Xuedou Mountain 雪窦山

About Xuedou Mountain

Xuedou Mountain (雪窦山) is a peak of about 800 metres in Xikou Town (溪口镇), Fenghua District (奉化区), Ningbo, the highest summit of a spur of the Siming Mountains (四明山), and home to Xuedou Temple (雪窦寺), a centre of devotion to the Maitreya Buddha.

The name, meaning "snow hollow", is explained locally by the hollows among its peaks and by the east and west streams that meet in front of the temple and drop over the Qianzhangyan cliff (千丈岩) in spray like flying snow. The Xikou-Xuedou scenic area entered China's third list of national key scenic areas in 1994 and was rated 5A in 2010. The Song emperor Renzong is said to have visited the mountain in a dream, which gave it the title "mountain of the dream" (应梦名山).

Xuedou Temple, formally the Xuedou Zisheng Chan Temple (雪窦资圣禅寺), was founded in the Jin dynasty. It is linked with the monk Budai (布袋和尚), the "cloth-bag monk" of the late Tang and Five Dynasties, a Fenghua native who preached at the temple and whom Chinese Buddhism came to venerate as an incarnation of Maitreya; the Budai legend has been on the national intangible cultural heritage list since 2011. In 1932 the monk Taixu (太虚), then abbot, proposed making Xuedou a Maitreya centre. The newly built temple has more than 20 halls, including a Maitreya Hall with a statue of Budai flanked by a thousand small Maitreya figures. On the hilltop at the temple's highest point is a seated open-air bronze Maitreya, 33 metres tall and 56.74 metres with its base. A Maitreya culture festival is held on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month.

About 500 metres south-west of the temple is Sanyin Pool (三隐潭), at the lip of the Qianzhangyan waterfall; the Feixue Pavilion (飞雪亭) further on looks down on the whole fall, which breaks into three stages known as the rainbow, snow and pearl falls. Miaogao Terrace (妙高台), a summit with wide views over the surrounding hills, holds the villa Chiang Kai-shek (蒋介石) built in 1930, and he wrote the name "Miaogao Terrace" in his own hand; the villa's rooms show photographs of his career. Zhang Xueliang (张学良) was also held under house arrest at Miaogao Terrace, and two nanmu trees he planted in front of the temple are called the "General's Nanmu".

What to look for

• Xuedou Temple (雪窦寺), with its Maitreya Hall of a thousand small Maitreya figures
• The 33-metre open-air bronze Maitreya on the hilltop at the temple's highest point
• Qianzhangyan waterfall (千丈岩瀑布), seen from Sanyin Pool and the Feixue Pavilion
• Miaogao Terrace (妙高台), with Chiang Kai-shek's 1930 mountain villa and its photograph exhibition
• The "General's Nanmu" (将军楠), two trees planted by Zhang Xueliang before the temple
• Xufu Cliff (徐凫岩) and the Imperial Calligraphy Pavilion (御书亭)

The surrounding area

A coastal city chapter centered on maritime food, Tianyi Pavilion and Moon Lake.

Location & getting there

Getting to Xuedou Mountain

• Confirm the visitor entrance and access to the named areas before departure.