#Guoqing Temple Travel Recommendations for 2024 (Updated in May)
Temples
Address:
Digang Town, Rudong County, Jiangsu Province
Opening times:
Open today at 08:00-17:00(Admission ends at 17:00)Opening Soon
Recommended sightseeing time:
2 hour
Phone:
0513-84191101
Mount Tiantai's Guoqing Temple is the most beautiful and serene temple worth visiting in China
🏨 Guoqing Temple
❤Recommended Reason:
Mount Tiantai's Guoqing Temple is known as the most beautiful and serene temple in China. Whether it is the "most" may be debatable, but the beauty of Guoqing Temple is beyond doubt.
🌟Highlights:
As the birthplace of the Tiantai School of Buddhism, Guoqing Temple, which was founded during the Sui Dynasty, holds a revered yet understated status. 'When the temple prospers, the nation is clear,' goes the saying, reflecting the temple's harmony with the changing seasons in the mountains, and now the seas are calm and the rivers are clear.
One of the four great temples in China, it is also the birthplace of one of the three major Buddhist sects in China, the Tiantai School, and is rated as a 5A scenic area.
Surrounded by mountains, in summer visitors can play in the stream in front of the temple, and in autumn watch the monks dry grains in the courtyard. The Sui plum trees beside the Mahavira Hall have coexisted with the temple for ages, and when the flowers bloom and their subtle fragrance drifts, they tell the history to the visitors.
🚉Transportation Strategy:
It is recommended to drive, navigate to Guoqing Temple scenic area directly. If taking high-speed rail, get off at Tiantai Mountain station, then take bus route 7 directly to Guoqing scenic area. Inside the temple, there is a vegetarian meal for 2 yuan and a shuttle bus for 2 yuan per trip.
🕙Business Hours:
Guoqing Temple of Tiantai is open from 07:00 to 16:00, parking lot ¥10/day.
📝Note tips:
1. Guoqing Temple is not known for its grand architecture and scale, but for its profound cultural depth, where every inch of soil resonates with the weight and pulse of history.
2. The Sui Tower, visible from outside the temple and built by Emperor Yang of Sui, is one of the tallest ancient towers in Zhejiang.
3. The 1400-year-old Sui plum trees bloom in February and March each year, and are a must-visit spot.
4. The temple is surrounded by ancient trees and stone bridges reflecting the streams, adding a tranquil and timeless charm to the temple, and it is also a great spot for photography.
Flavors Abound
I thought Lingyin Temple was already beautiful until I went here
Spring is really lush
It's like being soaked in emerald green
Really pleasing to the eye
And high in oxygen content
Quiet and full of Zen
Looking into the distance, the mist is winding
It's like a fairyland in another world☁️
A one-kilometer green avenue from the temple entrance🍃
Twin peaks loop around, layers of green hills, babbling streams
Suddenly the whole person is quiet, calm and peaceful
...
Guoqing Temple, a millennium ancient temple, built during the Sui Dynasty
Hidden in the deep mountains, secluded and simple, serene and Zen
The deep green lushness, cleansing the soul!
...
🚄High-speed rail can directly reach "Tiantai Mountain"🚉
📝I have organized a 1️⃣-day tour strategy:
☑️Itinerary: Guoqing Temple - Master Yixing's Tomb 👉 Tongxuan Temple 👉 Tiantai Mountain Waterfall 👉 Tiantai Mountain - Tongbai Palace
...
✅Guoqing Temple, one of the four wonders of Chinese temples, a millennium ancient temple from the Sui Dynasty, a millennium Sui plum, a 5A scenic spot with no admission fee.
✅Tiantai Mountain Waterfall, with a drop of 325 meters, is known as the highest waterfall in China
✅Tongbai Palace, the southern ancestral court of the Quanzhen Sect
✅Tongxuan Temple, a secluded Tang-style ancient temple hidden in the deep mountains
...
🏨Where to stay? Homestays at the foot of Tiantai Mountain are convenient and affordable!
🥢What to eat? Local stove head, Tiantai Mountain snacks, Yuqing Residence, Sanmu Yushi
🫓Special snacks? Food cone, selling cakes, flat food, rice cake, mochi, spicy tart
...
LAYNE SOTO
If you don't visit Guoqing Temple to enjoy the flowers, you will miss the splendid appointment of spring
After the first sentence, the spring breeze gently brushes, the earth awakens, and the flowers bloom with dazzling colors. Having missed the plum blossoms of Guoqing Temple in February, don't miss the rapeseed flowers in March!
📍Location: Guoqing Scenic Area, Tiantai County, Taizhou City
Guoqing Temple was built in the 18th year of the Kaihuang era of the Sui Dynasty (598 AD) and has a history of more than 1,400 years. It is one of the 'Four Great Temples' along with Lingyan Temple, Qixia Temple, and Yuquan Temple. The temple houses cliff inscriptions by famous figures such as Wang Xizhi, Liu Gongquan, Huang Tingjian, Mi Fu, and Zhu Xi, and is one of the key cultural relics protection units in the country.
🎫Ticket: Free!
Tour Strategy:
Start from the Guoqing Temple Visitor Center ➡️ Sui Pagoda ➡️ Guoqing Temple Screen Wall ➡️ Yuhua Hall ➡️ Mahavira Hall ➡️ Sui Plum ➡️ Yaoshi Hall
Must-visit spots:
✅Rapeseed flower field at the entrance of Guoqing Temple: Feel the power and hope of life in the sea of flowers, and experience the tranquility of the soul.
✅Sui Pagoda: Standing at 59.4 meters, it is one of the tallest ancient pagodas in Zhejiang and has stood for a thousand years, of great historical value.
✅Guoqing Temple Screen Wall: The four characters of the ancient Sui temple on the majestic wall reflect the ancient charm of Guoqing Temple.
✅Famous Inscriptions: Don't miss the Qianlong Imperial Stele, Fish Joy Country (Dong Qichang), and Goose Character Stele (half is the authentic work of Wang Xizhi, and the other half is supplemented) around Yuhua Hall.
In addition, there are popular shops suitable for photo-taking and checking in near Guoqing Temple, such as Xi De, San Mu Yu Shi, and Bi An Hua Yuan. If you're tired, consider resting in one of them.
celestine_3548
Guoqing Temple, the birthplace of the Tiantai sect of Buddhism in China
The ancient temple of the Sui dynasty, Guoqing Temple, is not only the birthplace of the Tiantai sect of Buddhism in China but also the ancestral temple for the Tiantai sect in Korea and Japan. Guoqing Temple boasts three wonders: the Sui pagoda, Sui plum, and the unique 'Goose' calligraphy by Wang Xizhi.
As the cradle of the Tiantai sect, Guoqing Temple holds a revered yet understated status. 'When the temple prospers, the nation is clear and pure.' The seasons change in the mountains, and now the seas are calm and the rivers clear. Surrounded by mountains, in summer one can play in the streams in front of the temple, and in autumn, watch the monks sun-dry grains in the courtyard. The Sui plum tree beside the Mahavira Hall grows with the temple, and when its subtle fragrance wafts through the air as the flowers bloom, it tells the history to the visiting pilgrims.
Guoqing Temple
Salvador Von
Guoqing Temple: Peace to the nation, safety to the people
A few years ago, I first visited Guoqing Temple. I was filled with emotion and sighs.
Peace to the nation, safety to the people.
After more than three years, I hope more: Peace to the nation, safety to the people.
So, I visited Guoqing Temple again, offering incense and paying respects to Buddha.
It's not so brilliant and splendid, a bit old, which makes us feel closer and more in line with our understanding of cultivation. At the incense offering place, there is a monk, handsome and tall. Judging by his plain face, he should be more attractive than the boss in 'Blooming Flowers'. He could rely on his good looks, but he chose to cultivate. Remarkable, truly remarkable.
I secretly took a photo, he noticed but didn't get angry, just glanced at me with a faint look. It was an understanding of me, and also a restraint on me, so that I dare not post his handsome photo, afraid of offending the cultivator, afraid of causing trouble if it spreads out, what if it disturbs him, disturbs his cultivation heart. Wouldn't that be a sin?
The plum blossoms outside the main hall have bloomed, if you pay attention, you can smell the fragrance. Unfortunately, there are few careful people and few careful hearts. More are: self-interest, personal gain, concern for him, concern for her. No bottom line, no restraint, and no self-restraint.
Plum blossoms, in accordance with the season, following the will of heaven, blooming, fragrant:
Sun, moon, earth, what are you?
I calculated the time to come here, offered incense and paid respects to Buddha, and then had a vegetarian meal. I asked the monk, he said, it's not open to the public anymore. There's a loss.
It's a loss, but it's not a loss.
The internet-famous place that doesn't want to be internet-famous (Guoqing Temple), might it have disturbed the monks' cultivation?
Possibly. But more importantly, nothing can be perfect and complete.
The moon waxes and wanes?
The moon waxes and wanes.
I was reminiscing about the vegetarian meal at Anji Lingfeng Temple, rushing to Xiayanbei Village, wanting to see the mountains and the sky.
Peace to the nation, safety to the people.