Wanshi Botanical Garden
China may have some of the busiest cities in the world, but there's one place where you can be sure of peace, quiet and reflective time - the Wanshi Botanical Garden in Xiamen. Located on the northern slope of Lion Hill in southeast of Xiamen, the Wanshi Botanical Garden is a unique combination of park and botanical garden.
The garden itself is divided into more than 20 botanical zones, display rooms and cultivating land for thousands of tropical and subtropical plants such as palms, bamboo, orchids, bonsai trees and plants for medicine.
Wanshi (Ten Thousands) Botanical Garden leading the list of Xiamen attractions with many scenic spots. Among them the most popular are Wanshilian Temple, Tipsy Fairy Rock, Taiping Rock, and Tiger Brook Rock. Beside those scenic spots, there are also nearly 100 stone inscriptions in rocks. With historic remains scatterring, green hills, clear waters and densely growing trees, Wanshi Scenic Area became a favorite scenic spot for tourists since ancient time.
Wanshilian Temple was built during the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the late of Ming Dynasty and was rebuilt by Hou Shilang of Jinghai. Further renovations were made in the recent years. On two sides of the gate of the mountain, there's a pair of antithetical couplets written by a great Great Master Honyi to an abbot named Huiquan. Treasured Daxiong Hall, home to meditation and monks'rooms form a delightful contrast with those high cliffs giants. Quiet and elegant, the temple reminds one of Fairyland with the help of gurgling brook under Haizeng Bridge in front of the temple.
In the west part of the garden lies the Tipsy Fairy Rock, Sweet Spring Cave, Tianjie Temple and some other sceneries. Tianjie Temple occupies a high position and descends down. There are numerous stone inscriptions carved in the cliffs behind the temple and among which the one engraved before the Long Howling Cave during the reign of Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty is the most valuable.
Visitors could climb up the Taiping Rock from the stone path in front of Wanshi Botanical Garden. Here is characterized by craggy rocks, hidden caves, quiet and beautiful forests and gurgling streams. Visitors can relax and taste tea tea room there. Close the temple is a pile of huge stones on top of each other, forming a mouth that laughs with joy. People gave it a name "Taiping Laughing Stone ".
Tiger Brook Rock covering the valley and the ancient banyans entrenching everywhere, of course, wonderful and dangerous views so presented. On the evening of 15th each lunar month, the large moon hanging high above, shining above Arhats clay and clay statues of tigers cave. The shade, as will vary according twinkles. The clay tiger, it seems to come back to life. When the midautumn night festival, more than Tens of thousands of spectators had to be first to enjoy the wonderful view of the moon.