chinese hangzhou

Hupao Spring (Tiger Running Spring)
Hupao Spring is located six kilometers from Hangzhou city, at the foot of Daci (Great Compassion) Hill which stretches between the West Lake and the Qiantang River.
Legend goes that there used to be a temple and a monk named Xingkong once lived in it during the Tang dynasty (618 - 907). Later, owing to lack of water, the monk had to plan to leave the temple. One night, he had a dream, in which an immortal told him two tigers would move a fountain here. As expected, in the next day, two mighty tigers from the Mt. Hengshan ran around the spot and dug a hole which caused the spring to gush forth. Hence the name Hupao Spring (Tiger Running Spring).
While as a matter of fact, Hupao Spring forms as the result of underground water seeping through veins and cracks within quartz sandstone that will not be eroded by acid materials. Due to its low content of mineralized ingredients and high percentage of radon, a radioactive element, the spring water, tasting pure, sweet and cold, is an ideal beverage for health. What is more, the spring water has high surface tension. Put a coin into a bowl filled up to the rim, and the water rises three millimeters above the bowl edge, but it does not overflow.
Since the ancient times, Hupao Spring and Dragon Well Tea, which born to fit each other and showcase each other's best, have been known as two wonders in the West Lake. Today, when locals pondered over all tourist attractions in Hangzhou for the new top ten scenic spots, Hupao Spring was chosen for its excellent temperament.
There used to be a Buddhist monastery near Hupao Spring. Now, the spring and the temple and the surrounding twisting valley have been turned into the Hupao Spring Forest Park

Lingyin Temple
Situated at the food of Lingyin Mountain, aside from the West Lake, Lingyin Temple(Temple of Inspired Seclusion) is one of the ten most famous ancient Buddhist temples in China.
First built by an Indian monk Huili in 326AD during the Eastern Jin dynasty (317 - 420 AD), the temple was named Lingyin Temple (Temple of Inspired Seclusion) for its environment is very beautiful and serene and suitable for "gods rest in seclusion". In its prime, this temple, containing over 1300 rooms and 3000 monks, used to be a large monastery with a scale you just imagine. Due to war and calamity, the temple has experienced about 1700 years of repeated circles of prosperity and decline until its last restoration in the Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911).
On the compound's central axle stand Hall of Heavenly Kings, Daxiongbaodian Hall (Precious Hall of the Great Hero), Pharmaceutical Master Hall and Great Mercy Hall.
Hall of Heavenly Kings
It is the first hall after entering the temple. A tablet inscribed with "cloud forest Buddhist temple", penned by Emperor Kangxi, who was inspired on one occasion by the sight of the temple in the mist and trees, was hung above the door, producing a sacred atmosphere here. More noticeable is a couplet hung on the door reading: Let us wait sitting on the threshold of the temple, for another peak may fly from afar. Smiles appear welcoming, for the brook is gradually warming up to the springtime. When tourists admire the couplet, they can't help but grin.
Inside the hall is a statue of laughing Buddha who can "endure everything unendurable in the world and laugh at every laughable person in the world." Four heavenly kings stand on both sides of the Buddha and Weituo behind.
Daxiongbaodian Hall
Daxiongbaodian Hall is the main hall of Lingyin Temple. It is 7 rooms wide and 5 rooms deep, with one story, double layer eaves and pinnacle roof 33.6 meters in height, famed as one of China's tallest one-story buildings. A statue of Sakyamuni, carved out of 24 pieces of camphor wood, stands 24.8 meters high in the hall. On the both sides of Sakyamuni stand 20 saints protecting justice and on the back wall sit his 12 disciples serving as guards. In front of the hall are two stone pagodas built during the Northern Song dynasties (960 - 1279) with 9 stories and 8 surfaces and sculptured Buddhist stories on four walls.
Scattered outside and inside the temple are numerous relics left from ancient times, in which Pavilion of Cool Brook erected in the mid Tang dynasty, stone pagoda and stone storage for Buddhist scriptures built in the Five dynasties, Pavilion of Greens first built in the Southern Song dynasty, the pagoda of Huili erected in the Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644) are especially worthy of viewing.
The temple also houses various Buddhist literature and treasures including the scriptures written on pattra leaves, the Diamond Sutra copied by Dong Qichang in the Ming dynasty, a wood cut edition published in the Qing dynasty.