Taoist temple complex Dong Tien (Heavenly Grottoes). Taoist Park Heavenly Grottoes Hainan in March, April, May
Day four.
Having planned a trip to three different places in advance, we were able to leave the hotel only at eleven. A thunderstorm raged at night and only at half past nine the weather improved and Yulia and Max went swimming. I slept in because I stayed up very late writing these notes.
Our first destination was the Taoist center - Dun Tian. It is part of Nanshan Park, but is located on the other side of the mountain. As I was told, the Taoist Center is not a tourist place, but a religious one. Pilgrims come here from all over China and here, according to legend, is the habitat of one of the dragons who created the earth.
The drive to get there turned out to be quite long, much longer than yesterday to Nan Shan. The fact is that the entrance to it is on the other side of the peninsula, which can only be reached by taking the highway leading to the capital of Hainan - Haikou. It’s worth noting that we negotiated a taxi for 180. Maybe someone else can do it cheaper, but I was happy. After all, the distance turned out to be much greater than we expected.
Entry to the park cost us 71 yuan for two, in addition, we were given 3 types of tickets, 2 of which we managed to find a use for, if anyone knows, tell me, otherwise Yulia can’t find a place for herself. :)
Walking down to the coast, we found a map with descriptions of places worth visiting. But we still haven’t found the place where we are. Therefore the map was useless.
The same card. Find yourself:)
We took electric bus tickets for 10 yuan, round trip. We naively assumed that the operating principle of these buses was the same as in Nan Shan, but no...
When we almost passed one of the attractions, we asked the driver to stop. Of course, he didn’t understand, but he stopped. We went out and quickly took a photo, but realized that if we hesitated, he would simply leave :)
We sat back down and didn’t come out until the end.
The end, I must say, came very quickly. Our trip lasted about 2 minutes in total. The bus stopped and they showed us where to go. Well, off we go.
We went up to a nearby temple, they weren’t allowed to take pictures there, but we weren’t upset, we bought incense sticks there and set them to smoke.
We reached the birthplace of the dragon, if I understand correctly. Basically, all the memorable places in this park look like stones with hieroglyphs of various sizes on them.
Which we successfully recorded :)
We must pay tribute to this park, unlike yesterday there are inscriptions in Russian too, which is not entirely correct and sometimes very funny :)
There was also an inscription “Steep descent”, which made me very happy :)
We began to climb to the top. Higher and higher up the stone stairs, hoping to see something unusual. After quite a long time (I didn’t carry a watch with me), we realized that this something was very high. On the way up this staircase we came across a lot of stones with hieroglyphs. But a little more time passed and the stones disappeared, leaving only one staircase up. But it is not in our principles to give up, and we, with Max in our arms, climb up.
Climbing to such a peak will make you feel better. I just don't have the strength to be angry. Although you certainly can’t tell from the photo :)
It was strong. It seems that there used to be a hermit’s home there, but apparently everything has changed :)
Nevertheless, the view from there was magnificent.
In general, we were in a state close to Nirvana. Apparently this was intended. We were completely wet, and the weather was sunny and very hot. But my physical beginning, unfortunately, prevailed over my spiritual one and we went down.
The return journey was quick.
To summarize, I cannot say how long the climb took, but I know for sure that our entire walk, through a generally small park, took 4 hours.
After that, we finally decided to go to Oceanarium. We were dissuaded, they said that the picture was depressing, the animals were poorly maintained, etc., etc., but we decided to please Max, since he was very tired of what was interesting to us.
And they didn’t regret it. I won’t say that the aquarium fully met my expectations (I at least expected to see fish there), but there we took two cool photos of Max with a turtle and a crocodile and watched a good show with sea lions. Max liked it.
Rest after a hard day...
Next there were many pools with different temperatures. All sources are natural. The fact is that Hainan Island is of volcanic origin; volcanic activity ceased 8 thousand years ago, but there are many hot springs scattered throughout the island, one of which is Nan Tian.
There is a cool pool with coconut milk (we tried in vain to smell the coconut, but couldn’t), with coffee beans, it smells like coffee - great.
Heaven on earth is here :)
The effect is the same as from a bath, only more powerful.
All the fatigue from climbing to the top disappeared as if by hand.
We took the 9 o'clock bus back to the hotel. The children's pool closed already at 8 o'clock and Max was very bored, so we decided to repeat the next day.
I forgot to mention a very unusual pool with fish. When you lie down in it, the fish begin to pleasantly bite the skin all over your body. At first it becomes unbearably ticklish, so everyone laughs very contagiously :)
We called it the pool of laughter. They say that this is very good for the skin, the fish remove dead scales and it rejuvenates :)
It's good that it's not piranhas :)
This story is one of a series of stories about our trip to Hainan Island in October 2006.
40 kilometers from the city of Sanya, on the other slope of the mountain, where the Nanshan temple complex is located, lies another beautiful park in Hainan - Dong Tian. Translated from Chinese, “Dong Tian” means “heavenly grottoes”; this term in Taoism refers to caves where immortal saints live.
The Dong Tien Taoist Center is one of the island's most visited attractions. Various festive and special events are often held here; cultural, political and public figures come here, as evidenced by photographs along the main entrance alley.
And we immediately encounter a warning sign.
Everywhere is very clean and beautiful. Grow grass :)
I would like to say one thing right away interesting place park - Archaeological Museum history of natural history. The extensive exhibition of the museum deserves close attention; it contains more than 2 thousand exhibits, among which are unique objects protected by UNESCO: fossil dinosaur eggs, the skeleton of a huge ichthyosaur, the first fossil flower, the skeleton of a Sanyang pterosaur, an ancient ebony tree.
The park is located on a mountain slope and a rocky seashore. Huge boulders and small stones add an indescribable charm to the beauty of the sea.
The elegant decorations of the park are stone sculptures: real and mythical animals, wise elders.
A forest spirit peeks out from a huge stump.
From the central square there is a wide staircase leading up to the sculptures of Buddhist monks. The staircase is framed by fragrant hibiscus bushes, in which exotic butterflies flutter from flower to flower. And flocks of snow-white doves live on the palm trees.
At the foot of the stairs is a family of turtles.
Some young ladies shared their hats with the turtles
Many stones are carved with hieroglyphs with wise sayings.
We make our way along a path surrounded by tall grass.
There are benches hidden in the mangrove thickets next to the path.
The path leads us to the beach.
And grottoes.
Essentially, a grotto is a small gap under a rock that you can slip through and come out on the other side of the rock.
Despite the narrowness of the space, incense is smoked inside the grotto. We climb out of the grotto along the ladder :)
Walking along the sea, we reach other grottoes
We find phrases carved on the rocks: small and large.
Some stones that resemble something or someone are overgrown with legends and traditions. For example, the Magic Peach stone. According to legend, the Empress of Heaven Wang Mu gave a magical peach to the Eight Immortals. But half of the peach was stolen and eaten by a magic cow, and the other half of the peach was left by the Immortals on the shore. And after thousands of years the peach turned to stone.
Or Jian Zhen's stone. According to legend, the monk Jian Zhen often bathed and basked in the sun here. Much time has passed since then, and a stone similar to the sunbathing Jian Zhen appeared here.
We go to the farthest point of the park along the picturesque rocks, along the seashore.
Bas-reliefs on the rocks depict sages and divine characters.
Stone carving "Lao Tzu looks at the sea". Lao Tzu, one of the greatest ancient Chinese philosophers, founder of the teachings of Taoism.
Southern God of Longevity.
Let's go back a little and go to the Dragon Temple. According to legend, it is here, in Dong Tian Park, that the giant Dragon of the Southern Sea lives.
By the way, here at the Dragon Temple I was able to observe and film the scene of a snake hunting a frog, but more on that in the following posts.
From the Dragon Temple, a path rises up the mountain, or rather a huge staircase, completely endless.
Along the way you come across hanging bridges and sayings immortalized on stone.
Climbing the stairs, we pass by gazebos.
A tree hugging a stone.
Quite unexpectedly, the path leads us to the Immortal Turtle South Sea. Beautiful and unusual, made of copper, and weighing 1.5 tons, the Turtle is also a sacred symbol.
There are incense in the square in front of her, and red ribbons with wishes are tied nearby.
And the staircase leads us up and up, never ending. But everywhere there are carefully placed warning signs with wonderful Russian translations.
From the top there is a beautiful view of the sea.
To be honest, we didn’t get to the very top platform, it was already getting dark, and the park was going to close soon, so we went down.
We enjoy the empty paths of the park and the coolness of the evening.
Finally, a clickable panorama.
The Taoist temple complex is located in the southwest of Nanshan Mountain and is considered one of the most ancient structures of its kind in China: it was founded in 1247 during the reign of the imperial Song dynasty. This place is sacred to all Chinese followers of Taoism - one of the most revered religions in China. According to legend, this is where the Southern Dragon, one of the four rulers of the world, lives.
Followers of Taoism come here to worship him and ask for help in the temple built in his honor. Fishermen especially often turn to him about sending down a good catch and salvation in the waters of the sea. Many legends are associated with this place.
Dong Tian is located on the picturesque seashore and is rightfully considered the first tourist zone of the Celestial Empire - the landscapes here are so beautiful! It is not for nothing that the Chinese themselves call this place “Wonders of the Sea and Mountains”: the Heavenly Grottoes Park with bizarre caves and piles of stones, majestic mountains and caves - this is truly an ideal place for a happy life: it is no secret that there are a lot of centenarians on Hainan Island. The pine dracaena cambodiana, a relict tree endemic to the island, has become a symbol of longevity in China. You will see such a pine tree at the age of 6 thousand years on the territory of the temple complex. 30 thousand pines of this rare species grow here.
Visit Taoist Park " Heavenly Grottoes", take a walk through the shady park of pine trees and along the picturesque beach of the sea, and philosophize. It’s not for nothing that the name of this place in Chinese sounds like “Happy Place Where the Gods Live”!