Lonely Planet China
Page 54
Though Zhūgě is one of the most commercialised of the area villages, it remains visibly lived in. Residents are largely descendants of Zhuge Liang, who was a prime minister during the Three Kingdoms period.
1Sights
Entering from Gaolong Lu (高隆路), proceed downhill and around the corner to reach the lovely, huge Upper Pond (上塘; Shàng Táng). At the southern end of the pond, look for a sign leading to Tiānyī Hall (天一堂; Tiānyī Táng 7.30am-5pm summer, 8am-4.30pm winter), most noteworthy for its beautiful garden with flowering trees and hundreds of potted plants – all used for Chinese medicine.
Double back and look for Shòuchūn Hall (寿春堂; Shòuchūn Táng h7.30am-5pm summer, 8am-4.30pm winter) – one of Zhūgě’s 18 halls – itself a long sequence of chambers and courtyards. Just past it is Lower Pond (下塘; Xià Táng) and two additional halls: Dàjīng Hall (大经堂; Dàjīng Táng h7.30am-5pm summer, 8am-4.30pm winter) – housing a traditional Chinese medicine museum – and, up the steps, the Yōngmù Hall (雍睦堂; Yōngmù Táng h7.30am-5pm summer, 8am-4.30pm winter), a fine Ming dynasty hall with an eye-catching central stone door frame.
Eight (the number mirroring the eight trigrams of the bāguà) lanes radiate from Zhōng Pond (钟池; Zhōng Chí ) at the heart of the village. The feng shui symbol of the village, the circular pond resembles the Chinese twin-fish, yīn-yáng tàijí diagram, half filled in and the other half occupied with water. You can also spot the black trigrams (八卦; bāguà) above some windows of the whitewashed houses.
Overlooking the water is the splendid Dàgōng Hall (大公堂; Dàgōng Táng h7.30am-5pm summer, 8am-4.30pm winter), a huge, airy space with a pairing of huge black Chinese characters 武 (‘Wǔ’ or ‘Martial’) and 忠 (‘Zhōng’ or ‘Loyal’) on the walls outside. The memorial hall originally dates to the Yuan dynasty; note its two large and smooth drum stones. The Prime Minister’s Temple (丞相祠堂; Chéng Xiàng Cítáng h7.30am-5pm summer, 8am-4.30pm winter), an impressive and massive old hall with some intricately carved cross-beams in the roof, is nearby.
Admission to the village gets you into all the sights described above, so hold on to your ticket.
4Sleeping & Eating
The vast majority of visitors are day trippers so there is an advantage to overnighting in one of the few guesthouses here. Also the village is beautiful at dusk.
Restaurants are dotted around the village, but most are aimed at tourists. Along the eastern edge of the Upper Pond are some more local options, where villagers gather to drink tea and play mah-jong and you can get a bowl of noodles for ¥10. Food carts and fruit sellers gather at the bottom of Gaolong Lu, just outside the village.
Huāyuán GōngyùHOTEL$$
(花园公寓 %0579 8860 0336; 48 Yitai Xiang; 義泰巷48号 r with/without bathroom ¥60/288; a)
This quiet choice is set amid the garden at Tiānyī Hall, embellished with views over the village rooftops from the 2nd-floor corridor. The cheapest rooms come without shower and have rather flaky ceilings; of the pricier rooms, go for the less damp ones on the 2nd floor. Discounts are common.
6Drinking & Nightlife
Sunshine HouseTEAHOUSE
(昱棧, Yùzhàn h10am-9.30pm; W)
Overlooking Upper Pond, Sunshine House serves big pots of tea and espresso drinks (¥25 to ¥40).
8Information
The nearest international ATMs are in Xīn'ānjiāng or Jīnhuá.
China PostPOST
(中国邮政, Zhōngguó Yóuzhèng 330 Guodao, 国道330号 h8am-4.40pm)
At the bottom of Gaolong Lu, across the street.
Zhūgě Bus StationBUS STATION
(诸葛汽车站, Zhūgě Qìchēzhàn 330 Guodao, 3国道330号 )
8Getting There & Away
From Hángzhōu south bus station, direct buses to Zhūgě (¥60, two hours) leave at 8.40am and 3.50pm; there's also a bus from Hángzhōu's central bus station (¥59, two hours) at 12.30pm and west bus station (¥60, two hours) at 2.40pm. Going back to Hángzhōu there are 12 buses daily (6.15am to 6.20pm).
From Jīnhuá west bus station, buses depart nine times daily for Zhūgě (¥18 to ¥21, one hour, 6am to 3.10pm). Return buses (7.15am, 8.50am, 9am, 1.40pm, 5pm) depart from in front of the bus station, on the opposite side of the street.
Buses from Lánxī en route to Xīnyè swing by Zhūgě around 7.45am, 10.20am, 1.30pm and 5.15pm. You'll need to flag one down from the road in front of the bus station. In the return direction, buses from Xīnyè (¥4, 30 minutes) depart at 6.10am, 8.30am, noon and 3.20pm; the bus drops off at the foot of Gaolong Lu.
8Getting Around
Zhūgě bus station is on Rte 330, a 15-minute walk from the village. Walk east for 500m until you see the cluster of pedicabs and snack vendors that mark the entrance to Gaolong Lu. At the top of the road (300m) is the entrance to the village. You can also hire a pedicab from the bus station for ¥5. Some drivers will bypass the admission gate and take you straight into the village; note that without a ticket you won't be able to enter any of the ticketed structures (though you are free to walk around).
Sìpíng 寺平
%0579 / Pop 1600
Tiny Sìpíng (寺平), 30km west of Jīnhuá, was founded 700 years ago, and remains a remarkable repository of brick and wood carvings. Its seven original halls, built by generations of the Dai (戴) family, are arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper – to communicate harmony between the human and natural world. The village is blissfully uncommercial – though thanks to a new homestay program, it's well set up for visitors.
1Sights
The main entrance to Sìpíng (¥20, 8am to 4pm) is along the handle of the dipper. On your right will be Liben Hall, an early Qing dynasty structure with some wood carvings that remain impressively vivid; keep an eye out for the bats (carvings of, that is). In the cosmology of the village, this hall represents the star Phad.
Just a few paces from Chóngdé Hall (崇德堂; Chóngdé Táng), is Wǔjiān Huāxuān (五间花轩 ), marked by flowery brick carvings over the door. This is the birthplace of Dai Yinniang, Sìpíng's most famous historical resident – the village girl who became an imperial concubine. According to legend, when Yinniang was ill as a child, a monk in a vision told her father to construct a well near the house. He did, and after giving his daughter water from it to drink and wash, she became well – and more beautiful. The well still exists, adjacent to the house.
At the base of the dipper, and standing in for the star Alioth, is Chónghòu Hall (崇厚堂; Chónghòu Táng ). Its brick carving, 'Nine Lions Scrambling for a Ball', is noteworthy as much for its detail as for its seemingly impudent use of five-toed lions (usually an imperial symbol).
The village is well signposted in English. While the halls are the most dramatic structures, many ordinary houses have fantastic carvings as well, depicting popular Chinese symbols of luck, upward mobility and prosperity.
4Sleeping
Jīnhuá HomestayHOMESTAY$$
(www.jinhua-homestay.com; s/d incl 2 meals per person ¥128)
The only accommodations in Sìpíng are the 15 homes open to guests through this program (the small number keeps the village uncrowded). While Sìpíng has plenty of heritage structures, the homes are modern (with modern amenities); bathrooms are shared. Host families are keen to have guests at their table and to take them around the village.
6Drinking & Nightlife
While it may not have restaurants, Sìpíng does have a single cafe (irregular hours) with an espresso machine, in the centre of the village, with an outdoor terrace.
8Information
The nearest reliable international ATMs are in Jīnhuá.
8Getting There & Away
Bus 502 runs to/from Jīnhuá's south bus station to Tāngxī (汤溪; ¥5.50, one hour, frequent 6am to 6.30pm). In Tāngxī, pick up a pedicab (¥30) for the last 5km to Sìpíng. If you've booked a homestay, transportation from Tāngxī can be arranged.
Jīnhuá 金华
%0
579 / Pop 4.73 million
As provincial Chinese cities go, Jīnhuá (金华) is an agreeable one with tree-lined streets and a central river flanked by parkland. It's a useful transport hub and a springboard for visiting the attractive villages of central Zhèjiāng.
1Sights
Jīnhuá Architecture ParkARCHITECTURE
(金华建筑艺术公园, Jīnhuá Jiànzhù Yìshù Gōngyuán )F
Jīnhuá Architecture Park is made up of 16 pavilions, designed by international and domestic architects, strung over 2km along the Yìwū River. It was conceived and curated by the artist Ai Wei Wei, to honour his father, poet and native son Ai Qing. Though the buildings – intended to be coffee shops, libraries, wi-fi–enabled work spaces and the like – are shuttered, it is still a fascinating sight, a modern meditation on memorial architecture.
The park, created in 2002, could have put the city on the international map: The star power of the names attached to the project (like Herzog & de Meuron), are a testimony to Ai's global renown as an artist. Yet he is also a controversial, outspoken figure: despite having once been named artistic director for the Běijīng Oympic stadium, he was arrested in 2011 on vague charges.
Jīnhuá Architecture Park is all but abandoned and, given southeast China's propensity for rain, the buildings are already succumbing to rust and mould – acquiring the patina of ruins, despite their contemporary nature. Local children play in the open-air structures; the rest can be appreciated only from the outside.
A taxi to the park costs around ¥25.
4Sleeping
World Trade HotelHOTEL$$$
(世贸大饭店, Shìmào Dàfàndiàn %0579 8258 8888; 737 Bayi Beijie, 八一北街737号 r from ¥760; aiW)
As befitting its transit hub status, Jīnhuá has many hotels. None of them are great, but this one (formerly a Best Western) is the best of the bunch: convenient, clean and well appointed. It's 2km from the train station, across from Bayi Park. Breakfast is included and discounts are common.
5Eating
Cheap noodle and hotpot joints can be found on Wuyi Lu, which runs diagonally southeast from the train station. Jīnhuá is famous for its dry-cured ham – so rich and salty it's used more to flavour dishes than to eat on its own – though unfortunately it's largely considered an export and is hard to come by in restaurants in town.
8Information
Bank of ChinaBANK
(中国银行, Zhōngguó Yínháng cnr Bayi Beijie & Renmin Donglu, 八一北街人民东路的路口 h8.30am-5pm)
Money exchange and 24-hour ATM.
8Getting There & Away
Jīnhuá has excellent high-speed train connections, thanks to the new rail line between Hángzhōu and Chángshā, including:
AHángzhōu East ¥74, one hour, frequent
AHuángshān North ¥157, 2½ hours, one daily
AShànghǎi Hóngqiáo ¥147, two hours, frequent
AWēnzhōu South ¥77, two hours, 10 daily
The West Bus Station (汽车西站; Qìchē Xīzhàn ), where buses depart for Zhūgě, is 500m west of the high-speed train station; the walk is well signposted. The South Bus Station (汽车南站; Qìchē Nánzhàn Bayi Nanjie; 八一南街 ), where buses depart for Tāngxī (for Sìpíng), is at the southern end of the city.
8Getting Around
Bus K11 (¥2) runs from the train station via the west bus station to the south bus station in 45 minutes.
Taxis start at ¥8. The 20-minute ride from the west to the south bus station costs around ¥40.
Pǔtuóshān 普陀山
%0580
Pǔtuóshān (普陀山) – the Zhōushān Archipelago’s most celebrated isle and one of China’s four sacred Buddhist mountains – is the abode of Guanyin, the eternally compassionate Goddess of Mercy. With pine groves, sandy beaches, grand temples and hidden grottoes, it is immensely scenic, but also very popular (despite the fact that it is only accessible by boat). Aim for a midweek visit outside of holiday periods.
Pŭtuóshān
1Sights
Buddhism MuseumB5
1Cháoyáng CaveB4
2Duōbǎo PagodaB5
3Fànyīn CaveD3
4Fǎyǔ TempleC3
5Fódǐng MountainB3
6Guānyīn CaveA5
7Gùfó CaveC2
8Huìjì TempleB3
9One Hundred Step BeachB5
10One Thousand Step BeachC4
11Pǔjì TempleB5
12Shàncái CaveD3
13South Sea GuanyinC6
14Xiāngyún PavilionB3
15Xiānrén CaveB5
16Xītiān CaveA5
4Sleeping
17Chánzōng Rúshì Sea View HotelB6
18Hǎibiān RénjiāB5
19Landison Pǔtuóshān ResortB3
5Eating
20Huìjì Temple Vegetarian RestaurantB3
Pǔjì Temple Vegetarian RestaurantB5
21ZǎozǐshùB5
8Information
22Bank of ChinaA5
23Industrial and Commercial Bank of ChinaA5
Left-Luggage OfficeB6
Transport
24Pǔtuóshān Passenger Ferry TerminalB6
1Sights
Pǔtuóshān’s temples are all shrines for the merciful goddess Guanyin. Besides the three main temples, you will stumble upon nunneries and monasteries everywhere you turn, while decorative archways may suddenly emerge from the sea mist. Several sights, including Pǔjì Temple, and most amenities are clustered at the southern end of the island, which is easily walkable. If you want to stretch your legs, trails (often empty) line much of the coastline.
Pay the entrance fee (summer/winter ¥160/140) before you board the ferry and know that entry to some other sights is extra (usually ¥5).
Sights in Pǔtuóshān don't have addresses, but are well signposted in English.
Fǎyǔ TempleBUDDHIST TEMPLE
(法雨禅寺, Fǎyǔ Chánsì MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Fayu Lu, 法雨路 ¥5; h5.30am-6pm)
Colossal camphor trees and a huge gingko tree tower over this Chan (Zen) temple, where a vast glittering statue of Guanyin sits resplendently in the main hall, flanked by 18 luóhàn effigies. Each luóhàn has a name – for example, the Crossing the River luóhàn or the Long Eyebrows luóhàn – and worshippers pray to each in turn. In the hall behind stands a dextrous 1000-arm Guanyin.
Pǔjì TempleBUDDHIST TEMPLE
(普济禅寺, Pǔjì Sì MAP GOOGLE MAP ; ¥5; h5.30am-6pm)
Fronted by large ponds and overlooked by towering camphor trees and Luóhàn pines, this recently restored Chan (Zen) temple stands by the main square and dates to at least the 17th century. Beyond chubby Milefo sitting in a red, gold and green burnished cabinet in the Hall of Heavenly Kings, throngs of worshippers stand with flaming incense in front of the colossal main hall. Note the seated 1000-arm effigy of Guanyin in the Pǔmén Hall (普门殿; Pǔmén Diàn).
South Sea GuanyinSTATUE
(南海观音, Nánhǎi Guānyīn MAP GOOGLE MAP ; h6am-6pm)
The first thing you see as you approach Pǔtuóshān by boat is this 33m-high glittering statue of Guanyin, overlooking the waves at the southernmost tip of the island. It's the symbol of the island.
LuòjiāshānISLAND
(洛伽山 )
The very small island of Luòjiāshān, southeast of Pǔtuóshān, has its own temples and pagodas and makes for a fun expedition. The ferry (round trip including admission to Luòjiāshān ¥70, 25 minutes) departs at 7am, 8am, 9am and 1pm when conditions are good. You have to take a returning boat two hours later.
Guānyīn CaveCAVE
(观音洞, Guānyīn Dòng MAP GOOGLE MAP )
Crouch with an arched back into this magnificent, smoky and mysterious old grotto with a low, head-scraping ceiling to witness its assembly of Guanyins carved from the rock face along with small effigies of the goddess in porcelain and stone, draped in cloth.
Duōbǎo PagodaPAGODA
(多宝塔, Duōbǎo Tǎ MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 9am-4
pm)F
Pǔtuóshān's oldest structure is this five-storey, 18m-high stone pagoda, with alcoves carved from the rock sheltering Buddhist statues. Built in 1335, its name literally means the 'Many Treasures Pagoda'.
One Hundred Step BeachBEACH
(百步沙, Bǎibùshā MAP GOOGLE MAP ; h6am-6pm)
The most popular of Pǔtuóshān’s beaches has a pretty pagoda perched on terraced rock that always has a crowd. Swimming is allowed between May and August, until 6pm.
One Thousand Step BeachBEACH
(千步金沙, Qiānbù Jīnshā MAP GOOGLE MAP ; h6am-6pm)
Pǔtuóshān’s largest beach stretches all along the northeast coast of the island – a long unspoilt stretch of blonde sand. Swimming is only permitted between May and August until 6pm, but any time of year it’s a lovely place to plonk down on the sand.
Buddhism MuseumMUSEUM
(佛教博物馆, Fójiào Bówùguǎn MAP GOOGLE MAP ; h9am-4pm Tue-Sun)F
This small museum contains some of the Ming and Qing dynasty relics from Pǔtuóshān's temples, including effigies in bronze and jade and ritual implements, with some English signage. The entrance is not well marked, but it's behind Duōbǎo Pagoda.
Fànyīn CaveCAVE
(梵音洞, Fànyīn Dòng MAP GOOGLE MAP ; h5.30am-6pm)F
On the far eastern tip of the island, this cave contains a temple dedicated to Guanyin perched between two cliffs with a seagull’s view of the crashing waves below.