Lingyin Temple & Feilai Feng Entry Ticket Hangzhou

Feilai Feng: the Peak That Flew Here

Your visit begins at Feilai Feng, a limestone hill whose name means the Peak That Flew Here. Legend says a monk from India arriving in the fourth century thought it looked so much like a mountain in his homeland that it must have flown across to Hangzhou. Its caves, crevices and cliff faces hold hundreds of Buddhist carvings made between the tenth and fourteenth centuries, from small seated figures to larger reliefs in a style seldom seen elsewhere in southern China.

The most famous is the round-bellied laughing Buddha surrounded by his disciples, carved during the Song dynasty and a favourite photo spot; your digital guide gives tips on the best angle. Paths wind along a stream through tall trees and past dripping caves, cool even in summer. Allow about an hour here before you continue to the temple gate.

Lingyin Temple, the Temple of the Soul's Retreat

Founded in 328, Lingyin Temple has been destroyed and rebuilt many times and remains one of the largest Buddhist monasteries in China, with monks still living and worshipping here. From the Hall of the Heavenly Kings, guarded by four giant painted figures, the halls rise up the hillside one above another, linked by stairways and courtyards full of incense smoke.

The Grand Hall shelters a seated Buddha carved from camphor wood, nearly twenty metres high including its base, one of the largest wooden seated Buddhas in China. In front of the hall stand two stone pagodas from the tenth century. Higher up, quieter halls and terraces look back over the roofs to the wooded hills. Plan about one and a half hours for the temple at a calm pace.

Reservation, gates and Lingyin Temple opening hours

Visiting Lingyin Temple now requires a timed, real-name reservation in an official system that is entirely in Chinese, with daily quotas that fill up at busy times. We handle this for you: you choose a slot between 08:00 and 16:30, and on the day you type the passport number used for booking at the automated gate and look at the camera for a quick face scan. The gate opens and you walk straight in, with no paper ticket and no queue at the ticket window.

The scenic area generally opens early in the morning and closes in the late afternoon, so the morning slots are the calmest. Same-day bookings are not possible, so reserve at least a day ahead. Incense and personal offerings are not included and are entirely optional; visitors may enter the halls freely as long as they are respectful.

Around Lingyin: West Lake hills and how to get there

How to get to Lingyin Temple: it lies in the wooded hills on Tianzhu Road, a few kilometres west of West Lake, about 20 minutes by taxi or ride-hailing car from the lakeside area, and local buses stop near the entrance. Transport is not included, but we can arrange a private transfer or a private Hangzhou day with a guide if you prefer.

The area is easy to combine with the Longjing tea villages just to the south, where terraced green tea gardens cover the slopes, and with an afternoon at West Lake. The best time to visit Lingyin Temple is a weekday morning in spring or autumn; it is very crowded during Chinese public holidays and on festival days, when many local families come to pray. For lunch, Hangzhou has halal (qingzhen) restaurants, and the historic Phoenix Mosque stands near Hefang Street.