This pretty area known as "Nine
Streams and Eighteen Gullies" is approximately a twenty minute
walk from the Lingyin
Temple . Despite the name, this is actually a pretty series of
paths about twenty minutes west of the pagoda. Walk up a small lane
away from the lake side until you eventually reach Longjing
Tea Plantations. It is a lovely walk and usually quite peaceful.
It makes a nice break from the lake and you wander past tea terraces
on the route up to the Dragon Spring. There are some quaint places to
stop off along the way too, including a lagoon and a small pavilion
which has been converted into a great tea and snack house.
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Measuring
about one mile long, the Bai Causeway is the shorter of the two
causeways which cross the lake.
This causeway travels northwards and
starts at the "broken bridge", travels through the
"golden ribbon bridge" and ends at the "Autumn moon on
a calm lake". Quite a journey!
Again, like the Su causeway, it's a
popular spot for couples to promenade and this walk takes you along
the outer edge of Solitary
Island.
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Huagang
Fish Pond is situated on Solitary Island between the Su Causeway,
Yinbo Bridge and Solan Bridge.
In the Lu garden at the foot of the
Huajia hill, is a pond that was originally used for fishing.
Now it is a huge pond filled
with gloriously colored fish. The pond is inside the Zhongshan Park
which is a lovely place to rest under the shade of the trees. The park
is immaculately well maintained.
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The Jade Spring (yuquan)
is in the Hangzhou Botanical Gardens west of the Yue
Fei
Mausoleum. This spring is about twelve meters long and nine meters
wide.
Hundreds of pretty little fish
live in the pool at the bottom of the Spring and there is a veranda here
where swallows make their nests.
The Botanical gardens also
have a pine tree which was presented to the city by U.S. President
Richard Nixon on his visit here in 1972.
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The
"Lake Under the Autumn Moon" lies on both sides of the Bai
Causeway on the West Lake.
The interesting name stems from the fact that
(according to an ancient poet), under the bright autumn moon the lake
looks smooth and resembles a mirror.
In the 38th year of the Qing
dynasty a pretty pavilion was constructed near the lake. Today
landscaped gardens, verandas and more pavilions have been built around
this small lake which is part of Hangzhou's West lake.
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The
Lingyin Temple is Hangzhou's most famous site, aside from the West
Lake. This ancient temple was built in 326AD during the Jin Dynasty
but the temple at the site now has been restored sixteen times. The
buildings you see today are restorations made during the Qing dynasty.
The Temple itself is one of the most
famous Buddhist temples in the whole of China. The Indian Monk Huili,
thought Hangzhou so beautiful that he believed this must be a place
that gods live. Hence, he founded this temple in honor of the beauty
and spiritual richness of the place, and named it "The place
where gods rest in seclusion" or Lingjin. This is a huge place so
it's best to just pick a few of the more interesting areas to look at.
On entering the Temple, tun left and you will be confronted with huge
stone statues that are reproductions of famous Buddhist statues
located all over China such as the Buddha at Leshan.
Slightly behind the Temples in the woods up here are a lovely
collection of stone carved Buddha who sit in the niches of the cliffs.
The most impressive of these is a huge, fat "Laughing
Buddha". In the Temples themselves are various gold statues of
Buddha, posing in different positions and adopting a warrior stance.
Behind the largest gold Buddha is a collection of delightful figures
and deities, carved into a huge piece of wood. The Temple is filled
with incredible statues and monuments to Buddha- laughing, standing
and sitting!
This place is usually mobbed with
tourists so try and go early in the day or late afternoon when there
are less people here. You should allow at least a couple of hours to
do this place real justice. There is a nice vegetarian restaurant next
to the Temple, The Lingyin Si Vegetarian.
Opening hours: Daily
7am-5pm.
Cost: The ticket for the grounds alone costs RMB20 and the
Temple ticket is another is RMB15.
How to get there: Take bus No.7 from Yuefei Mu or from
the railway station.
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