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Putuoshan is a famous attraction close to Shanghai and Hangzhou for its beautiful island scenery and Buddhism culture. In this sacred place, tourists could always find its surprises and magic through sightseeing and special experiences. For tourists who are interested in Putuoshan tour, we here make this article to tell you how to plan a trip to Putuoshan.
How to Get to Putuoshan
► Putuoshan location. Putuoshan is an island of Zhoushan Islands, and belongs to Putuo county, Zhoushan city, Zhejiang Province, 10 km from Zhoushan Putuo Passenger Center, 102 km from Ningbo, 250 km from Hangzhou, and 300 km from Shanghai.
► Puotuoshan ferry. To Putuoshan Island, tourists should take ferry from Zhujiajian Wusongzhi Port or Bansheng Port at Shenjiamen. The ferry from Zhujiajian Wusongzhi Port costs 30 yuan, and takes 20 mins. Moreover, there are business yachts, which costs 100 yuan per person.
► Get to Putuoshan from Shanghai
By boat. Tourists could take Metro Line 3 to Wusong Port, and take night boat at Shanghai Wusong Passenger Center to Putuoshan Island.
By bus (Shanghai-Putuo Tourist Center- Zhujiajian Wusongzhi Port-Putuoshan Island)
Option 1. Tourists should book ticket one day ahead, and take Metro Line 1, 2 or 8 to People’s Square and go to Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World, then take bus from Shanghai to Zhujiajian Wusongzhi Port.
Option 2. Tourists could go to Huangpu Tourist Centre, and take bus to Putuo Tourist Center and No. 27 public bus (3 yuan/20 min) to Zhujiajian Wusongzhi Port. Except Huangpu Tourists Centre, buses are also available at Shanghai South Station.
► Get to Putuoshan from Hangzhou
By bus (Hangzhou-Putuo Tourist Center- Zhujiajian Wusongzhi Port-Putuoshan Island)
Tourists could take bus at Hangzhou East Bus Station, Hangzhou Tourist Passenger Centre or Hangzhou South Railway Station to Putuo Tourist Center, and then take No. 27 public bus to Zhujiajian Wusongzhi Port. Last is to take ferry from the port to Putuoshan Island, which costs 30 yuan.
Putuoshan Island is a small island in the east of Zhoushan, Zhejiang, covering an area of 12.52 square kilometers, 8.6 km long, and 3.5 km wide, with a coastline of 30 km. The highest place of Putuoshan is the Tiandeng platform at Fuding Mountain, with an altitude of 291 meters. Almost all mountains on Putuoshan Island have an altitude between 100-200 meters.
► Putuoshan weather. Putuoshan has a subtropical marine monsoon climate, with four distinct seasons, warm winter and cool summer. The annual average temperature is about 20 ℃, and the annual precipitation is about 1100 mm. It rains a lot at spring and summer, little at autumn, but it may have typhoons at July, August and September.
► Best time to visit Putuoshan Island: from March to November. The coolest months are March, April, October, and November. The best months for enjoy beaches are July, August and September, while October is the exact month to taste best seafood. For tourists who have faith in Buddhism, and are pilgrims, you may like to visit Putuoshan Island at these months: February 19 is the birthday of Guanyin Bodhisattva, June 19 is the day of Bodhisattva's enlightenment, and September 19 is the day of Guanyin Bodhisattva's nirvana. These three days are all lunar calendar.
► Open time: 6:30 AM-10:30 PM, and the sightseeing time of most temples is from 6:00 AM to 5:30 PM.
► Ticket: 160 yuan from February to November, including the Spring Festival holiday, and 140 yuan from December to January.
Though Puotuoshan is a small island, it has 9 scenic areas and 32 temples. The 9 scenic areas are Xitian, Nantianmen, Zizhulin, Puji Temple, Fayu Temple, and Huiji Temple, Baotuojiang Temple, Fanyindong, and Luojiashan. Puotuoshan is one of the Top 4 Famous Mountain of Chinese Buddhism, and the holy land of Avalokitesvara Buddhisattva, therefore one of the hightlights is those temples. Among the 32 temples, the most famous temples are Puji Temple, Fayu Temple and Huiji Temple. Huiji Temple is the highest temple, located on the top of Foding Mountain.
► Statue of Avalokitesvara Buddhisattva or Statue of Guanyin. The statue is 33 meters high, including a 13 meter-high platform base, the 18 meter-high bronze statue, 2 meter-high lotus seat, weighing more than 70 tons.
► Puji Temple. Puji Temple is the most famous and the oldest temple in Putuoshan, and tourists could join in all Buddhism events held in this temple. In here, tourists could visit those Buddhism buildings, appreciate the letters written by the Emperor Yongzheng and have a great time by walking to the lotus pool, the bridges, and Huxin Pavilion.
► Qianbusha. Qianbusha is the biggest beach on Putuoshan Island, with soft and fine sands. It is the best place for walking and watching ocean views. Qianbusha is on the east coast of Putuo Mountain, from Jibaoling to Wanghai Pavillion. Qianbusha is named for its length of Qianbu, 1750 meters.
► Luojiashan. Luojiashan is another small island close to Putuoshan Island, 5.3 km away. It is said that a trip to Putuoshan without visiting Luojiashan is not finished.
► What to do on Putuoshan Island
For tourists to get ultimate travel information, here we make a suggested Putuoshan Island tour itinerary, and it may give you much help in designing your own trip to Putuoshan.
► Days for Putuoshan Island tour: 2 days or 3 days. Whether tourists go to Putuoshan from Shanghai or Hangzhou, it takes at least 4 hours for a single trip, which means you need to spend one day on road. For most tourists, we recommend a 2 days Putuoshan Island tour.
► Where to stay: book a hotel or guesthouse for accommodation on Putuoshan Island, and there are many economy hotels and comfortable hotels for tourists.
► Sightseeing ways: walk+sightseeing bus. On Putuoshan Island, there are sightseeing buses, Line 1, Line 2 and Line 3, bringing tourists to every scenic area, and the ticket is about 10 yuan. Buses are available from 7:00 AM to 5: 00 PM. For waiting the bus, you may need to line up 10-15 min.
► 2 days Putuoshan tour itinerary
Day 1:
Depart to Putuoshan: go to the bus station before 6:50 AM, and arrive Puotuoshan Island before 1:00 PM.
Sightseeing time: 1:00 PM-5:00 PM.
Sightseeing route: the pier-Nantianmen-Statue of Avalokitesvara Buddhisattva-Zizhulin Scenic Area (Zizhulin, Chaoyin Cave, Bukenqu Temple)-Puji Temple.
Tourists could make use of sightseeing bus or taxi to go sightseeing, and one bus station is close to the pier. Tourists could spend 10 yuan in having a vegan food at Puji Temple, and the time that the temple offers vegan food for dinner is 14:15-17:15.
Day 2:
Sightseeing time: 8:00 AM-3 PM.
Sightseeing route: Qianbusha-Fayu Temple-Huiji Temple-Luojiashan.
The ships to Luojiashan are four times a day. From Putuoshan to Luojiashan, the departure time is 7:00, 8:00, 9:00 and 13:00; and the time for back to Putuoshan from Luojiashan is 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 and 15:00. The ticket for a round trip is 52 yuan, and the ticket for Luojiashan Scenic Area is 18 yuan. A single journey takes about 30 minutes and the sightseeing time is about 90 min.
Tourists could make some changes according to your needs, preference, and tour time.
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