We stayed put in Hangzhou this weekend since we haven't spent much time visiting the "famous sites" in our own town. Before this weekend, our Hangzhou sightseeing had been limited to a single walk around the West Lake at dusk during which we had to rebuff several offers from unofficial tour guides who wanted to take us on boat rides in exchange for cash. We did take two token photos by the lake that evening though.
On Sunday, we met up with our friend Hou Xiaoting for a morning at Lingyin Temple - one of the more famous (and judging by the massive crowds there by 9:00am, popular) Hangzhou sites.
Even before you enter the actual temple, the scenic area around it has a number of caves and hills with sculptures of various buddhas from a range of Chinese dynasties (we mostly saw ones from the Northern Song and Yuan dynasties). The tour groups and other crowds were pretty intense on the paved walkways and caves, but once we climbed up into the hills a bit, it was more peaceful. In both the caves and the hilly area, it was quite precarious - there were several areas with low rock overhangs to knock your head on, the ground was really slick, and there were some portions on the steps up and down the hilly areas that were both steep and slick. Basically, in the states this would be a lawsuit waiting to happen. Luckily, we all survived without any slips or falls.
The hand is smooth and dark from years of people rubbing it for good luck
The view of 弥勒佛 (Laughing Buddha) - the favorite Buddha of many Chinese
The view from 弥勒佛 - also a favorite photo op for many Chinese (and these entrepeneurs understand that)
Inside Lingyin Temple
A Smaller, More Serene Temple next to Lingyin
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