Putuo Mountain, Zhoushan - Home of Guan Yin

普陀山 Putuo Mountain (Buddhist Mountain) home of Guan Yin Goddess - Zhoushan China.
more info at www.mtputuo.com

( avoid February 19, June 19, and September 19 when it welcomes millions of people for the celebration of the birth of Guanyin, . These times of the year this place is super packed ).


A truly rewarding experience, visiting the Kuan Yin Sanctuary at Putuo Mountain, walking to the different temples and shrines and contemplating the beauty of the landscape too!

It's an island that has a lot of buddhist monasteries. I go here every year to worship and pray. It's our family's yearly tradition and ritual. It's truly a blessed journey to go here and also a very sacred place

there are many legends surrounding the establishment of Putuoshan as a Buddhist sanctuary, the most-repeated is that during the ninth century, a Japanese monk making his way from China back to Japan carrying a statue of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, was caught in a storm. The Goddess appeared and told him to leave the statue and guided him to safety at Putuoshan where he erected a temple (Puji Si) in her honor.

Putuo Mountain (Buddhist Mountain) - Giant Size Guanyin
Putuo Mountain (or Putuo Shan), a national “AAAAA” class tourist scenic spot, is one of the four holy Buddhist Mountains (the others are Mt. Emei, Mt. Jiuhua and Mt. Wutai. If you have a free weekend, we recommend spending it here.

Huiji, Fayu and Puji Temples are the three largest temples on Nt. Putuo. Huiji Temple is on Foding Peak and is also called the Foding Peak Temple. It is hidden in the mountainous forests. Looking down at the peaks and islands makes it easy to immerse oneself in the serenity of this place.

About three kilometers down the mountain, you will find the Puji Temple. It was built during the Song Dynasty(960 – 1279) and covers about 11,000 square meters. Besides the figure of the Goddess of Mercy Kwan-yin herself, there are 32 reincarnations of her helping people of different appearances and identities.


Getting There: i suggest you take a high speed bullet train from shanghai to yiwu or hangzhou and travel from there. or take a flight to Ningbo.
from shanghai:
Mt. Putuo (admission fee: CNY 160.00) is in the middle of the Zhoushan Islands offshore from the city of Ningbo. The best way to get there is take the overnight ferry departing from the Shanghai Wusong Port every evening (at 19:20/20:00 – arriving the next day at 07:00/07:30). Tickets are available at the ferryboat agency (No. 59 East Jinling Road; Tel: 021-63283120; business hours 07:00 – 17:30) two days prior to departure. Passengers should note that boarding is at the Wusong Passenger Transportation Center (Tel: 021 – 56575500), not Wusong Port itself.

By air

Mount Putuo (Putuo Shan) airport is conveniently located on Zhujiajian island, a very short ferry ride away from Mount Putuo. Note that this local airport is also known as Zhoushan airport.

Following is a list of the routes currently served by the airport:

Shanghai, daily
Beijing, Wed., and Sat.
Xiamen, daily
Hong Kong, Thur., and Sun. (maybe charter)
Jinjiang, daily
Wuyishan, Wed. and Sat.

Schedules may vary. Please check with travel agents before making travel plans.

Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and Xiamen are major air hubs. The international airports in these cities offer frequent international connections.

For air tickets please call 86-580-2027129, -2026799, -3019337 or -3019200, or contact local hotels: Xilei Villa 86-580-6091931, Xiling Hotel 86-580-6093101

By land
Most tourists arrive Port of Shenjiamen by land and then take a ferry or speed boat to Mount Putuo. Shenjiamen is the traditional gateway to Mount Putuo, and it takes as little as 15 minutes to reach Mount Putuo from Shenjiamen. Zhujiajian island is connected with Shenjiamen by a bridge. It is also convenient to reach Mount Putuo via Zhujiajian.

There are frequent tourist bus services available from Shanghai, Hangzhou and Ningbo to Shenjiamen, and these tourist buses may name their destination as Mount Putuo (Putuo Shan), although the buses actually stop at Shenjiamen near the ferry dock to Mount Putuo.

The comfortable bus rides take about 6.5 hours from Shanghai and less than 5 hours from Hangzhou. Currently the buses are ferried between mainland and Island of Zhoushan, and the above travel time includes this 45-minute ferry ride. The cost of the bus is currently about 140 Yuan ($19) per person one way from Shanghai.

Note that the coastal area near Mount Putuo is being rapidly developed, and new routes to Mount Putuo are expected to be added in near future.



By sea

Shanghai (Lucao harbor at Nanhui District) to Mount Putuo, scheduled speed boat service. Travel time is about 3 hours.

Shanghai (Port Wusong) to Mount Putuo. Regular passenger ship service. Travel time is about 12 hours.

Ningbo (Daxie harbor) to Mount Putuo. Speed boat dispatches every 30 minutes during day time. Travel time is about 1 hour.

Shenjiamen (Bansendong dock) to Mount Putuo, frequent speed boat service. Travel time is about 15 minutes.



Zhujiajian to Mount Putuo, speed boat service. Travel time is about 6 minutes. Zhujiajian island is where Mount Putuo (Putuo Shan) airport is situated. Zhujiajian is connected to Shenjiamen by a bridge.

join Putuoshan Tour via shanghai

Putuoshan Tour
ADD: Suite 1002, Guangfeng INT'L Building, 79# South 2nd Ring Rd, Xi'an, 710068, China

Tel: +86 (29) 6865 0391 (9:00am to 7:00pm)
Fax: +86 (29) 8526 2670
Email: info@china-tour.cn
Website: www.china-tour.cn

Tour Code: CCT-CZJT02S
Tour Price: From $130 USD exclude ferry price from shanghai

Destinations: Putuoshan
Tour Class: Standard
Tour Departure: Flexible


Day 1 (L, D)
Meet you in the hotel lobby and transfer to Shanghai pier for the fast ferry (10:00 AM/12:00PM) to Putuoshan. After lunch, take a visit to Puji Temple. Originally built in Tang Dynasty (618AD-907AD), Puji Temple is the largest and most spectacular temple on Putuoshan. Next you are escorted to visit Fayu Temple where is famous for the delicate wood carvings and ancient architectures. Continue to tour around Huiji Temple which was built on the top of the Foding Hill. Only in Huiji Temple is Buddha Sakyamuni worshiped. And there is a rich collection of ancient brick carvings portraying Kwan-yin Bodhisattva. After dinner, rest in local hotel.


Day 2 (B, L)
Morning tour takes you to explore Purple Bamboo Forest. There you can visit the Cave of Tidal Sound. It is not a real cave but a huge vertical gash in the cliff face. You can hear the thundering sound of the tide day and night, hence its name. Then take a visit to the Temple of Kwan-yin Who Refuses to leave which is the oldest and most important temple in Putuoshan. After lunch, take the fast ferry at 13:30PM to Shanghai. Transfer back to the hotel and service ends.



Prices of this tour
Group Size Quotations Single Supplement

10 Person or up USD130/Person USD40/Person
6-9 Person USD170/Person USD100/Person
2-5 Person USD250/Person USD100/Person

The quotations include:
1. Hotel accommodations with daily breakfasts.
2. Meals with multi-soft drinks indicated in the itinerary.
3. Admission fees for the sightseeing spots listed in the itinerary.
4. English-speaking local guides and private air-conditioned vehicles.
5. Governmental taxes inside China within the tours where applicable.


The quotations exclude:
1. Shanghai arrival & departure transportation.
2. Single Supplement.
3. China visa handling fees.
4. Tips and personal expenses.

Remarks:
*Children age 3-11 and infants aged 1 year and under are free of charge, providing they sit with an accompanying adult.

China's largest film studio: Hengdian World Studio in Zhejiang.

横店影视城 China's largest film studio: Hengdian World Studio, Dongyang, Zhejiang (near Yiwu Wholesale) 

more info at :  http://www.hengdianworld.com/

China's largest film studio: Hengdian World Studio,Zhejiang.

Hengdian World Studio is China's largest film studio. Also photos of Hengdian Film Industrial Park. Located in Zhejiang Province. Many famous movies have been shot there e.g.: The Opium War, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero

Hengdian is a small town in Dongyang City, Zhejiang Province. But in this 10 square kilometers land, lies the largest Movie and Television Base in Asia – Hengdian World Studios. This trip will take you an amazing dreamlike fantasy.

Hengdian World Studios consists of 8 theme parks - Guangzhou Street / Hong Kong Street, Emperor Qin Palace, Qing Ming Shang He Tu, Riverside Town in South China, Palace of Ming and Qing Dynasties, Dazhi Temple, Rocky Grottos and Pujiang Shen Li Gorge. The constructions were built and styled according to the major periods of China's history, from Qin Dynasty to the Republic of China. If you rent a set of costume and dress like the ancients while visiting, it is like reliving the history in a time tunnel.

How to Get there:

from shanghai - You can take bullet train from Shanghai to Yiwu first and the train journey takes about 2-2.5 hours. Upon arrival in Yiwu, you may take bus no. 805 at the square of Yiwu Railway Station to Jiangdong Coach Passenger Transport, where you can take bus to Hengdian World Studio.

Stuido Entrance Fees:

where to stay:

Hengdian World Studios Movie Star Hotel  about rmb250 (3 star hotel)

source:  english.ctrip.com

The studio consists of 13 shooting bases with a total area of up to 330 hectares and building areas of 49,5995 square meters. It is the largest shooting base in China and one of the largest in the world. It is sometimes called "Chinawood ". Unlike a typical movie set, the structures in Hengdian are made up of full-scale buildings and not facades. There are also two high-technical shooting studios there. There are no earnings from rentals of the sets and back lots, because free access is given to all productions, domestic or foreign.

The studio also functions as a theme park, so tourists can see replicas of famous structures, as well as locations of their favorite movies and TV shows.

The studio is divided into these theme parks:
Guangzhou and Hong Kong streets
Emperor Qin Palace
Qing Ming Shang He Tu
Riverside Town in South China
The Forbidden City of the Ming and Qing Dynasties
Dazhi Temple
Rocky Grottos
Pujiang Shen Li Gorge
Residential Houses in the Ming and Qing Dynasties
The Center of Chinese Essence

I found this studio more interesting than studios in Hollywood because I could watch shootings of many films. On a typical day, there are about 10 crews shooting on the various lots. Both in Hollywood and Hengdian I would like to see an exhibition about the process of filmmaking from an idea to marketing. Also books and magazines about filmmaking for sale. It could be very interesting for both professional and amateur filmmakers. There could even be clubs linked to the studios.

Many famous movies have been shot there e.g.:
The Opium War - Directed by Xie Jin. Considered even-handed treatment of the war, though it is about a very shameful part of British history.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Directed by Ang Lee and won 4 Oscars in 2001.

Hero - Directed by Zhang Yimou

Emperor and the Assassin - Directed by Chen Kaige and won the Technical Prize at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - Directed by Rob Cohen.

The Forbidden Kingdom - Directed by Rob Minkoff with two famous Kung Fu actors, Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

Because of the many films shot there, the studio has provided employment for many in the area as extras. Today it pays more to play a farmer than to be one. Still the salary is much lower than e.g. in Hollywood, but many enjoy it very much. I understand it well because I am sometimes an extra in films. When Wen Jide was 62 years old he became one of the thousands farmers who became an extra and has since acted as a chancellor, governor and an emperor. He had never acted before but drew on his experience in a singing and dance group in his village.

Many major Hollywood studios have shot films there e.g. because of historical sets and very low costs. "The advantage here is obviously economic. The stunt crews are amazing, and the work hours are very flexible," said Jeremy Bolt, producer of "Dead or Alive," which is a Kung Fu film based on the video game of the same name.

In the Hengdian Film Industrial Park are about 320 enterprises and I saw many creating props for films.


The Warner China Film HG Corporation is a joint venture of Warner Bros. Pictures, the Chinese Film Group Corporation, and the Hengdian Group. It’s the first Sino-foreign joint venture of film production. The purpose is to create films and television programs for the Chinese market.

Some film companies have had financial problems e.g. because of to slow money returns and too much film production prepayment. They could not get loans from banks because small amount of real assets. The Bank of China's Zhejiang Branch therefore introduced the "Ying Shi Tong Bao" product, which allows small and medium-sized film and TV cultural enterprises to use the copyright of TV programs as a pledge for loans.

The history of the man who build the studio is quit impressive. Xu Wenrong, was born in Hengdian and left school when he was 13-year-old. A state-run silk factory there was shutdown because of a crisis. In 1975 he got a loan from the township government to set up the Hengdian Silk Factory. He later became a multimillionaire and his Hengdian Group Company became one of the most powerful private enterprises in China with major industries of electronics, pharmaceutical, chemical, film and entertainment.

He describes himself as "a farmer turned entrepreneur". In his opinion, farmers are great. It is the laboring people who created the world and history. He was elected as the deputy of the 8th National People's Congress and won the "Golden Award of the 4th National Career-starting Award of Entrepreneurs" and "National Outstanding Private Entrepreneur ". He has been conferred the honorable titles of "National Model Worker", "the 1st Top 10 Innovation Man of News of Chinese Privately- Owned Enterprises" and the "Person of Chinese Top 25 Meritorious Brand". The TV series of "Peasant Representative" which was written according to the development history of the Hengdian Group, gained the "Five First Project" Award in Zhejiang Province. The Japanese NHK TV station shoot TV documentary, "Asian Celebrity Xu Wenrong" about him.

When director Xie Jin in 1996 was looking for someone to build a giant set for his film "The Opium War." Xu Wenrong decided to do it. He brought in 120 construction crews and built the 20-hectare set in three months. That feat impressed the filmmaker so much that he recommended the location to Chen Kaige, who was then scouting for his film: "The Emperor and the Assassin" and needed a Qin Dynasty palace. He asked Xu to help and eight months later, a palace with 27 buildings had been built.

Xu Wenrong handed the reins of the company to his son Xu Yong'an in 2004, who has said that he wanted to set up a fund, like the Sundance Institute, which was created by Mr. Robert Redford, to support film makers. The films do not have to be made in Hengdian, but they could be scripted, financed and promoted there. He also wanted to have a special film festival to promote them.

Hengdian Group is both exporting to Europe and cooperating with European companies for the sales of their products and services to the Chinese market, e.g. Segafredo coffee shops in Shanghai and some leading fashion brands. The group is also interested in promoting collaboration with European partners in the film and entertainment industry.

To improve the internationalization, Hengdian Group set up in 2007 a subsidiary company in Milan, Italy. The General Manager of the company Mr. Airaldo Piva received the "National Friendship Award of China", which is the highest national award granted to foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to China’s economic and social progress. The winners are selected by the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs. The company was awarded the "China-Italy Investment Prize" of Sino-Italian Foundation in 2009.

The Hengdian Group has established many enterprises in poor regions such as Anhui, Henan, Hubei and other provinces to help the locals pave their way towards prosperity. The Group also provides funds to build primary schools for the Hope Project and children's palaces in the western poor regions. It established the Hengdian Polytechnic School, the Zhenjiang Hengdian Science Institute, Hengdian Group Kindergarten, Zhejiang Aviation and Sports School, Hengdian Senior High School and Dongyang Tourism School. The Group set up the Hengdian Group Hospital and Sino-Finnish Wenrong Hospital, which is based on the cooperation with Finland medical organizations. The Economic Forum of Chinese Counties was also established by Hengdian.

Guangzhou Making house curtains

Making House Curtains in Guangzhou

Guangzhou Highsun Fabric Market 海印布匹市场---where you can pick the material you want and get custom made shirts, business suits, beddings and curtains for a tenth of the cost that you would get it for in most of the western countries.

Highsun Fabric Market - pick your materials and has your curtains made on the spot

How to get there
Address:  Guangzhou Yan Jiang Dong Lu 429-431
广州市沿江东路429-431号，即海印桥西北引桥侧

By metro: Take line 1 to Martyr's park, take exit B3 and get a taxi from there.. Taxi will cost around 10 RMB
By bus: Bus stop Dashatou.

Highsun market is in a single building with 4 floors and over 100 shops on each floo

Guangzhou Highsun Fabric Market（海印布匹市场）---where you can pick the material you want and get custom made shirts, business suits, beddings and curtains for a tenth of the cost that you would get it for in most of the western countries. You can get fabric of sundry materials and patterns that can be imagined, of course, of different grades of quality.


Not like Hoi An, where almost every shop provides selling and tailoring at the same time, here, most of the shops are specialized for cloth selling or tailoring, which makes them more professional in the particular service. Labels of production place are tagged, as well as the price, so you don’t need to worry about the hassling bargain, but they will lower the price if you buy more, and the wholesale price is about 60% of the retail one.


Many of the curtain shops sell the textures and process the curtains for free. Multifarious styles of curtains can be found there, the classical one in elegant color and design, the modern one such as double curtain, and the folded one in oriental style. You can choose the textures and have them process in a shop, and you just have to pay the textures and the accessories. A set of (2m*2m) medium grade jacquard fabric curtain, with the lace and other ornaments, is about $16. You may have a better price when you buy more. The wholesale price is also around 60% of the retail one.



Jin Xiang Underwear wholesale Square is the a professional wholesale market. It is China's largest underwear and socks wholesale market. Guangzhou Jin Xiang sock&Underware wholesale Square is located in Zhan Qian Road near Guangzhou Railway station, adjacent Chinese Export Commodities Fair. Guangzhou gathered a lot of underwear and socks manufacturer, zombies production underwear, socks manufacturers most of the endless variety of styles.

Guangzhou Zhongda FABRIC MARKET
ADDRESS:海珠区新港西路中大国际轻纺城 XINGANG XI LU

Zhongda Fabric Market together includes 4 different Zones: Fabric Zone, Fur zone, Support material Zone and Curtain/hometextile Zone, So any kind of fabric(warp or weft kintting fabric or weaving fabric of any material) for any kind of clothes or hometextile, we could find out there. Also lace, ribbon, embroidery, braid, elastic belt, bra cup, button, ironing diamond or small hardware for clothes could find out there well. So for lowering your fabric cost, why not try to source there in Zhongda. Many booths display out their products, so more competition, more price discount.

Opposite to the shopping area you will find many shops that sell curtains and bed clothes. I have been to HuaJia fabric plaza and to Dong Men Curtain World. When you get off the bus at Dong Men stop and walk towards the footbridge you will see HuaJia fabric plaza. Inside HuaJia on the 2nd and 3rd floor there are many small curtain shops. Curtain World is located behind HuaJia. On the 3rd and 4th floor many fabrics are sold to make your own clothes or curtains. On the 5th and 6th floor there are many small curtain shops again. We bought our curtains there. Prices range from 15Y to 50Y per square meter.


in SHENZHEN to make curtains,  it is near  EAST GATE shopping areas
Dong Men Pedestrian Street, Luohu District, Shenzhen,

Opposite to the shopping area you will find many shops that sell curtains and bed clothes. I have been to HuaJia fabric plaza and to Dong Men Curtain World. When you get off the bus at Dong Men stop and walk towards the footbridge you will see HuaJia fabric plaza. Inside HuaJia on the 2nd and 3rd floor there are many small curtain shops. Curtain World is located behind HuaJia. On the 3rd and 4th floor many fabrics are sold to make your own clothes or curtains. On the 5th and 6th floor there are many small curtain shops again. We bought our curtains there. Prices range from 15Y to 50Y per square meter.


Here is a map of DongMen shopping area: