Xinchang

Xinchang is a tourist center in eastern Zhejiang. It has beautiful scenery and numerous historical sites, including three provincial scenic areas -- the Dafo Temple, Chuanyan 19 Peaks, and Wozhou Lake. It is the hub of the Tang poetry road and Buddhist pilgrimages. Tianlao (Skyland) Mountain and Dafo Temple are famous, as great Tang poet Li Bai wrote in a poem entitled "Mount Skyland Ascended in a Dream -- A Song of Farewell".

"Mount Skyland threatens heaven, massed against the sky, Surpassing the Five Peaks and dwarfing Mount Red Town. Mount Heaven Terrace, five thousand feet high, Nearing the southeast, appears to crumble down."

The Great Buddha in the Xinchang Dafo Temple is the earliest example of grotto art in southern China, having a history of 1,400 years.