Peak Flown from Afar
By admin on 2015-03-04

Attraction Type:

• Mountains, Caves & Valleys in China

• Religious Sites in China

The Peak Flown from Afar in Hangzhou is famous for its beautiful scenery and stone carvings that are comparable with Dazu Stone Carving in Sichuan Province. In the caves and cliffs of peak, there are more than 470 stone statuses from Five Dynasties Period (907A.D. -960A.D.) to Yuan Dynasty.

The name of this peak comes from a legend. It is that an Indian monk named Huili arrived in the valley 1,600 years ago and was surprised to see a peak so dissimilar from any other in the valley. He thought that the peak was flown over from India because the shape, although unique in China, was common in India.

Among all these carvings, the biggest one is Laughing Buddha with Big Belly carved during the Southern Song Dynasty. It is the earliest statue of Buddha with Big Belly in China. The peak is 209 meters tall and is actually a pure lime stone that is very distinctive from any other lime-stone mountains which are around the peak because large stones scattered along the peak are said to resemble animals like a flying dragon, a running elephant, a crouching tiger, and a running monkey.