Return to Lingyin

The new leader of the pack...

Okay, so my VPN is working again so I can finally get back to some blogging. In all fairness it's not just the VPN that's been holding me back, I've just been rubbish at keeping this updated. We're jumping back a bit here to my trip to Hangzhou and the visit to Lingyin temple, aparently one of the largest active temples in China!

The day started with some early morning dabing, kind of like an oniony savoury crepe, and a quick ride on Sydney's electric scooter. It was the first time id ridden one and the locals did not look convinced. After the morning's entertainment we jumped on the bus and made our way out to Lingyin temple. The scenic area around the temple, which we walked through to get to it, was absolutely stunning. We went through a big traditional gate and came across Qinglin cave, an amazing rock formation with statues carved into it, representing Buddha and his various cronies.

 We carried out and came out the other end of the cave and into a forest comprised of some seriously weird trees. I can only assume they were a bit drunk as they seemed to have forgotten which way up was and just guessed at a direction then grown that way. It was all a bit swamp meets Alice in wonderland in China. As ever on these trips I busted out the dizi and sat on a rock to entertain/infuriate the local fauna for a bit.

Is that a flute in your forest or are you just pleased to see me?

We left crossed a little river and came upon the temple itself, passing through the huge doors and into a courtyard full of trees with people milling around like interested goats. While we were walking towards the main temple building I caught sight of my first wild preying mantis! It was an amazing looking little guy, having a wobble around on one of the little stone walls around the trees - not so graceful with the walking the preying mantis.

The temple itself was incredible and housed a gigantic golden statue of Buddha in the centre. Not long after we got there a lot of the other tourist started excitedly heading towards the main temple building following a steady stream of Buddhist monks in their brown and mustard coloured robes. It turned out that a prayer ceremony was to take place so we perched inside the temple to watch. I don't have any pictures of the ceremony unfortunately as it didn't feel like a very 'please take pictures of me' kind of event but they wouldn't have done it justice anyway. The monks entered the hall and arranged themselves in rows in the central area around the statue of Buddha with a few in the centre presiding over the ceremony. There was one man rhythmically beating on a huge carven wooden frog drum (literally a massive drum shaped like a frog) pounding out like the heartbeat of a whale. This was joined by the chanting voices of the monks and created an atmosphere that just can't be described properly. Members of the public went in to pray in front of the Buddha and make offerings while the chant continued and onlookers gaped.

Pre-ceremony Buddha

From the main temple we carried on up the hill and further into the immense grounds of the temple grounds. We climbed up hundreds of steps, going past halls containing various relics and statues and some amazing carvings, finally reaching the highest hall in the temple where 3 Buddhas sat looking out over the hills. We weren't the only one to have made it up this far either, there were a few local tourists up there too and, hilariously enough, even with the incredible scenery and ornate statues all around them they seemed far more interested in grabbing some selfies with the foreigners they'd just found...us! Even having been here for 5 months, I'm still surprised by some locals' reactions when they see me and other foreigners. Lord knows what they do with the photos but if me smiling big means they do the same then where's the harm?

Another world entirely

Buddha's Eye View

The Buddha's of the top temple