Daochang Mountain Park — China Travel

Rising at the tail of the Tianmu Range, Daochang Mountain has drawn pilgrims and poets since the Tang dynasty, but it was in 1225 that Emperor Lizong of the Southern Song officially ranked Wanshou Temple among the "Five Mountains and Ten Monasteries" — the apex of the imperial Chan Buddhist hierarchy. Think of it as the "Vatican" of southern Chinese Zen. Earlier literati gave it equal reverence: Su Shi (the Su Dongpo of Chinese poetry) and later calligrapher-painter Zhao Mengfu left verses carved here, weaving the site into the cultural fabric alongside Hangzhou's Lingyin Temple, to which it was considered a worthy sister. The mountain's signature monument is the Multi-Treasure Pagoda, a 13th-century octagonal brick tower of seven tiers, dressed in weathered crimson walls and topped with a slender spire. Comparable in age and scale to the leaning towers of Tuscany's medieval towns, it remains structurally sound and climbable to its upper levels. Nearby, Wanshou Temple has been rebuilt several times — most recently after a devastating fire — yet still preserves a Tang-Song spatial layout, its incense-filled halls cascading down terraced courtyards in classic Jiangnan style. Scattered along the wooded paths are smaller historic pavilions like the Yanggao and Wanghu pavilions, each marking a poetic viewpoint. The celebrated "Daochang's Morning Mist" (Daochang Xiaoji) scene — ranked first among the Eight Views of Wuxing — captures that fleeting hour after rain when vapor lifts between the cedars and a pale sun haloes the pagoda spire. Chinese painters of the Song and Yuan dynasties returned to this motif repeatedly, much as Turner revisited Venetian dawns. Today the view can still be witnessed on a clear post-rain morning, a meditative reward for any early riser. Entry to the park is free all day; the temple complex itself generally opens from 07:00 to 17:00. Take Bus 307 to Wanshou Temple Stop, or drive to the Daochang Mountain parking area — roughly 20 minutes from downtown Huzhou. The main stone-stepped trail takes 30–45 minutes one-way and is gentle enough for families and casual hikers, with benches and pavilions spaced for rest stops. The ideal time to climb is a clear spring or autumn day, when temperatures are mild and mist is most likely to perform. From the gate, follow the sequence: Release-Life Pond, then Wanshou Temple, then the Multi-Treasure Pagoda, finishing at the summit — a 1.5–2-hour circuit. If time allows, continue to the adjacent Lotus Villa Park, the former estate of artist Zhao Mengfu, for a fuller picture of Huzhou's scholarly soul.