Share my trip to Mount Putuo in 2021

In the past, our whole family would drive to Putuo Mountain during the Chinese New Year. There are especially many people celebrating the New Year in Putuo Mountain on New Year's Eve. I hope that the whole family will be safe and sound in the coming year. Because of the COVID-19 epidemic, I haven’t been to Putuo Mountain to celebrate the New Year in two years. Now that spring is blooming, my colleagues and I set out on the road to Putuo Mountain.

In the past, we all traveled by car. Henan is about 1,200 kilometers away from Zhoushan. It takes more than ten hours to drive. Either as a family or with friends, we traveled all the way to Putuo. It takes a long time and the driver is tired. If you take a plane, you need to fly to Ningbo first and then take a two-hour bus to Zhujiajian Pier to get to the island.

What is convenient now is that there are direct flights to Putuo Airport, but there is only one time, which is to take off from Xinzheng Airport at 7 am and arrive at Putuo Airport at 9 am. At 4 o'clock in the morning, the online car-hailing driver picked us up at the door of our house. We were rushing early rather than late, so I didn't sleep all night. It was only around 5 o'clock when I arrived at Xinzheng Airport. I changed my boarding pass, checked in my luggage, passed the security check, and then waited for boarding with peace of mind.

The only plane that flew from Xinzheng to Putuo was Shenzhen Airlines. The plane was relatively small and uncomfortable to sit in. But fortunately, it only took two hours, so I passed by it patiently. It is indeed very convenient to fly. To get to Putuoshan Airport, you can take a bus or take a taxi. The bus costs 7 yuan per person, and the taxi to Zhujiajian Pier costs 20 yuan. It depends on what you choose. The distance is very close.

When you arrive at Zhujiajian Pier, you can buy tickets online. The ticket is 160 yuan per person, and the boat ride is 30 yuan per person. You can buy a package (ticket to and from the boat ticket), and the ticket is 220 yuan per person. Yuan. After buying the ticket, you only need to take your ID card and scan it when you enter. Of course, if you don’t want to crowd onto the boat with many people and are not afraid of spending money, you can also choose a business speedboat, which has VIP access and a dedicated waiting room, and costs 100 yuan per person. It takes about 20 minutes by boat and 10 minutes by speedboat. Water and snacks are also provided on the business speedboat.

When you arrive on the island, you can book a B&B in advance. There are many B&Bs on the island, and the prices vary between peak and off-season, depending on personal preference. The closest hotel to Puji Temple is Xile Town, and the price is relatively higher. Another hotel, Panlong Hotel, is five minutes away from Puji Temple, and the price is lower than Xile Town. The two hotels are one. In the past, we came with elderly people so we didn't want them to be too tired, so we chose these two hotels to stay. The prices ranged from more than 200 to more than 1,000 a night depending on the off-peak and peak seasons.

This time, my colleagues and I stayed in a B&B in District 1 of Longsha. It cost 250 yuan a night. The room was clean and there was no need to prepare anything. It was all in the room. In addition to not providing meals, the convenient thing is that there is a pilgrim canteen opposite the community of this B&B that provides vegetarian food. Breakfast is 10 yuan per person, and lunch and dinner are 25 yuan per person. It is clean and hygienic and saves money. Without further ado, here’s the picture above:

To get to the point, people who come to Mount Putuo come here to burn incense and pray for blessings.

From where we live to Puji Zen Temple, we only need to walk through a tunnel and walk for ten minutes. The scenery along the way is also beautiful. You can slowly enjoy the scenery along the way and soon arrive at Puji Temple.

It is said that you should burn incense early rather than late. Puji Temple opens to the public at 5:30. Pilgrims can enter the temple at this time. You have to buy a 5-yuan incense roll to enter the temple. If you don’t know much about burning incense, you can also hire an incense-burning tour guide to take you around Puji Temple for 30 yuan a time. If you go there multiple times, No need.

There are eight halls in Puji Temple. The east gate leads to the west gate. As the saying goes, you can’t turn back when you burn incense. You need to cross the threshold to enter the door, and you cannot step on the threshold. Going clockwise in the temple, they are: Yuantong Hall: dedicated to Avalokitesvara; Samantabhadra Hall: dedicated to Samantabhadra Bodhisattva to seek career; Ksitigarbha Hall: dedicated to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva to seek health for the elders; Mahavira Hall, dedicated to the third Buddha: ( Sakyamuni, Amitabha, Medicine Buddha), pray for peace. Pumen Hall: Mainly worships Qianshou Guanyin Bodhisattva, who will always answer your requests. If you make a wish, you must come and repay it; Manjusri Hall: mainly worship Manjusri Bodhisattva, and provide education for children; Galan Palace Wealth Hall: mainly worship Galan Bodhisattva, and pray for wealth; Sanzhou Induction Hall: Worship the Veda Bodhisattva for peace of mind when entering and exiting.

You can walk from Puji Temple or take a bus to Nanhai Guanyin. On the way to Zizhulin Nanhai Guanyin, you have to pass by the Guanyin Temple. The origin of the Guanyin Temple can be found on Baidu. When you arrive at the Nanhai Guanyin Statue, you can see countless pilgrims burning incense and praying for blessings.

The Nanhai Guanyin Standing Buddha is 33 meters high and the Buddha statue is 18 meters tall. It is the symbol of the Haitian Buddha Kingdom. Every time I come here, I feel awe in my heart. Coincidentally, last time I took a photo of Nanhai Guanyin, there was a small bird's nest in the palm of her hand. I was wondering if this also represented Guanyin Bodhisattva's salvation of all living beings.

It usually takes half an hour to visit the Nanhai Guanyin scenic spot.

Every time we come, we go to Puji Temple and Nanhai Guanyin and then go back. This time I made a special trip to Ciluojia Mountain.

From Nanhai Guanyin, you need to take a car to the pier and then take a boat to Luojia Mountain. The boat to Mount Luojia has a fixed time. We waited until 11:30 to get on the boat after 10 o'clock. The journey took about 20 minutes. When we arrived at Mount Luojia, the steward on board will tell you to take the boat back at 13:30.

There are many steps in Luojia Mountain, and climbing up requires physical strength. By the time I climbed the steps, I was already a little tired, but I didn’t feel tired no matter how tired I was while burning incense and worshiping Buddha. I have seen monks kneel down and kowtow all the way up after walking a few steps, and I sincerely admire their piety.

Regarding Mount Luojia, you don’t have to go every year. I went there in the first year, but I didn’t go there due to various reasons. I didn’t go there for the second time until this year. I think every place is different, and the time plan is also different. Choose according to your own itinerary.

Luojia Mountain itinerary: Jialan Hall - Yuantong Zen Temple - Dabei Hall - Dajue Zen Temple: There is the Avalokitesvara Temple inside!

I didn’t know that Luojia Mountain was a place where you could ask for a child before, but I didn’t know until I went there this time. I heard that many pilgrims brought their one- or two-year-old babies to kowtow and fulfill their vows. After hearing this, I felt inexplicably excited.

You must also do your homework in advance about the taboos of burning incense and worshiping Buddha. If you are not sincere about burning incense, it is better not to go, so as not to violate the taboos. You can believe it or not!

I was exhausted after coming out of Luojia Mountain. In fact, there are more than just these places in Mount Putuo. There are many places that I didn’t go to this time. I just picked these places that I often visit and introduce them to you. .

It is also worth mentioning the Baibu Beach in Putuo Mountain. I go there every time. Although the sea in Putuo is yellow, it does not affect my liking for it. There are many people playing on the beach. You can relax here and watch the tide rise and fall, and your mood will immediately improve!

There is also a 1,000-meter health trail near Puji Temple. When I traveled to Putuo Mountain the year before last, I took my father and daughter to walk through it. It felt very good and relaxing. This kilometer is not a kilometer on the plains, it is all the way up the mountain. It feels like more than a kilometer. There are also temples along the way, and the scenery at the top of the mountain is extremely beautiful.

When traveling to Mount Putuo, two days is usually enough. Every time I go there, I feel very peaceful. When I get here, I feel that all worries no longer exist. I really want to live on the island, turn off my mobile phone, not contact anyone, and just stay quietly on the island. But I'm afraid it's just a wish of mine. Maybe when I retire, I will rent a house here to live for a while.

We stayed for two nights this time. In the past, we always came and went in a hurry. Fortunately, this time we could take a look around. Really, every time we come, we have a different feeling. Although It's all the same scenery.

When we left in the morning, we could have taken a car to the pier, but we chose to push our heavy luggage and walk for about half an hour to the pier. I took a lot of beautiful scenery along the way, but I just felt like I couldn’t see it. It’s over, and I can’t get enough of it. Maybe there won’t be time to come again this year, only next year. The first year I came to Putuo Mountain with my husband, I thought that I would stop coming after three years. But three years after another, every year I didn’t come, I felt like something was unfinished and I felt uneasy.

No matter what you burn incense or pray for, everyone has his or her own beliefs. At first I went to Mount Putuo, perhaps to pray to gods and worship Buddha to achieve some wish, but later it really became my faith. People always ask me, have you gone to fulfill your vow again? In fact, I don’t make a wish every time, nor do I ask the Bodhisattva to fulfill my wish every time. It’s just my personal belief. In addition, it is also to keep the family safe. No matter what, there is always a corner of the hearts of Buddhist believers that is kind.

Let us all be kind people! Be kind to others! As long as there is a piece of pure land in our hearts, we will be happy!