Get up at 7 o'clock in the morning on September 24, 2019, have breakfast at the hotel at 7:30, walk to Suzhou Railway Station South Square Bus Terminal Station at 8 o'clock, and take the Express Line No. 11 bus to Mudu Ancient Town. Originally, I planned to go to East Mountain of Taihu Lake that day, but due to the bad weather, I temporarily changed my plan to go to Mudu Ancient Town and Lingyan Mountain. It costs 2 yuan to get on No. 11. When you get off at Yanjia Garden Station, it is already 9:30 a.m.. If you go west to the end, you will find Lingyan Mountain Scenic Area about 300 meters.

Lingyan Mountain is located in the west of Mudu Town, southwest of Suzhou, a water town in the south of the Yangtze River. It is named "Lingyan Mountain" because there is a famous "Ganoderma lucidum stone" in front of Lingyan Tower. There are many strange rocks on the mountain. Giant rocks are steep, strange rocks are jagged, and objects are as if they were. There is an old saying of "twelve strange stones" or "eighteen strange stones."

Lingyan Mountain has the reputation of "Lingyan is the most beautiful in Jiangnan" and "Lingyan is the most amazing in Tiantai". There are stone snakes with their heads held high and climbing, stone drums with sound beating, stone turtles with hair shapes, stone turtles with their heads stretched out and their backs raised, stone rabbits with upright ears, mandarin duck stones that are inseparable, oxen back stones that are buried in mud, etc.

Lingyan Mountain was originally the former site of King Fuchai of Wu in the Spring and Autumn Period, and was also the place where the State of Yue offered Xi Shi. Today, the remaining relics and monuments of the King of Wu include: King of Wu, dressing table, flower pond, moon pond, Xianglang, Qintai, Xishi Cave, Zhiji Well, Changshou Pavilion, Fangting, etc.

The scenic spots of Lingyan Mountain listed above cannot be exhaustive. The route we took was probably to enter the east gate and climb the mountain along the main road. It was a Sunday, and we didn't know why there were so many people. We didn't know what was on the mountain to see. We could only follow the footsteps of the local people to climb up. Although the slope of the mountain road was not large, it was quite strenuous and we would be sweating in a short while.

When we reached a fork in the road, the people going up the mountain diverged into two places. We didn't know where to go and asked passers-by and told them that we would go to Guanyin Cave on the left and go straight to Lingyan Temple. Guanyin Cave is on the mountainside, so it's easier to go to Guanyin Cave first. Guanyin Cave turned out to be Xishi Cave. It is said that King Gou Jian of Yue and Fan Li offered Xishi to King Fu Chai of Wu to wait here. Later generations built houses in front of the cave. The statue of Guanyin was engraved in the cave, and purple bamboo was planted outside the cave, so it was also known as "Guanyin Cave", and the incense was very popular.

Coming out of Guanyin Cave, you can go up the road, and turn to the left and go up about 300 steps. It is called the "Hundred Steps". It is a section of the royal road built by Emperor Qianlong when he climbed Lingyan. The mountain is steep. There is a square brick platform next to the road, which was the mantle tower built by the monk Zhiji of Lingyan Mountain in the Liang Dynasty. On the south of the tower, there is a huge stone shaped like a turtle and facing Taihu Lake with its head raised, so there is a saying that "the turtle looks at Taihu Lake." The back of the stone is engraved with the words "Hope Buddha Come", and there are footprints on the stone. It is said that Xi Shi often stood on this stone and looked at his hometown.

Not far further up, you will reach Lingyan Temple, Lingyan Temple on the top of the mountain, the former site of King Wu's "Guanwa Palace". In the Battle of Fujiao in Wuyue in the Spring and Autumn Period, the State of Yue was defeated. Gou Jian, King of Yue, and Fan Li, a doctor, were taken hostage and lived in a stone chamber. They presented Xi Shi, a beautiful woman from Vietnam and Central China, to Fu Chai. King Fu Chai of Wu built a palace on Lingyan Mountain for Xi Shi, with copper hooks and jade thresholds, which was extremely extravagant. Wu called beautiful women children, hence the name "Guanwagong". In 473 BC, King Gou Jian of Yue invaded the State of Wu by water and burned the magnificent Guanwa Palace to ruins. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, someone built a new industry at the Wu Palace site in Lingyan Mountain. Houshe House was a temple, which was expanded into a temple in the second year of Tianjian of Liang Dynasty (503), called "Xiufeng Temple". In the Tang Dynasty, it was renamed Lingyan Temple.

The existing temple in Lingyan Temple is large-scale and is one of the typical Pure Land Taoist temples of Chinese Buddhism. Lingyan Temple is built on the top of the mountain, towering into the clouds and majestic. The pine and cypresses in front of the temple stand tall in the sky, and the inscription "Lingyan Mountain Temple" is written by Zhao Puchu. The Daxiong Hall is 25 meters high and 20 meters wide, making it majestic and solemn.

The Lingyan Tower located on the east side of the main hall was first built in the second year of Tianjian in the Liang Dynasty. It has experienced vicissitudes and is now a seven-level eight-sided brick tower. It stands tall and straight. It is a symbol of Lingyan Mountain. Anyone who comes to visit the mountain takes photos here to commemorate it. Lingyan Tower, also known as the Duo Pagoda, is 34 meters high, has 7 levels and 8 sides, and has a brick-wood structure and a pavilions style. Visitors can climb the tower up the stairs and overlook the scenery of Suzhou. There is a bell tower on the south of the tower, with a height of 15.3 meters and a two-story wooden structure. A bell hangs above and a Buddha statue of Ksitigarbha is placed below.

That day coincided with the French ceremony marking the third anniversary of the senior Ming Dynasty, and the temple was full of believers and crowded. The Daxiong Hall is no longer accessible, so you can only browse around. There is a mountain-top garden behind the mountain. Legend has it that Xi Shi rowed here to pick lotus flowers in a boat. To the west of the pool there is a stone city, which is the wall at the top of the mountain. It is said that it was built by King Helu of Wu and made of stone to form an ice pattern. Playing the Moon Pond was once used for Xi Shi to play with the moon. The King's Well of Wu is round and is also a legacy well of the Wu Palace. It was once used for Xi Shi to shine. Zhiji Well is octagonal, so it is named because it was dug by monk Zhiji in the Liang Dynasty. Spring water in the well is sweet, and tea is very good. There is a rockery built in the north of the well and a "Longevity Pavilion" on it, which is said to be the dressing place for Xi Shi. The highest point of Lingyan Mountain is located at the Qintai to the west of Lingyan Temple. It is said that Xi Shi played the piano here.

This is the main tourist area of Lingyan Mountain. At 11:30 noon, we began to follow people down the mountain. Some of us went down the mountain and took the road on the left side of Lingyan Temple. We didn't know where we were going, because we had to go down the mountain and go to Mudu Ancient Town. The only way to get out through the east gate is the closest, so we have to turn back. It was already 12:10 noon when we left the gate of the scenic spot. On the way to Mudu Ancient Town, we had lunch and entered the Ancient Town Scenic Area after dinner to continue our day's trip.