Once again, I find myself at Mount Putuo | Strolling through the small city of Ningbo and the little islands of Zhoushan in the springtime
| Strolling through the small city of Ningbo and the little islands of Zhoushan in the springtime. The mountain is in the sea, and the sea is at the foot of the mountain
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This is my second visit to the Putuo Temple in Zhoushan, and I took some time to wander around Ningbo. This trip was a bit different from the previous one; amidst the leisure, I encountered the beauty of the small city and the small island.
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✈️Transportation
Sleeper train from Wuhan to Ningbo, head to Juxian for breakfast with rice cakes in the morning (the breakfast place is within walking distance from the station), then take a bath at Riyue Bathhouse (after all, I spent a night on the train, everyone should check it out, the price is really surprising).
You can also consider flying to Ningbo, as the Ningbo airport is quite close, or you can choose to fly directly to the Putuoshan airport in Zhoushan. But since you're here, it's worth taking a stroll around Ningbo.
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Delicacies
Having been here twice, I really feel that the local delicacies are best in Ningbo. After all, Zhoushan is generally about seafood, but now fresh seafood is available everywhere, so it's not like it has to be Zhoushan. Let's talk about Ningbo's food.
⭐Quzhou No.1 Local Cuisine Restaurant: Quzhou green tomatoes fried with cured meat, the cured meat is crystal clear like a prism, and the oil fragrance is full.
⭐Yongji: Sweet-tasting, suitable for friends from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, the four-happiness gluten is quite interesting.
⭐Ninghai Seafood Noodles: The boss is very enthusiastic, and it has the Ningbo flavor (after eating, you can walk to the Drum Tower)
⭐Lingmei Seafood Porridge: A well-designed small shop, the products also have that tone (next to Moon Lake, go for a coffee after eating)
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☕Coffee
Ningbo's coffee shops are surprisingly good, with different styles that you can't see in other cities
⭐Coffee and cigarettes: A small, clean shop with style, the bar was full of people when I arrived, and the owner was busy.
⭐Click Pharmacy Beast: A pretty cool coffee shop, styled like an abstract painter, and they also have coffee for fitness enthusiasts, haha
⭐Yaoxing Street Tea Drink: Located inside the national medicine hall, it's nice to drink some Chinese-style tea, and the interior is really good-looking, with a well-captured Chinese style.
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🚌From Zhoushan to Mount Putuo
We took the bus to Zhoushan at night, staying by the seaside at Shenjiamen, and there's a luggage storage at Ningbo station. The bus station is right next to Ningbo Railway Station, which is really convenient. We took the bus after 3 PM to watch the sunset over the sea on the bus.
We stayed overnight at Shenjiamen and didn't go to Zhujiajian to take a boat this time. Instead, we took a boat from the Banshengdong Passenger Terminal at Shenjiamen, where there are fewer people. After arriving at the Putuoshan pier, we bought the Putuoshan tickets on the spot.
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Once we arrived at Mount Putuo, the weather cleared up, and I got to see a different side of Mount Putuo under the sunshine. The Baibu Sand Beach opposite the Puji Temple is still so comfortable. A brief escape from the crowds, the beauty and comfort of Mount Putuo are all given by this beach.
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This time, the itinerary started with a visit to the South Sea Guanyin, then to the Puji Temple and the Fayu Zen Temple. The weather was good on the weekend, and there were really a lot of people. It's still important to emphasize getting up the mountain early. Now, to take the bus on Mount Putuo, you have to queue up. To avoid delaying the trip, remember to get up early in the morning. If you plan to stay overnight in a guesthouse on the mountain, you'll have more time. I saw some new hotels under construction, so there should be more accommodation options on Mount Putuo in the future.
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🚌From Mount Putuo back to Ningbo
On the way back, we still took a boat directly to the Zhujiajian pier, because there is a bus that goes directly back to Ningbo. One thing to mention is that the Luckin Coffee on Mount Putuo doesn't have the 9.9 deal, but the Luckin Coffee at the parking lot of Zhujiajian pier does. So, after coming down from the mountain, you can go have a drink.
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After returning to Ningbo, we stayed for one night, visited the Drum Tower, ate the aforementioned seafood noodles, had coffee, and the temperature was just right these few days. The comfort of the small city was very pleasant. Ningbo is actually quite big, and next time I will plan to visit the surrounding areas of Ningbo, such as Fenghua, Xiangshan, and the reef beach.
Putuo Mountain is one of the four famous mountains of Buddhism in China, the famous Guanyin Daochang, known as the "Haitian Buddha Kingdom" and "South China Sea Holy Land". The largest on the mountain are Puji Temple, Fayu Temple, Huiji Temple and Baotuo Jian Temple. The largest landmark is the Nanhai Guanyin Buddha, which is 33 meters high. Putuoshan is surrounded by the sea and is known as the "first quiet place".
Putuo Mountain is a blessing place, and I have to come here every year to clean my heart. There are a lot of tourists on the island. It takes a long time to queue up for the shuttle bus. It simply depends on the feet to hike the whole process. 30,000 steps a day, properly! Heart is sincere!
It feels very worth a visit. If you come to worship Buddha, you feel that the scenery is so beautiful. It feels very worth a visit. If you come to worship Buddha, you feel that the scenery is so beautiful. It feels very worth a visit. If you come to worship Buddha, you feel that the scenery is so beautiful. It feels very worth a visit. I came to worship Buddha and felt that the scenery was so beautiful.
I heard that Mount Putuo will be three years in a row, so I came as promised. Take the scenic bus directly to the Fodingshan cableway, walk all the way down, Fodingshan → Fayu Temple → Shuangquan Temple (Buddhist Heart Wall punch card) → Puji Temple → Zizhu Forest → Nanhai Guanyin, Nanhai Guanyin to the pier only 15 minutes walk, this time I want to experience it, the scenery is really healing. Choose to travel on the first working day after the May Day holiday, there are few people, the weather is good, and the luck is super good. The last boat on the return trip also watched the sunset and the sea breeze was blowing, which was super complete.
Putuoshan was originally named Meilu Mountain, which was named after Meifu in the end of the West Han Dynasty. Putuo Mountain Scenic Area is low on the island and hills, and the national second-level protected animals include lizards, otters, red eagles, etc. The vegetation of the whole island of Putuo Mountain Scenic Area is distributed in the outer ring of Foding Mountain as the center, the hillside is shrub herbaceous, the sand dunes are salty and sandy plant communities, and the coastal rock walls are seaweed communities.
On Putuo Mountain, you can't finish walking in a day, and you can't finish walking at all. You can plan your own must-go points in advance, and plan the route by car, cableway or walk reasonably. We chose the anti-clockwise route, first go to Nantianmen, Nanhai Guanyin, refused to go to Guanyinyuan, then go north, to Puji Temple, Fayu Temple, Wanfo Pagoda, Baotuo Temple, but did not have time to go to Huiji Temple. If you may live on the island, you can consider in-depth tours (but the island's better hotels, four-digit accommodation fees, a bit expensive) 🤪🤪