Travel through a thousand years between Hanging Temple and the Underground Wonderland in Jiande, Hangzhou

While crowds fill West Lake, I found an aerial miracle in Jiande that even the Hanging Temple in Shanxi pales beside—the temple is embedded in a 100-meter cliff, and the karst caves hide the secret realm of Journey to the West. This small city holds so many underestimated wonders.

🗺️ One-day travel route

🏞️ Highlights connection line (7-hour efficient version)
Morning: Daci Rock Cableway up the mountain → Hanging Temple Cloud Sea Viewing → Natural Standing Buddha Viewing Platform → Xingxiang Zhai Ancient Music Appreciation
Afternoon: Lingxi Cave Explore the underground palace → Monet Garden Flower Sea Photography → Karst Cave Moon Exploration Check-in Spot

🎑 Deep immersion line (2-day slow travel version)
DAY 1: Daci Rock Hiking → Red Wall Photography → Stay at Xin’an River Night Tour
DAY 2: Lingxi Cave Journey to the West Tracing → Shouchang Ancient Town Old Street Stroll → Jiangnan Hanging Village Ancient Visit

🏯 Daci Rock’s Triple Wonders

▎ Hanging Temple — Faith in the Air
• Yuan Dynasty ancient temple suspended on a 147-meter cliff with mortise and tenon structure; the temple’s bottom pillars are thinner than a bowl’s mouth
• Best photo spot: Mid-cableway aerial shot, the temple and abyss form a deadly diagonal

▎ Natural Standing Buddha — Mountain Zen
A Bodhisattva statue naturally formed from the entire mountain rock, shrouded in Buddha light in autumn morning mist
Buddha-seeking tip: Look back from "Listening to the Spring Pavilion" to see the Buddha’s lowered gaze

▎ Thousand-year-old Ginkgo
The canopy covers half an acre, golden leaves fall like rain in late October
View from the second floor window of Xingxiang Zhai; during National Day, there are Hanfu flute and xiao performances (2:00 PM/4:00 PM two sessions)

🕳️ Lingxi Cave Magical World

▎ Karst Cave Trilogy
• Lingquan Cave: Boat through the underground dark river, see stalactites reflected like a glass palace
• Qingfeng Cave: Filming location of the Bull Demon King’s lair in the 1986 Journey to the West
• Aiyun Cave: New Galaxy Moonlight Lantern Show, stalactite clusters become an interstellar battlefield

▎ Monet Garden
2,000㎡ flower sea integrated into karst ecology, water lily pond collides with steel pavilion
Outfit suggestion: pure white long dress + straw hat for a dappled light oil painting effect

🍜 Jiande Flavor Archive

▎ Mountain Wild Flavors
• Daci Rock Vegetarian Cuisine: Ginkgo stewed tofu (using fruit from the thousand-year-old ginkgo tree)
• Hanging Tea House: Cliff wild tea (ancient tea trees growing in temple crevices)

▎ Local Classics
✅ Yanzhou dried vegetable duck: stewed slowly with preserved vegetables and old duck
✅ Xin’an River white fish: steamed river fish with snow vegetable and bamboo shoots
✅ Shouchang fried rice noodles: stir-fried over a wood fire stove, full of wok hei

▎ Secret Realm Experience
Lingxi Cave exit Earth Core Coffee: enjoy cold brew in the karst cave extension
Shouchang Ancient Town Tofu Bun: steamed in a century-old stove, bursting with hot juice

💡 Travel Tips

🚗 Transportation
1.5 hours by car from Hangzhou; Daci Rock and Lingxi Cave are 40 minutes apart by car
High-speed rail to Jiande Station, then transfer to a tourist shuttle for convenience

🎟️ Money-saving Tips
Buy a combo ticket to save 30 yuan; choose one-way cableway up (hiking down is easier)
After 4:00 PM, fewer people at Lingxi Cave, and the lighting effects are even more magical

📸 Photography
Use telephoto lens to compress space at Hanging Temple; prepare phone fill light inside the cave
Shoot Monet Garden against the light to make petals appear translucent

When the autumn breeze brushes the thousand-year-old ginkgo
When stalactites grow in the dark
You realize this small city
Hides all its wonders
In the rarely visited corners