Putuo Mountain

Putuo Mountain, on an island off the eastern coast of Zhejiang Province, is one of the four Buddhist shrines in the country.

The mountain rises alone in solitude over the East China Sea. Sailing near, one can see leafy trees, strange rocks, mysterious temples and huge inscriptions carved on stones. The mountain also has a beach stretching along its base with many caves, surrounded by floating clouds.

The mountain has numerous temples and nunneries and is therefore called a "Buddhist Kingdom on the Sea". The principal temple -- Puji Temple -- with more than 200 halls built inthe Tang Dynasty(618-907), is the largest of its kind in Southeast China. The main hall, which can hold over 1,000 people, has statues of Skt. Avalokitesvara in 32 incarnations. The five-storied quadrangular Duobao Pagoda (Rich Treasure Pagoda) to the east of Puji Temple was erected in the Yuan Dynasty(1271-1368) with stones from Taihu Lake in Jiangsu Province. The Fayu Temple, consisting of halls in six layers, is the second largest temple on the mountain and was constructed in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Inside the temple, a sunkenpanel , with a huge bright pearl hanging from its center, is supported with nine rafters engraved with coiling dragons, which are depicted to try to graspthe pearl. Huiji Temple, built in the Ming Dynasty, is located on the top of Putuo Mountain. There are some 1,000 stone steps in front of the temple. This is the third largest temple on the mountain with four halls, seven palaces and six attics. Yueling Temple is half way up the mountain but it has been turned into a museum, which displays more than 1,000 pieces of precious historic relics, including imperial edicts and gifts from ancient emperors and empresses; gifts presented by the ninth Panchen living Buddha of Tibet; as well as precious Buddhist relics from Japan, India, Burma, the Philippines and Kampuchea.