A Pair of Panties and Boxers

Putuoshan is one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains located on a small island in the East China Sea. It is a place of enlightenment for the Bodhisattva Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. To get to the island, I took the midnight train from Shanghai and got into Ningbo at 4:30AM. From Ningbo, we took a short ferry ride to Putuoshan and arrived early in the morning - 6AM early.

The island has amazing seascapes of oceans and beaches, which is a rarity in China. Putuoshan was heavily flooded with tourists. But then again, it was also a weekend. JC and I discovered this door with an incredible view of the water. The picture does it no justice but we attempted to imperialized this corner of the island. We were hoping that other people would give a couple their space but that didn’t work. In China, there is no such thing as personal space. Your space is my space and everyone else’s space.

One of the major sights on the island is the 108 feet tall bronze statue of Guan Yin, which is protected by four stone statues each guarding north, south, east and west.

Behind the statute of Guan Yin, as you can tell by the looming shadow, there is a meticulously carved piece on the side of the Guan Yin statue. It tells a story of something. I just don’t know what it is. But I’m sure it’s a good one. Sometimes, when I travel through China I feel like  I only get half the story because I can’t read Chinese fluently. But one day, I will.

The entire island can be see in a day. Just make sure to see it all before the sun sets. Afterward, the island is pitch dark and eerily quiet. Restaurants and small shops close relatively early. I probably came across only 2 or 3 edible restaurants on the island. If you’re having dinner at a local restaurant, I suggest you bring an after dinner snack with you. Not because the food is bad but because you might get hungry after an early dinner. That wasn’t a problem for me though. I was ready for bed my 8:30PM.

Tags: China, Guan Yin, Ningbo, Putuoshan