Putuoshan is a small island in the East China Sea. It's possible to walk from one end to the other in an hour or two but you could also spend days here relaxing and visiting some of the many temples. The island has about 3000 residents and about a third of these are monks.
In 916AD a Japanese monk tried to take a statue of the Mercy Buddha Guanyin from the China mainland back to Japan. They got as far as Putuoshan where fierce storms prevented them from going any further. Guanyin came to the monk in a dream and told him that if he would leave her here on Putuoshan, she would let him return home. The monk agreed and the weather cleared up and Putuoshan has been her home since then.
On the way to Putuoshan - heavy traffic due to the National day made it take
a little longer than expected.
Here's a shot of the ferry just before our bus pulled into it. This was the
first of two boat rides on the way to Putuoshan.
A shot out the window. They packed an amazing number of vehicles very tightly.
You couldn't walk between many of them and in other places, there was room
for one person to get through sideways. We all rode up on deck, but coming
back down, finding the right bus and actually getting into it was
challenging.
Another ferry going the other way. It looks like most people are going in
our direction.
As we left the ferry people and busses tried to avoid each other.
We stayed at the Putuoshan Hotel. An advantage of staying at a four-star
hotel is these multilingual signs.
Not perfect but understandable.
Everything here is spelled correctly but I wasn't sure what "the hinge"
was.
Another sneak photo. While on vacation, Maggie still got a few business phone
calls for emergencies.
Meet the Meat. This is the front room of a seafood restaurant. There's big
fish, shells, various crabs and a number of things I couldn't categorize.
Maggie selects the things that try hardest to get away for dinner.
This is the speciality of the area. Some of them were still moving a little
when the plate was set down but Maggie assured me that they were cooked.
They made for good chopsticks practicing because they were very slippery
and very well stuck to the shells.
Sometimes it's hard to take a picture without people walking in front of
you.
But we finally got it.
These temples are in beautiful condition.
Pu Ji Temple
A stone tablet which was given by the emperor
A large lotus pond.
There were monks studying in these buildings.
A bit of roof detail.
Another temple
"Don't want to go" temple. This temple commemorates the story of the monk's
attempt to take Guanyin to Japan.
Maggie stands on the edge of world and looks out.
Don't Want to Go Temple.
Purple Bamboo Temple
It was very windy and Maggie didn't know that I was photographing her as
she fought to get her hair under control :-)
Everything under control now.
Trading places...
My turn.
Good timing - Maggie caught a monk in the background.
Maggie with the mercy buddha Guanyin in the background.
And me.
Here are 13 stories about the mercy buddha. Naturally, I could easily read
it all. (Just kidding.)
The characters on the wall are the respectful form of address for the mercy
buddha.
This rock has Guanyin's footprint on it. She jumped here from another
island.
Just in case anyone thinks the Chinese are conservative dressers...
Me and then Maggie at the Guanyin footprint
Be careful! While you are distracted by the American tourist, a giant sneaks
up from behind!
Maggie and Guanyin, a Mercy Buddha.
I can't decide if this guy is happy or mad.
Guanyin. This copper statue is over 100 feet tall.
This tells a story a celebrating all the gods in heaven.
The mercy buddha
The queen of the heaven
Four gods in heaven. They guard the heaven in four directions: east, west,
north and south
Incense burning during prayer is common.
On the beach. Dave poses by the water...
Then Maggie walks out to get real close to the water and...
Surprise! It's fast!
Squish squish squish...
This temple is solid copper.
Dorm rooms for the monks.
We took a bus and two boats out from Shanghai and were delayed by traffic
so we decided to take this large overnight boat back. Bathrooms were of the
traditional hole-in-the-floor type which become extra-interesting if the
floor is rocking.
Coming into dock the next morning.
