Self-driving through Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong: Celebrating the New Year in the South (Part 6)

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After breakfast at the hotel, we drove to Taimu Mountain, known as the 'Fairyland on the Sea'. We exited the expressway at Fuding, paying a toll of 25 yuan, and arrived at Taimu Mountain (53.9 km) in about 54 minutes.

Private cars must be parked at the tourist distribution center, with a parking fee of 10 yuan. We then transferred to the scenic area shuttle bus to go up the mountain. The scenic area ticket was 115 yuan, with a half-price ticket for seniors at 57 yuan, and the round-trip bus fare was 40 yuan. At 10:51, we took the shuttle bus and arrived at the main entrance of the scenic area in about 20 minutes.

Taimu Mountain is a World Geopark, a National Scenic Area, and a National Natural Heritage. On October 11, 2013, the National Tourism Administration awarded Taimu Mountain Scenic Area and nine other scenic spots the title of National 5A Tourist Attractions.

Taimu Mountain is a scenic tourist destination characterized by granite peak forests and rock caves, integrating mountains, sea, rivers, islands, and cultural landscapes. The viewing area covers 92.02 square kilometers, and the protected area covers 200 square kilometers. It is famous for its 'four wonders': deep caves, steep peaks, misty illusions, and strange rocks.

We passed through the Couple Peak Square (admiring Couple Peak and the Eighteen Arhats Paying Homage to the Mountain) and started climbing via the Yingxian Plank Road.

We entered the Yingxian Terrace Scenic Area.

Here there are attractions such as Yingxian Terrace, Xianzhang Peak, Couple Peak, and Golden Cat Catching Mouse.

Then we arrived at the Yi Pian Wa (One Tile) Scenic Area.

We crawled through the Yixiantian (One Line Sky), visited the Suspended Copper Hall's Yi Pian Wa Zen Temple, and the Stupa of Goddess Taimu.

The scenic area also includes the Xiangshan Temple Scenic Area, Baiyun Maoxiao Scenic Area, Wulonggang Scenic Area, and Guoxing Temple Scenic Area. If you want to visit all of them, it would take two days. Given our time and physical strength, that was not possible.

We walked back along the Sea-Viewing Plank Road. Although the plank road is built along the rocks, walking here offers a distant view of the sea, and it is relatively flat, saving energy. We exited the scenic area gate around 3:00 PM.

We took the scenic area shuttle bus back down to the tourist distribution center, retrieved our car, and drove to Tiantai.

The total distance was 309 km, with a highway toll of 140 yuan. We spent 305 yuan on fuel along the way. We checked into the Tiantai Taihe Kaiyuan Hotel around 8:00 PM.

That day we drove 350 km.

After dining on the second floor of the hotel, we returned to our room to rest.

February 27 (Tuesday): After breakfast at the hotel, we left at 10:00 AM to visit Guoqing Temple, which is 7.4 km away.

The attractions of Tiantai Mountain can be summarized with four words: ancient, clear, strange, and quiet.

The most famous temple on Tiantai Mountain is Guoqing Temple, originally built in the Sui Dynasty and rebuilt during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty. It has 14 halls and over 600 rooms. In the main hall, there is a bronze seated statue of Shakyamuni cast during the Ming Dynasty, weighing 13 tons.

This temple does not charge an admission fee, and the parking lot is free (when I went in 2019, parking started to cost 10 yuan).

From the parking lot to the temple gate is about 500 meters, and an electric cart ride costs 2 yuan.

Guoqing Temple, located at the foot of Huading Mountain, is one of the famous ancient temples in China and is regarded as the birthplace of Buddhism by both China and Japan. Together with Lingyan Temple in Qizhou (now in Changqing County, Shandong), Qixia Temple in Runzhou (now in Nanjing, Jiangsu), and Yuquan Temple in Jingzhou (now in Dangyang County, Hubei), it is known as one of the 'Four Perfections' of the world. Guoqing Temple was built in the 18th year of the Kaihuang reign of Emperor Wen of Sui (598 AD), following the design drawn by the founder of the Tiantai School, Zhiyi.

After Zhiyi founded the Tiantai School, he wanted to build a temple as its formal ancestral home, but due to lack of funds, construction was delayed. In his dying letter to the Prince of Jin, he wrote, 'If I do not see the temple completed, I will die with regret.' The Prince of Jin, Yang Guang (later Emperor Yang of Sui), was deeply moved after reading the letter and sent Sima Wang Hong to oversee the construction of Guoqing Temple. Guoqing Temple has four halls, five towers, and six halls, with over 600 rooms, making it one of the most complete large temples in China. The statue of Tathagata in the Mahavira Hall is cast in bronze, weighing over 10,000 kilograms. The twenty Devas on both sides of the hall are carved from nanmu wood. The temple also houses a rich collection of religious artifacts, such as palm-leaf sutras, ancient alms bowls, ancient stone inscriptions, and imperially bestowed Buddhist scriptures. There is also a plum tree over 1,200 years old in the temple, as well as numerous cliff inscriptions, including those by ancient calligraphers such as 'Xiu Yan' and 'Da Zhong Guo Qing Si', whose brushwork is vigorous and are rare treasures.

The vegetarian meal provided by the temple costs only 2 yuan. The temple also has fields worked by the monks themselves, where harvested rice grains are drying (I saw this with my own eyes on my second visit). I believe this is a true pure land of Buddhism.

We left the temple around 1:50 PM and hurried to Shiliang Waterfall, 24 km away, arriving at 2:30 PM.

We parked the car at the scenic area exit, with a parking fee of 10 yuan. The distance from the exit to the entrance is 2.4 km, and the scenic area provides a free shuttle bus to take you to the entrance (service until 4:00 PM). It takes about 2 hours to walk from the entrance to the exit.

Ticket price was 60 yuan, with a half-price ticket for seniors over 60.

Staff suggested that we walk to Shiliang Waterfall and then turn back.

We followed the stream valley, crossing hills, passing by Small Copper Pot, the World's First Seal, Ancient Guangfang Temple, and finally reached Shiliang Waterfall.

Shiliang Waterfall is located on Tiantai Mountain in Zhejiang. Tiantai Mountain is a famous mountain in Jiangnan and is also the birthplace of the Tiantai School of Buddhism. Centered on Huading, the surrounding peaks are like petals around Huading, making Tiantai Mountain look like a blooming lotus from a distance. Tiantai Mountain has numerous scenic spots, and waterfalls can be seen everywhere. In the early Qing Dynasty, poet Pan Lei wrote in his poem 'Huading': 'Peaks and ridges pierce the sky, streams and waterfalls roar like thunder and rainbows.' However, the best part of Tiantai lies in one waterfall—the famous Shiliang Waterfall. Shiliang Waterfall is not more spectacular than other waterfalls, but it has its unique features: First, there is a huge stone beam about two zhang (approx. 6.6 meters) long, spanning between two cliffs. The slightly arched surface of the beam looks like a crawling giant python. The Jinxi Stream and the Daxing Keng Stream converge here from left and right. The rocky streambed is uneven, causing the water to cascade down in layers. With each cascade, it stirs up a spray of white water, then falls again. After four such cascades, the stream finally flows near the stone beam, gathering into a huge snow-white wave that rushes toward the beam. Part of the water is deflected, but most passes under the beam and falls into a deep valley dozens of zhang (approx. 100 meters) deep, producing a deafening sound. Near Shiliang Waterfall, there are stone inscriptions by the great calligrapher Mi Fu of the Song Dynasty reading 'The First Marvelous Sight', and by Kang Youwei, leader of the Reform Movement of the late Qing Dynasty, reading 'Shiliang Waterfall'. On the belly of the stone beam, there is an inscription by the prefect Liu Ao reading 'Again Visited', among others.

We exited the scenic area around 5:00 PM.

The mountain roads were in good condition along the way. Passing by Dong'ao Village, we got out of the car to overlook Jinting Lake and then returned to Tiantai city center.

We found a very popular restaurant called 'Earth Stove Head' (Tu Zao Tou). The food was good and the price was reasonable.

We returned to the hotel and rested.

February 28 (Wednesday): We were going home that day. After breakfast, we first went to a farmers' market to buy some local specialties of Tiantai.

We returned to the hotel and checked out near 12:00 PM.

We drove to the Qiongtai Xiangu (Fairy Valley) Scenic Area.

Yesterday, at the Guoqing Temple parking lot, the lady at the information center helped us make two phone calls, advising us to park at the West Gate and then take a tourist bus (one every half hour) at 10 yuan per person to the East Gate entrance, then walk downhill to save effort.

Admission ticket was 65 yuan (32 yuan for seniors over 60).

We entered the scenic area at 1:24 PM and walked downhill. A security guard said the total distance was 3.6 km.

Lingxi Stream is the main feature of this scenic area. On both sides, cliffs stand facing each other, steep and rugged, with various peaks.

We arrived at Longtan (Dragon Pool). The pool water was crystal clear and dark blue. The path here is quite steep; if we had been walking uphill, we really would have struggled.

This 5A-level scenic area has been visited by many famous historical figures, including Li Bai, Du Fu, and Bai Juyi. Notable sights include 'Li Bai's Poem-Engraved Rock', 'Immortals Gathering', 'Twin Maiden Peaks', 'Yuanbao Stone', and 'Buddha's Hand Peak'.

In the morning it was cloudy, but then the sun came out, and the scenery at the Eight Immortals Lake was truly beautiful.

The return trip to Shanghai was 300 km in total, with a highway toll of 155 yuan. We arrived home safely.

Our 17-day journey through three provinces covered a total distance of 4,012 km.

The self-driving trip through Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong to celebrate the New Year in the South came to a successful conclusion.

Travelogue Directory: 1. 15. 'Fairyland on the Sea' – Taimu Mountain; 2. 16. 'Origin of Buddhism and Taoism, Beautiful Mountains and Waters' – Tiantai Mountain; 3. 17. Visiting Qiongtai Xiangu and Returning Home Safely.

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