Ningbo Putuo Mountain 4-Day Tour
🕐️DAY 1: Ningbo Tiantong Temple, Tianyi Pavilion, Nantang Old Street
Morning: 7:20 Guangzhou ✈️ Ningbo arrived at Lishe Airport at 9:35 Take a taxi to Tiantong Temple, which is located in the suburbs of Ningbo, about 25 kilometers from the city center, at the foot of Taibai Mountain. Known as one of the "Five Zen Mountains in the World", it was founded by the monk Yixing in the first year of Yongkang in the Western Jin Dynasty. It has a history of more than 1,700 years. It is known as the "Southeast Buddhist Kingdom" and is a national key cultural relic protection unit. The temple is very spacious and it is the largest temple I have ever seen. It is definitely worth a visit.
Afternoon: Tianyi Pavilion Museum, the oldest existing private library in my country, built by the official Fan Qin during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, where ancient books and desks are displayed. It was built like a Jiangnan garden, with rockeries, pavilions, and ponds. Many tourists visited it even on non-holidays, and there were tour guides.
Evening: Nantang Old Street is one of the eight historical blocks in Ningbo. It has a strong commercial atmosphere and sells milk tea and Ningbo snacks. My family also bought fried dough twists. We stayed at Nanyuan e Home Select Hotel, which has a clean and sanitary environment and is a good place to sleep.
🕐️DAY 2: 2-day tour of Mount Putuo - Guanyin Ancient Cave - Puji Temple - Nanhai Guanyin
Morning: Depart for Zhujiajian Wharf by bus at around 6:00 in the morning, the journey takes about 1 hour. Take a boat to Putuoshan Pier, check your luggage for 20 yuan round trip and 20 yuan per piece, and it will be delivered to the homestay. Then you have to queue in a long line to swipe your mainland Chinese ID card for ticket inspection, which costs 160 yuan per person to enter the Putuoshan Scenic Area. Mount Putuo is the dojo of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. First go to the Xitian Scenic Area, passing by the Heart-shaped Stone, Pantuo Stone, and the Two Tortoises Listening to the Dharma Stone. You can burn incense in the Guanyin Ancient Cave.
Afternoon: Puji Temple is the "front temple", the main temple dedicated to Guanyin on the whole mountain, and one of the three major temples on Putuo Mountain. The yellow walls of the temple are a place where many tourists check in. There is a jewelry street next to the temple, and my mother bought a lot of amulets and peace lockets. Outside is the Haiyin Pond, a large lotus pond. When I went there in October, the lotus flowers had already withered, but the lotus leaves were still there. Walk from Puji Temple to Nanhai Guanyin and enjoy the seaside scenery of the Buddhist kingdom. Pray wherever you pray and you will be answered. The sea of suffering will always be your boat to ferry people across.
Evening: After worshipping Nanhai Guanyin, take the scenic area minibus 🚌 to the homestay and check into Putuoshan Fulin Seafood Restaurant, which is near Hexing Village and faces the sea. You can stroll around at night. I lived on the top floor of the B&B. I was so tired that I fell asleep immediately. The environment was clean and sanitary. The only good thing about it was that it was close to the cable car entrance.
🕐️DAY 3: 2-day tour of Putuo Mountain - Foding Mountain - Huiji Temple - Luojia Mountain
Morning: Foding Mountain Cableway (40 yuan one way) entrance is near the seafood restaurant, swipe the mainland China ID card to take the cable car 🚠 to Foding Mountain, the main mountain of Putuo Mountain. Huiji Temple is one of the three major temples in Putuo, and its Guanyin Hall is dedicated to the Goddess of Birth. Check in at the "Buddha on the Top of the Buddha" wall. Walk down the 1,087 stone steps on the stone road to reach Fayu Temple (I would like to take the cable car if I have the chance to go there again🚠40 yuan). Fayu Temple is the "back temple" and one of the three major temples in Putuo. There is a ceramic Nine Dragon Wall here, and the plaque "Tianhua Fayu" bestowed by Emperor Kangxi. It is a Zen temple that protects the country and stabilizes the sea.
Afternoon: Walk to Qianbusha, the largest beach in Putuo Mountain. After lunch, take a boat to Luojia Mountain, a temple on a small island, for 70 yuan round trip. It's all stone steps, so walking up the mountain requires a lot of effort. Pick up your luggage at Putuoshan Wharf and take a boat back to Zhujiajian.
Evening: Return to Ningbo and check into Nanyuan e Home Select Hotel. Take a taxi to the Old Bund. There is a bar street with nice scenery at night. Pass by a very beautiful church⛪️. After climbing the mountain for 2 days, I was so tired that I fell asleep.
🕐️DAY 4: One-day tour to Jiang's hometown
Morning: Ctrip signed up for a one-day tour, 🚌 headed to Xikou Tengtou Scenic Area, Xuedou Temple-Maitreya on Earth (Xuedou Temple), a magnificent golden Buddha.
Afternoon: The water source of Qianzhangyan Waterfall comes from the valleys on the east and west sides of Xuedou Temple. The first place where General Zhang Xueliang was imprisoned. Fenggaofang is located on Zhongjie Street in Xikou Town, Fenghua City. It faces the street and overlooks the river. It is the former residence of Chiang Kai-shek and his son Chiang Ching-kuo. Yutai Salt Shop is located at the entrance of Dianchang Lane, in the middle section of Wuling Road, Xikou Town, Fenghua City, Zhejiang Province. It is the location of the salt shop opened by Chiang Kai-shek's grandfather and father, and it is also the birthplace of Chiang Kai-shek.
Evening: ✈️Return from Lishe Airport to Guangzhou Baiyun Airport
💗Other tips: Putuo Mountain Scenic Area is very strenuous, and the temples are basically on the stone steps on the mountain. Next time, don’t bring a thermos cup, just bring water in a plastic bottle. I climbed the mountain for 2 days, getting up at 6 o'clock every day, and visited almost all the scenic spots in Ningbo. I got up early and went to bed late, and I didn't have as much physical strength as the elderly. Personally, I think it is more convenient to join a tour group. There are really too many tourists in this scenic spot. It was crowded even in late October when it was not a holiday, so it was most convenient to travel light.