Mount Tiantai is not only home to the Guoqing Temple, but also harbors serene and lesser-known temples hidden deep within the mountains, offering a unique retreat

After the first sentence, the weekend trip to Tiantai saw the Guoqing Temple overcrowded, with even the parking spaces at the Tiantai Hotel in high demand, and a queue required just to check in at Sui Mei. Therefore, returning to the original intention of seeking tranquility and cultivating the mind, it makes sense to forgo the Guoqing Temple. Here are two recommendations for lesser-known temples that remain peaceful even on weekends. First, head up the mountain to the Wisdom Pagoda Temple. Following the mountain road from Guoqing Temple, with its many twists and turns that test your driving skills, you'll reach the Wisdom Pagoda Temple, where you must park your car by the roadside and climb a short distance along the mountain path. This is the site of the fleshly pagoda of the founder of the Tiantai sect of Chinese Buddhism—'Sakyamuni of the East,' Master Zhiyi. The temple is small, with a few guests and monks sitting around drinking tea in the courtyard. When I visited, there were still a few plum blossoms, and a small dog lay beside the guests basking in the sun. Sitting under the plum tree for a while, listening to the words of wisdom, one could probably sit there for a whole day. The second is the Mingyan Ancient Temple, about 30 kilometers from Mount Tiantai. As the name suggests, the temple is officially located on the rocks inside the mountain belly, said to be the hermitage of the Tang Dynasty poet-monk Hanshan, one of the 'Two Sages of Harmony.' The temple sits atop a cliff, with several large halls seamlessly integrated into the mountain rocks. The deeper you go, the more profound and peaceful it becomes. Passing through a cave, you will see the statue of Guanyin, with water from the cave ceiling drifting down, as if in a fairyland. Half landscape, half Zen, hidden in the deep mountains, worldly gains and profits are like passing clouds, leaving only the natural ease of the true self to be felt with the breeze by your ear.