[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

This famous site features one of the largest and most representative collections of Buddhist architecture and art in China. It is rated as a 5A-class tourist attraction in 2010.

The Lingshan Grand Buddha is an 88-meter-high open-air bronze statue of Sakyamuni. It is 17 meters higher than the Grand Buddha at Leshan Mountain. It is part of the pattern of Five Buddhas in Five Directions together with the Big Buddha at Lantau Island in Hong Kong to the south, the Grand Buddha at Leshan Mountain to the west, the Grand Buddha in Yungang Grottoes to the north and the Grand Buddha at the Longmen Grottoes in the central area.

At the feet of the Grand Buddha, you can feel the loftiness and solemnity of Buddhism.

During Spring Festival, travelers from all over China come to Xiangfu Temple to listen to the bell toll, which is said to bring good luck to people. The bell is 3.5 meters high and weighs 12 tons, making it the biggest bell in South China.

Tips

Location: Lingshan Road, Mashan town, Binhu district, Wuxi

Tickets: Through ticket: 210 yuan ($31.85); free tickets for Wuyin Mandala and the performance of Ode to Auspiciousness for individual visitors;

Opening hours for Lingshan Mountain: 7:00 – 17:00

Opening hours for Brahma Palace: 9:00 – 18:00

Public transportation：

No 88: Wuxi Railway Station to Lingshan Scenic Area

No 89: Wuxi Central Railway Station to Lingshan Scenic Area

Recommendations

The Nine-Dragon Fountain

The Nine-Dragon Fountain in front of the giant Buddha will start to play trombone music and the song, The Birth of Buddha, at 10 am every day. A huge lotus slowly blooms with six petals, and a 7-meter gilt statue of Prince Buddha rises from the lotus, with one hand pointing to the sky and one hand at the earth, symbolizing Buddha’s light shining on all things.

The Brahma Palace

The construction of the Brahma Palace on Lingshan Mountain took two years, and complex opened to the public in 2008. Its splendid design surprises every visitor.

The whole palace shows the integration of traditional cultural elements with Western architectural features, embodying the extension, profundity and loftiness of Buddhism. Many cultural heritage items and art works can be found there.

Wuyin Mandala

Wuyin Mandala, surrounded by the “fragrant ocean”, covers a land area of about 5,000 square meters. It demonstrates the well-known concept of Borobudur. You may feel the fortitude of the snow-covered plateau when you throw yourself down on the land in admiration. The restlessness in your heart will disappear when you put your palms together devoutly after holding on a prayer flag.