Mount Putuo.

Where better to go for a soul searching trip than the holy mountain of Putuo. I read about this place in many spiritual magazines, many of which cited it to be the defacto place for finding enlightenment. Even if it turns out to be more legend than truth, the place hasn't been stamped as a must visit holy ground for Buddhists.

Mount Putuo is actually one of the four sacred mountains in Chinese buddhism, the others being Wutai, Jiuhua and Emei. Being south east of Shanghai, Mount Putuo has a really beautiful aesthetic of both mountain and sea. Only 12.5 square kilometers, the place is full of shrines and temples.

Like millions of other people who visit each year, I visited to celebrate the birth of Guanyin. Historically, this island has been the site of pilgrimage for more than one thousand years. Some time after the Tang dynasty, it even became the centre of Guanyin worship.

Green is the theme here, and it is particularly beautiful during this Spring transition period where everything blossoms and the skies are extra blue.

Nature lovers will enjoy a visit even for non spiritual reasons. Shallow approachable mountains surround the larger Putuo mountain, making for a beautiful and natural skyline.

There are two major beaches here, one called Hundred Step beach, and the other Thousand step beach. Taking a view of the idyllic landscape whilst contemplating the meaning of life fits together much better here. I don't know how but my short visit gave me more confidence in my soul searching wilderness wondering ways. There are a lot of commercial aspects to this place which I don't agree with, because in my opinion, it should be kept spiritual and out of the public eye for general visits.

My luck is that hardly anybody knows about this beautiful place relatively speaking. Should the rest of China take interest in things like the 100ft tall Guanyin statue, it's beautiful lakes, pagodas, pavilions, temples and so on, I fear that Mount Putuo would lose it's place as a true sacred ground of meditation.

Perhaps the highlight of the trip for me is the Puji temple. It's the largest of all temples at Putuo and has been in around since 916. If you want to experience the view of the formidable Gunayin, then take a trip to the Yuantong hall where you'll find the enshrined guanyin. It's been there since 1214 and has been refurbished or rebuilt throughout history. Inside you'll find an 9 meter tall statue of Guanyin.