Taoguangsi
Mountainside temple with a spring pool a monk carved by hand and a pavilion built for watching the tidal bore.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Taoguangsi in Hangzhou begins twelve centuries ago with a monk named Taoguang, sent off by his master with a riddle instead of directions, who knelt on bare rock halfway up this mountain hunting for water that had no business being there. It follows how he broke through to hidden groundwater and shaped the Golden Lotus Pond, still standing after eleven centuries of drought, war, and fire. Climbing higher to the Pavilion for Watching the Sea, the guide turns to generations of pilgrims who came at dawn believing they could see the ocean rising over the horizon. Stand at that same stone railing to hear what they were actually watching.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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