The Buddha is in the stone, the stone is in the mountain, the mountain is in the water

Shaoxing | A temple that is also a monastery, also a hermitage, and also a garden - the ancient Shifo Temple.||| The Shifo (Stone Buddha) Temple in Yangshan is one of the most famous temples built within the stone cliffs in the Yue region. Its utilization of the remaining cliffs, tailored to the local conditions, and its grasp of the landscape's form and spirit, are utterly vivid! The formation of Shifo Temple: Since Fan Li built the city of Shaoxing, stone has been used everywhere. The high demand for stone bridges, stone walls, stone revetments, stone piers, stone slabs, and stone ponds gave rise to the stone quarrying industry chain. The so-called 'stone cliff' is a Shaoxing dialect term, referring to 'a place where stone materials are quarried'. The stone cliffs around the city, after thousands of years of excavation, gradually turned from active quarries into abandoned ones. Over the millennia, as Yangshan stone was continuously quarried, a landscape of isolated peaks and remnants of cliffs formed. The Shifo Temple was built upon this unique environment. 📕Knowledge Points ✅The appreciation of Shifo Temple can be divided into four stages: viewing from afar, close observation, immersive experience, and looking out from a high place. From a distance, one can appreciate the momentum of the five stone walls standing in the water, their presence reminiscent of Song Dynasty paintings. This scene even brings to mind the lingering charm of Ma Yuan's paintings of mountains and waters. ✅Baolian Bridge, with the original stone arch bridge stacked under the current bridge, one can still see the three characters 'Baolian Bridge' by bending down. ✅On the south side, the Chenghuang Peak's stone wall rises steeply, increasing the dramatic effect of the cliff. Scholars from the Ming and Qing dynasties left numerous cliff inscriptions here. ✅Inside the Chenghuang Hall, stone pillars support wooden beams, and it is regrettable that the original Qing Dynasty woodwork was destroyed in a fire in 2003. The current woodwork was rebuilt in 2003. ✅Adjacent to the Chenghuang Hall is the most famous Sui Dynasty Buddha grotto carved inside Lingjiu Peak in Shifo Temple. The Buddha grotto 'is 5.4 meters wide east to west, 4.8 meters wide north to south, and 8 meters high', with the Buddha statue being 6.8 meters tall, seated on a lotus base, all carved from a single piece of stone. ✅A stone platform hangs out from the stone wall, 1.8 meters long and 1 meter wide. ✅The Chenghuang Hall's incense burner is made entirely of stone, used for burning incense money and Buddha paper, hence the word 'treasure' is inscribed on the burner. 🌈Guide 📍Navigation address: Shifo Temple, Keqiao District, Shaoxing City 🅿️Parking situation: There is a parking lot 🎫Ticket situation: No charge Shifo Temple can be summarized by a poem by Zhao Wan carved on the stone wall during the Wanli period: 'To explore the heights in March we agree, winding through the forest, the path is vast and free. Just see how spring adorns the hills like brocade, ask not how deep the years, the stones resemble sheep. Climb the sheer cliffs to gaze upon the Buddha's form, cross the slanting bridge to reach the cloud-enshrouded room. By the pond, I cherish the water from the source, waiting for monks to come and cleanse the cup once more.'