2000 meters. It is named after Jiaoguang, a hermit of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The general recommended route for Jiaoshan tour is right: Dinghui Temple-Mingshan Memorial Hall-Steles Forest-Yihe Ming-Bonsai Garden-Ancient Battery-Xijiang Building-Tinglin Mountain House-Biefeng Nunnery-Wanfo Tower-Baishou Pavilion-Sanzhao Cave-Cliff Carvings-Huayan Pavilion-Jiaogong Temple, the journey can be about 2-3 hours. Since it is a revisit to the old place to recall the past, I decided to go to the cliff carvings first by walking left from Dinghui Temple. The whole area along the river at the western foot of Jiaoshan is all steep cliffs, with floating jade, plank roads, Guanyin, and Yihe Ming rocks. Among them are the inscriptions of famous people from all dynasties since the Six Dynasties. There are various calligraphy styles such as regular, cursive, official, and seal scripts. The content is rich, like a natural exhibition of ancient calligraphy, full of beautiful things. When you arrive at the Floating Jade Rock, the most eye-catching are the two vigorous and beautiful characters 'Floating Jade' written by the Song calligrapher Zhao Mengkui; the imitation ancient tower with the style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in the south of the Yangtze River--the Wanfo Tower is located at the top of Jiaoshan, the tower is 42 meters high, the altitude is 70.4 meters, you can climb the tower and look far away, the river and sky scenery is all in sight, the front and back doors are embedded with 'the sea does not raise waves', 'the middle stream is a pillar' Eight vigorous and powerful stone carvings (it happens to be under repair and not open to the public); at the foot of the mountain on the east side of Jiaoshan, facing the eight dark fort-style gun forts solidified with lime soil at the mouth of the Yangtze River, this is the famous Jiaoshan Anti-British Battery, an important relic of China's modern anti-British anti-imperialist struggle; the osmanthus flowers in the osmanthus garden have mostly withered, and the remaining sporadic flowers still emit strands of fragrance, and the mountain comes down and it is refreshing with the wind; compared with some famous mountains and rivers, Jiaoshan does not appear to be tall and prominent, but it has its uniqueness The place is the famous Jiaoshan Stele Forest in the south of the Yangtze River, the majestic cliff carvings and stele art, making Jiaoshan a mountain of calligraphy known at home and abroad. The stele forest treasures more than 400 steles from all dynasties, the most famous of which is the 'King of Steles', 'The Ancestor of Big Characters' called the rare stele-'Yihe Ming', it is said that the great calligrapher Wang Xizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty wrote a inscription to commemorate the death of the pet crane, originally carved on the stone wall of the west mountain of Jiaoshan, and later fell into the river due to collapse, what we see now is the rubbings of later generations; 'Jiaoshan autumn is strong, the red and yellow leaves are different', it is deep autumn, the ginkgo trees in the stele forest are just fluttering with the wind, slowly falling between the black tiles and green bamboo, covering the ground with apricot yellow, adding a layer of quiet and elegant color to the green and lush Jiaoshan.

The ancient ginkgo trees in Dinghui Temple in Suzhou have turned yellow, which is definitely a beautiful landscape in autumn. If you also want to see this golden beauty, don't hesitate, come to Dinghui Temple quickly! Dinghui Temple has a history of more than 1800 years and has a deep heritage. The two ancient ginkgo trees in front of the Daxiong Hall in the temple have a history of more than 200 years. In late autumn, the golden ginkgo leaves are scattered all over the courtyard, as if entering a golden world. The ginkgo leaf scenery here can be described as an excellent place to enjoy leaves in the temple. The specific location is No. 34, Dinghui Temple Lane, Phoenix Street, Suzhou. The opening hours are from 7:15 every morning to 7:00 in the evening, and it is open to the public for free. It is about 250 meters away from the subway Lintun Road Station, and the transportation is convenient. Here can be a stop in Suzhou, not far from the nearby Pingjiang Road, Suzhou Museum, Humble Administrator's Garden, and Lion Grove. You can choose a day trip to deeply experience the culture and scenery of Suzhou. Don't miss Dinghui Temple, let's appreciate this golden autumn together!

▪️Suzhou's autumn colors are getting thicker, and it's about to welcome the best season for autumn appreciation. I have lived in this city for a long time and have summarized 9️⃣ photo and play spots. I will go to these spots every autumn! 1️⃣Panmen Scenic Area See pictures 1-2, the autumn scenery of Panmen Scenic Area is not the most beautiful, but the few ginkgo trees in the scenic area are very worth checking in. The best shooting angle is to shoot down from the city gate. 2️⃣Xiyuan Temple See pictures 3-4, Xiyuan Temple is beautiful all year round, and the Xiyuan Temple in autumn is a landscape of the entire ancient city, attracting many people to check in. There are many ancient ginkgo trees in the temple, which complement the yellow walls and red tiles of the temple. 3️⃣Tianping Mountain See pictures 5-6, 'Tianping Maple Leaf is the best in the world', the Tianping Mountain famous for its maple leaves does not need me to introduce more, highly recommended! 4️⃣Dinghui Temple See picture 7, a small temple hidden in the center of Suzhou City, the most famous is the two hundred-year-old ginkgo trees in the temple, very tall! 5️⃣Daoqian Street See pictures 8-9, there is a row of neat ginkgo trees next to Daoqian Street. In autumn, the entire road is covered with ginkgo leaves, which is well combined with the market atmosphere in the city! 6️⃣Taiping Zen Temple See pictures 10-11, located in Taiping Town, Suzhou, a very simple temple in the town, but it attracts many people to check in every year, because there is a huge thousand-year-old ginkgo tree in front of the temple, which is particularly eye-catching in autumn. 7️⃣Tiger Hill Wetland Park See pictures 12-13, the most famous are the rows of metasequoia trees in the park, very photogenic! 8️⃣Shili Xietang See pictures 14-15, just opposite the old street of Xietang in Suzhou, Shili Xietang has rows of neat metasequoia trees, it is recommended to check in and take pictures on sunny days! 9️⃣Zhiping Temple See picture 16, another temple in Suzhou with a huge ginkgo tree, friends who like to shoot autumn ginkgo can also come here to visit!

Jiaoshan, a national 5A tourist attraction, is the only island in the Yangtze River that is surrounded by water on all sides for tourists to explore. It is one of the 'Three Mountains of Zhenjiang' (the other two are Jinshan and Beigu Mountain), known for its natural landscape and ancient elegance. It was a stop on a honeymoon trip 25 years ago in early summer, and the most important part of a silver wedding dream trip this winter. From the ferry at the foot of Xiangshan, you can step on the green island - Jiaoshan, known as the 'Floating Jade in the River', in less than five minutes. The reason why Jiaoshan is famous at home and abroad is firstly because Jiaoshan stands in the heart of the river, known as the 'Pillar in the Middle of the River' and 'The Stone of Zhenjiang', with its majestic momentum. Plus, the mountain temple is faint, the trees are lush, the water area is wide, the environment is beautiful, it is like a fairy island in the world floating in the water. After landing, you need to pass a newly built antique stone bridge and the 'Jiaoshan Scenic Spot' Han Baiyu archway, turn around the shadow wall, pass the Ruyi Bridge (Auspicious Bridge) is the mountain gate of Dinghui Temple (Shi Nai'an wrote in 'Water Margin': 'There is a temple on Jiaoshan, hidden in the mountain, invisible to the situation, called the mountain-wrapped temple', which is Dinghui Temple), but this black tile yellow wall red lacquer color painting majestic mountain gate has no memory of the appearance, in the search, see a master to ask, only to know the original old mountain gate is not far to its left, bridge, pond, mountain gate are new. After visiting the Dinghui Temple, which was built in the Xingping period of the Eastern Han Dynasty and has been more than 1800 years old, a 800-year-old ginkgo tree in front of the door attracted my attention. It was the deep autumn season in the south of the Yangtze River. The fork-shaped branches were shaking a tree of bright yellow leaf fans. The sound of the Buddhist scriptures was fragrant, and the Dinghui Temple appeared more ancient and elegant. While taking pictures with the camera, I met the old master again; it was a coincidence that the old master took me to a great location to take pictures. The magnificent temple, the light pavilion, the bright red maple tree, the green and yellow ginkgo tree, the breeze blowing, falling pieces of butterfly shadow, it is really beautiful in the world, I can only take a few more photos to capture this beautiful moment, leaving a bright color for my silver wedding dream trip.

On the last day, we set the itinerary in Nantong, which is more than 40 minutes' drive from Nantong city center. It has the most exotic and unique temple in China, Dinghui Temple. The unique place of Dinghui Temple lies in: Bishuihuan Temple, Shanmen North, and Danlou Temple. The simple three-character idioms once made me puzzled, so I came here directly at the first stop and wanted to find out. Temple name Dinghui knows what generation, the bridge ancient monument is not known for the year; ancient tree crows are late, the spring garden butterfly dance spring smoke. The seven-storey pagoda is turned into a road, and the five-color cloud is scattered on the sky; only the water in the Yulian pool is deep, and the old dragon sleeps deep in the waves. The location of the ancient temples is based on strict Feng Shui, and the selection is also the fengshui treasure land that the people think. Often back to the mountains, the water is looming, steep and mysterious. Among them, sitting north facing south is the most important site selection for ancient temples, and it is also a traditional traditional system. This is not only limited by feng shui, but also has many scientific principles. Dinghui Temple is a veritable rebellious temple. It sits on the south and goes against the road. Why is this, I am very curious, so I asked the local old man for an inquiry.

Huisi is located in the south of the river, such as the ancient city of Rugao. It is not under the jurisdiction of the city. Since the 31st year of Jiajing, the southeastern coast of China has been ravaged by smuggling. Wherever you go, it is like a no-man's land. All the way down the city into the county, the prosperity and richness of China's Jiangnan, most of them were looted. In order to make the lives and property of ordinary people in the city as free from threats, Yangzhou government pulled out silver 46