• Putuo Mountain

  • Mt. Putuoshan lies on the Zhoushan Island to the east of Zhoushan City, Zhejiang Province. Zhoushan Island gets its name for groups of about four hundred small islands off the sea to the east of China. Among those small islands, Mt. Putuoshan is the largest one, with an area of 12.5 square kilometers. The name of Mt. Putuoshan means “beautiful white flower” in Chinese.

    Mt. Putuoshan, together with Mt. Jiuhua, Mt. Wutai, and Mt. Emei are the four most famous mountains worshipped by Buddhists in China. With its unique scenic beauty and environmental quietness, Mt. Putuoshan became the perfect place Buddhism to evolve since ancient times. There are a good many temples and nunneries housed over 3,500 Buddhist monks and nuns on the island. The prosperous development of Buddhism there made Mt. Putuoshan win the name of “Heaven of the Sea and Kingdom of the Buddhists”.

    Mt. Putuoshan and its temples are especially sacred to Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, a goddess of compassion. The three most famous and elaborate temples on Mt. Putuoshan are Puji Temple, Fayu Temple and Huiji Temple.

    Putuo Mountain Highlights:

  • Fayu Monastery is located at the foot of Fodingshan (Foding mountain), at the north end of 1000 step Beach. Entry fee 5 RMB.
  • Huiji Monastery is located near the top of Fodingshan. Entry fee 5 RMB. The lazy can reach the temple by cable car (40 RMB return). Take Bus 2 from the port (8 RMB). More active visitors and pilgrims take the concrete steps from near Fayu Temple. It takes about 1 hour to climb the mountain.
  • Puji Monastery, located at the center of the island, is the most accessible and famous monastery on Putuoshan. It costs 5RMB to enter. Nearby are are hotels, restaurants and interesting shops. A public ritual performed by the monks runs from 4:30AM to 7AM. It is crowded at this time, so unless you are interested in the ceremony, it best to visit the temple outside these hours.