Putuo Mountain Scenic Area, Zhoushan

Putuo Island is one of the largest islands in the Zhoushan Archipelago in Zhejiang province. [Photo/VCG]

Putuo Island is one of the largest islands in the Zhoushan Archipelago, a group of islands at the mouth of Hangzhou Bay, not far from the city of Ningbo, Zhejiang province.

It covers 12 square kilometers. There are fantastic vistas of the surrounding seascapes. Putuo Island is also known as Putuo Mountain, one of the Four Sacred Mountains of Chinese Buddhism.

It is also home to the most famous Guanyin Temple in all of China. Guanyin is the goddess of mercy and the patron saint of seafarers.

Putuo Island is home to many Buddhist temples. [Photo/VCG]

The island's scenic beauty means it is the perfect setting for temples and other religious buildings. Over the centuries, it became known as the “Heaven of the Sea and Kingdom of the Buddhists”.

In its heyday, the island had 82 temples and nunneries together with 128 shelters that between them housed 4,000 Buddhist monks and nuns. Even today visitors to the island will encounter monks in their traditional robes as they walk along the many paths that criss-cross the landscape.

The center of the island is covered with rich green forests that form a tranquil setting appropriate to a place of quiet religious contemplation. It is here that magnificent and protected hornbeams grow as well as the famous one-thousand-year-old camphor trees, a particularly fine tree species with a circumference of 6 meters.

Scenic spot level: AAAAA

Ideal sightseeing season: July to September

Opening Hours: 9 am-5 pm (no tickets after 3:30 pm, no admission after 4 pm), closed on Mondays

Ticket price: February-November: 160 yuan;
January & December: 120 yuan;
The first five days of Chinese lunar New Year, May 1 to 3 and Oct 1 to 5: 180 yuan.

Address: Putuo town, Putuo district, Zhoushan, Zhejiang province

Note:
Ferries are available at Wusong Pier in Pudong district: departure at 8pm, arrival at 7:30 pm; return ferry for Shanghai departs at 4:30 pm and arrives at 6:30 pm.