Our 1st destination is the Mt. Lingshan Scenic Area located at the south of Longshan Mountain in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. This is really a Buddhist wonderland!!
It has one of the largest bronze Grand Buddha statue in the world measuring more than 88 meters in height. In addition it features many other wonderful attractions including the Nine Dragons Bathing Sakyamuni, the magnificent Brahma Palace and many other Buddhist sites.
The area is so vast that we did not have the time to complete the whole area due to our tight schedule. Our guide booked us a tramp to take us around the more famous sites.
Map of the area
The tramp that we took to take us around the area
Nine Dragons bathing Sakyamuni Buddha
There is a round pool with a giant bronze lotus with its six pedals closed. When the music ‘Birth of Buddha’ plays, the lotus gently blooms, with a statue of baby Buddha rising from the center. The nine dragons around the pool spout water to give Sakyamuni a bath, and the statue revolves 360 degrees. The lotus closes when the music fades out, and then pure water comes out from the mouths of the eight phoenixes around the pool. It is said that you and your family will be blessed if you drink the water.
King Asoka's Pillar
Asoka Pillar is made of granite vividly describing the difficulties Sakyamuni faced during his Buddhist practice and his final enlightenment. It is a symbol of the spread of Buddhism in ancient India.
The Grand Buddha
To approach the Grand Buddha one must climb the seven level of stairs. Once you finish ascending the long stairs, a magnificent view of the scenic area greets you. The right hand of the Buddha points up towards heaven symbolizes the removal of suffering. And his left hand pointing down to earth symbolizes the giving of safety & happiness.
There is a three floored museum inside the Buddha. There is also an elevator inside that can take you to the lotus pedestal where you can touch the feet of the Grand Buddha for safety & luck. We made it to the 7th level but did not go up further due to the crowd.
View from the stairs leading up to the Grand Buddha
Lingshan Brahma Palace
The Brahma Palace is another landmark at the scenic area. The corridor & the inside are delicately decorated with exquisite woodcarvings, all the columns are carved with auspicious patterns or Buddhist stories. There is an amazing huge mural painting called 'Celestial View' on the vault of the tower hall. The Golden Buddha sits in the center of the painting.
Shoe covers are provided to protect & keep the floors of the temple clean
Ginkgo Trees
Taihu Lake
We passed Taihu Lake to and from Mt. Lingshan Scenic Area. Taihu Lake is the 3rd largest freshwater lake in China with just an average depth of 2 meters. It has abundance of source of freshwater fish & shrimp. It is also well known for its beautiful scenery & landscape.
After dinner we visited Sanyang Square. It is buzzing with night life & shopping malls. None of us did any shopping but did more discovering of the sights around the area. There is one street full of hawker stalls more like a food court...but all of us were already too full from dinner to try the local food...even though it looks so tempting.
We found a stall selling freshly squeezed Pomegranate juice ~ so refreshing after gorging ourselves with so much food
Sanyang Square
Food Court
We found a stall selling freshly squeezed Pomegranate juice ~ so refreshing after gorging ourselves with so much food
Some photography fun!!
Then its time to check into our hotel in Wuxi ~ Grand Park Wuxi Hotel. (Amazingly comfortable hotel) We have more of Wuxi to discover tomorrow before leaving for Shanghai!
Night view from our hotel window
Day 4 ~ Good Morning from Wuxi !!
First stop for day four is The Purple Sand Teapot Museum. The museum is the 1st private museum in Jiangsu Province. It was built by Li Shuaiyuan, an enthusiast of the purple sand teapot. You may think the teapots are in purple color but in actual fact it can also be black, brown, red, yellow or green. Purple clay comes in different shades and are further mixed to create different colors. Purple teapots are said to preserve & enhance the taste of the tea because of the porous nature of the clay which allows the teapot to absorb the essence of the tea. These teapots fetch a more higher price in the market because of these features.
The museum has a large collection of various purple sand teapots which comes in all shapes & colors which were produced during the Ming & Qing Dynasties.
A brief stop at Chang Guang Xi National Wetland Park This is the waterway between Lihu Lake and Taihu Lake. It is a fresh water marsh and it is one of the nine national urban wetland parks in China.
First stop for day four is The Purple Sand Teapot Museum. The museum is the 1st private museum in Jiangsu Province. It was built by Li Shuaiyuan, an enthusiast of the purple sand teapot. You may think the teapots are in purple color but in actual fact it can also be black, brown, red, yellow or green. Purple clay comes in different shades and are further mixed to create different colors. Purple teapots are said to preserve & enhance the taste of the tea because of the porous nature of the clay which allows the teapot to absorb the essence of the tea. These teapots fetch a more higher price in the market because of these features.
The museum has a large collection of various purple sand teapots which comes in all shapes & colors which were produced during the Ming & Qing Dynasties.
The Main Entrance
Souvenir shops at the exit of the museum
Purple Sand Teapots
A brief stop at Chang Guang Xi National Wetland Park This is the waterway between Lihu Lake and Taihu Lake. It is a fresh water marsh and it is one of the nine national urban wetland parks in China.
The Boys
The Gals
Our final stop in Wuxi before departing for Shanghai is Yuan Run Ju Pearl which is specialized in designing & producing cultured pearls. Cultured pearls cultivated in Taihu freshwater lake are produced by Mollusks. These cultivated pearls have a variety of colors including pink, orange, mauve & golden color being the most expensive of its variety.
Fresh water Mollusk
As you can see here, each mollusks can produce up to more than 20 over pearls of various colors. However the flesh of the mollusks are not edible. They are fed to the freshwater fishes in Taihu Lake
The hostess explaining the process of pearl production
Group photo with our Wuxi guide Ms Lisa during our parting lunch at Yuan Run Ju Pearl
Scenes around Wuxi
Wuxi Grand Theatre
Interesting means of transport at Mt. Lingshan Scenic Area
Typical means of transport in Wuxi
Wuxi Dishes
