Lingshan Fantasy
In the southwest corner of Hangzhou, within Zhoupu Township, there is a cluster of mountains. Famous scenic spots in these mountains include Ruyi Peak and Lingshan Cave. About 5 years ago, I climbed Ruyi Peak once from a wild path with the company’s hiking team. Now I only remember that we went up the mountain from Lingshan Village, and the whole journey was on wild paths. As for which path it was, I have completely forgotten.
This time, starting from Lingshan Town, I first went up Lingshan along the winding mountain road to view the Lingshan Grand Buddha, then went down from Qingfeng Mountain House to Lingshan Cave. At the entrance of Lingshan Cave, one can feel a gust of cold wind blowing against the face, which is very comfortable in the hot summer. The publicity boards next to Lingshan Cave claim that Bai Juyi, Fan Zhongyan, Su Dongpo, Zhu Xi, and others often visited the cave, though it is hard to tell if this is true or false. After returning to Lingshan Village from Lingshan Cave, I quickly returned to Lingshan Town along the road.
A small loop was not satisfying enough, so I went up the mountain again from the West Mountain hiking trail next to Lingshan Town along the steps, hiked along the ridge at Niubeiling to Xianqiao Cave, and then returned to the town via the winding mountain road. This route is entirely steps on the way up, but the engineering quality is rubbish; many sections of stone steps have collapsed into smooth downward slopes. Going up was easy, but I estimate going down would be slippery. Upon reaching the top of the mountain, the road became much flatter. Along the walking path, one can reach Ruyi Peak, which I estimate is much easier than going directly up the mountain via the wild path.
Due to the remote location, I didn’t see a single fellow hiker during the entire 2 laps around the mountain. Perhaps because there were so few people, both the security guards at the bottom of the mountain and the worker monks in the temple on the mountain were very enthusiastic. Especially the worker monk at the Lingshan Grand Buddha, seeing that I didn’t want to buy a ticket to enter the temple, let me climb in over the fence to visit. Actually, I didn’t want to enter, because that Buddha and that temple were clearly visible from outside the iron fence, but it was hard to refuse his kindness, so I had to bite the bullet and climb in.
After walking 15 kilometers for the whole journey, I felt that the West Mountain scenic area has a lot of natural scenery and few tourists, making it suitable for hiking. It is said that it took Hangzhou three years to connect the mountains of Shuangpu, Zhuantang, and Liuxia together. The entire hiking trail is 108 kilometers long, and I hope to have the chance to walk the whole distance.
Published at: May 17, 2020 · Modified at: Dec 2, 2025
