THE HEAVENLY Terrace Mountain – Tiantai Shan – is the seat of the Tiantai Buddhist sect, which also has strong links with Daoism. A pilgrimage site since the Eastern Jin, today it is especially popular with Japanese Buddhists, who regard China as the Buddhist motherland. The sect’s founder, the monk Zhiyi, spent most of his life on the mountain, where the imperial court helped him to construct a temple. This wonderfully scenic spot, with its paths, streams, and woodlands, is ideal for walking. Several famous plants such as huading cloud, mist tea, the Tiantai mandarin orange, as well as a variety of medicinal plants, were discovered here.
The first of Tiantai Shan’s monasteries, Guoqing Si, lies at its foot, 2 miles (3 km) from Tiantai village. From here, a road leads to the 3,609 ft (1,100 m) Huading Peak. Visitors can then walk to Baijingtai Si (Prayer Terrace Temple) on the summit or to Shiliang (Stone Beam) Waterfall, near the Upper Fangguang Monastery, where there are a number of inscriptions, including one by the famous Song artist, Mi Fu.
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