Religious site · ZHEJIANG
Lingyin Temple
灵隐寺 · Língyǐn Sì
About
One of the largest active Buddhist monasteries in China, founded 326 CE in the hills west of Hangzhou. Combine with the Feilai Feng Buddhist cliff carvings.
Lingyin Temple ('Soul's Retreat'), founded 326 CE, is one of the ten major Buddhist temples in China. The 19m gilded Maitreya statue in the Mahavira Hall is one of China's largest sitting wooden Buddhas. Adjacent to the temple is Feilai Feng (Flying Peak), a limestone hill with 470 Buddhist cliff carvings dating from the 10th to 14th centuries — the most impressive concentration of Buddhist sculpture in southern China.
How to get there
Bus 7 from Hangzhou Railway Station, or taxi from West Lake.
When to visit
Morning. Lunar 1st and 15th attract heavy worship traffic.
Other attractions in Hangzhou
Itineraries featuring this site
- Tea trail — Hangzhou, Wuyishan and Yunnan, 10 days
10d · Ten days through three of China's most significant tea-growing regions: Longjing (Dragon Well) green tea in Hangzhou, Wuyi rock oolong in Fujian, and Pu'er aged tea in Yunnan — each with its own landscape and tea-house culture.
- Classical Gardens Circuit — Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Beyond, 12 days
12d · China's finest classical gardens in sequence: Suzhou's UNESCO garden quartet, Hangzhou's West Lake landscape, Yangzhou's slender garden tradition, and Shaoxing's canal-town context.
- Train-only China — 14 days using HSR exclusively, no flights
14d · Fourteen days across eastern and central China using only high-speed rail — no domestic flights. A lower-carbon alternative that also provides a closer view of the country at ground level.
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