Putuoshan

Putuoshan is a small island of about twelve square kilometres in the Zhoushan archipelago, and it is one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains of China, dedicated to Guanyin, the bodhisattva of compassion. Three main monasteries, Puji, Fayu and Huiji, sit among wooded hills, along with dozens of smaller temples and nunneries, and a thirty-three-metre bronze Guanyin stands on the southern headland looking out to sea. Pilgrims arrive in numbers on Guanyin's festival days, some prostrating along the paths. Between the temples are sandy beaches, which gives the island an unusual mix: religious pilgrimage and seaside holiday on the same day.

History

Putuo has been a place of pilgrimage for more than a thousand years and became a centre of Guanyin worship after the Tang dynasty. Of its three main temples, Puji was founded in the 10th century, Fayu in 1580 and Huiji in 1793. Among its visitors was the future Chan master Yinyuan Longqi, known in Japan as Ingen, who came in 1612 at the age of 20 looking for his father, missing for fifteen years, and the monk Taixu spent several years in solitary retreat in a small hermitage on the island (Wikipedia, Mount Putuo).

What you'll find

• The Nanhai Guanyin - the thirty-three-metre bronze figure on the headland.
• The three monasteries - Puji, Fayu and Huiji among the wooded hills.
• The pilgrim festivals - crowds and prostrations on Guanyin's days.
• The beaches - sandy bays between the temple areas.

When to go

April to June and September to November; the three Guanyin festival days in the lunar calendar bring enormous crowds and full accommodation. Summer is hot and humid, and typhoons can disrupt ferries between July and September.

Good to know

Ferries are cancelled in bad weather and typhoons strand visitors. Island entry is charged on top of ferry and temple tickets. Accommodation is expensive and books out around festivals. Vehicles are restricted and buses crowded.

Nearby

Zhoushan and Shenjiamen are the ferry ports; the Shengsi islands lie north.

Key facts