[2025 Tiantai Attraction] Travel Guide for Gaomingsi (Updated Jun)

When spring arrives in Jiangnan, one must stay with spring. This year's spring getaway was chosen in Tiantai Mountain. Four of us traveled together, creating this 6-day journey through Tiantai Mountain, Ninghai, and Shanghai. **Day 1: Beijing - Tiantai Mountain, Zhexi Old Street** Taking the high-speed rail to Tiantai Mountain requires transfers, and the journey isn’t short. After arrival, we rented a car and headed to Zhexi Old Street for a stroll. No spectacular scenery here, but it’s nice for photos by the water. We found a local snack shop called Deyuezhai and tried regional specialties like *jiao tong bing* (stuffed pancake rolls), *bai yao jiu* (herbal wine), and *hula tai*—all delicious. We stayed at Tiantai He Hotel, which had a fantastic environment, spacious rooms, and comfortable amenities. The breakfast was unique, and the courtyard was perfect for photos. The hotel also offers travel photography services. The off-peak package price was very cost-effective. **Day 2: Guoqing Temple - Gaoming Lecture Temple - Zhizhe Pagoda Courtyard** We entered Guoqing Temple around 7 a.m. The fresh tea and curling incense smoke set the mood, and with no tourist crowds yet, we enjoyed the temple’s tranquility. Gaoming Lecture Temple required a winding mountain drive, and there were almost no tourists. We arrived just in time for the noon vegetarian meal—20 RMB per ticket, straight to the dining hall. The dishes—radish, cabbage, tofu, bamboo shoots—were light and tasty, but the standout was the stuffed rice cake dumplings, absolutely delicious. At Zhizhe Pagoda Courtyard, after climbing two short flights of steps, we were parched and stumbled upon a juice stall. Iced sour plum soup and passionfruit-orange juice refreshed us in the mountain air. The courtyard was small, with cherry blossoms carpeting the ground—a zen-like atmosphere. Dinner was at the famous local *Tuzhaotou* restaurant: sweet and sour ribs, Sichuan-style beef shank, crispy mulberry leaves, signature baked cakes, and rice cake with yellow croaker—every dish was a delight. **Day 3: Shiliang Waterfall - Mountain Top Coffee - Ninghai** Choosing between the grand waterfall and Shiliang Waterfall, I picked the latter. The quiet plank walkway allowed for leisurely photos. For lunch, we chose *Zuixianchi* farmhouse restaurant under wisteria flowers. Homemade plum cakes, braised free-range chicken, taro stir-fry, fried rice cakes, and wisteria flower omelet—simple yet quintessentially Jiangnan. We visited the famous mountain-top coffee spot for sunset. The coffee was average, but the views were photogenic. Drove to Ninghai and stayed at Orange Crystal Hotel. **Day 4: Ninghai Ancient Stages - Seafood Feast** Ninghai’s ancient stages include ten nationally protected sites; we picked six for a day trip: - Daihu Village Hu Clan Ancestral Hall - Chongxing Temple - Dacai Village Hu Clan Ancestral Hall - Shuangzhi Temple - Longgong Village Chen Clan Ancestral Hall - Ma’ao Village Yu Clan Ancestral Hall The most magnificent was Daihu Village’s triple-tiered caisson ceiling, though I personally loved Shuangzhi Temple. Dinner was at the time-honored *Ziweiguan* for a friend’s birthday. The seafood was fresh and abundant, especially the plump, juicy razor clams. **Day 5: Ten-Mile Red Dowry Museum - Qiangjiao Town Seaside Coffee** There are two Ten-Mile Red Dowry sites. We visited the museum first, with its rich exhibits. The Ten-Mile Red Dowry Cultural Park, designed by Wang Peng, had an artistic vibe and great photo spots. Qiangjiao Town is by the sea, and its coffee shops offer decent views—adding a coastal touch to the trip. Sadly, we missed the seafood market’s famous noodle soup. Took an evening train to Shanghai. **Day 6: Shanghai FOTO Art Pioneer Exhibition - Sihang Warehouse** Met up with Shanghai friends for the FOTO Art Pioneer Exhibition. The city’s avant-garde atmosphere made the experience extra enjoyable. A local photographer friend arranged a shoot—natural and stylish. We also revisited history at Sihang Warehouse. Lunch was at *Beishi* Chinese Restaurant for authentic old-Shanghai flavors: eel in hot oil, braised bream, wine-scented *caotou*, shrimp with gorgon fruit, and *malantou* with dried tofu—satisfying our Jiangnan cravings. A final stop at People’s Café for nostalgic enamel-cup ice cream, savoring the taste of time. Reunions are a ritual. **Epilogue** Pilgrimage in Tiantai, nature’s symphony, ancient architecture, coastal charm, Shanghai strolls—each day a new theme, each day a cherished gathering. May 2025

Gaoming Lecture Temple丨A temple with a wise name 🎈Gaoming Lecture Temple is located in a remote area. The taxi took a long time to get there, and finally stopped at an unknown place. The parking lot is not big, and it is estimated that only about 30-40 cars can be parked, which shows the incense and crowds of the temple. 🎈It is about a 2-minute walk from the parking lot to the temple. The stone walls and bamboo forests on both sides of the road are very impressive. 🎈A little closer, you can see a pagoda, which is very beautiful. Judging from the color, it should be newly built and not very old. Its color is very similar to the style of northern temples. 🎈There is a small stream in front of the temple, with many ornamental fish in it. The four characters of the temple name Gaoming Lecture Temple are also very distinctive. From the perspective of artistic characteristics, it is not very artistic, but rather childish. Take a closer look at the inscription, wow, it was written by Kang Youwei. 🎈The layout of the temple is quite satisfactory, not very distinctive, but not the kind that gives people a brand-new feeling. The entire temple is not large, and it can be visited in about half an hour to an hour. However, the dragon under the eaves and the trumpet creeper on the wall gave me a very good feeling. In addition, the stele supported by the Bixi also gave me a very good feeling. 🎈When I went there, I should have caught up with a puja, which was still very solemn and solemn. In addition, some monks should have come here to exchange and study, and the whole atmosphere was still very good. 🎈I just want to complain a little bit, the toilet is still a traditional dry toilet, um, how should I put it, there are a lot of mosquitoes, on the one hand, I am worried that I will fall down when I go to the toilet, and on the other hand, I am worried that the mosquitoes will carry me away... 🏠Address: Gaoming Lecture Temple, Tiantai Mountain Scenic Area, Tiantai County, Zhejiang 🚗Transportation: Not very convenient, suitable for self-driving 🐼Nearby: Guoqing Temple, Zhizhe Pagoda, Ancient Fangguang Temple

Guoqing Pine, Pagoda Head Wind Ten Thousand Year Pillar, Gao Ming Bell . Among the four wonders of Tiantai Mountain, three of them have a close relationship with Tiantai Sect. Guoqing Temple is the ancestral home of Tiantai Sect, there is the flesh Buddha pagoda of the founder of Tiantai Sect, Master Zhi Zhe, in the Pagoda Head Temple, and Gao Ming Temple is one of the twelve venues created by Master Zhi Zhe himself. . The history of Gao Ming Lecture Temple, like the other three wonders, is already more than 1400 years old. The reason for the name Gao Ming is: the sun and the moon shine on it, gather and do not disperse, so it is high and bright, hence the name Gao Ming. . It takes about 40 minutes to walk down from Zhen Jue Pagoda Temple to Gao Ming Lecture Temple. We arrived at the vegetarian meal time at 11 o'clock. ➡️You can buy vegetarian food on the right side of the Heavenly King Hall when you enter the temple, 10 yuan per person. The dining hall is simple, after serving the food, the main point is not to waste. . The history of Gao Ming Lecture Temple is even longer than that of Guoqing Temple. This is the Buddhist land chosen by the founder of Tiantai Sect, Master Zhi Zhe, when he first entered Tiantai Mountain, also known as Youxi Daochang. During the Cultural Revolution, it was severely damaged and rebuilt in 1979. The plaques of Gao Ming Lecture Temple and Daxiong Baodian at the entrance of the temple were all handwritten by Kang Youwei. The entire temple is divided into three axes and thirteen courtyards, built according to the mountain, with more than two hundred buildings such as the Heavenly King Hall, Dizang Hall, Sutra Tower, Ancestor Hall, Bell Tower, etc., the whole tour is quite large. . Where is the Gao Ming Bell❓ . The bell tower of Gao Ming Lecture Temple was built in the Ming Dynasty. At that time, someone described this bell tower as follows: The tower is seven feet high and two, with a statue of the underworld master Dizang Wang in the middle, and a ten thousand catty bronze bell hanging above, the sound shakes the mountains and echoes in the human world. Unfortunately, this bronze bell, which was cast in the Ming Dynasty and weighs more than 7,000 catties, has been destroyed. . The newly built bell tower is also the Dizang Hall, where the Dizang King Bodhisattva is enshrined. The flying eaves and corners can be said to be the most gorgeous building in the entire Gao Ming Lecture Temple. The big bell is above the Dizang King Bodhisattva, and tourists can go upstairs along the stairs on the left. The second floor houses some cultural relics of the temple, and the third floor is this big bell. The big bell is 1.96 meters high, 1.48 meters in diameter, and weighs 2.5 tons. ⚠️Note: There are slippers on the side, you can change them before going upstairs. . 🌈This trip to Tiantai left a deep impression on me. The temples of the Tiantai Sect emphasize the importance of both agriculture and Zen. The monks in Guoqing Temple are all drying rice in the courtyard. The temples here do not have the smell of copper and commercial atmosphere. Even in Guoqing Temple, you can see monks still wearing patched robes. There are no magnificent halls in the temple, no large-scale operations that cost a lot of money, and the original architectural style is still preserved. The yellow courtyard walls and the swaying tree shadows look simple and elegant. It gives people a feeling of being isolated from the world, detached from the world but entering the world. I am Aliang®｜Record the journey with heart, see you in the next chapter↘️