What's Up Al ? 遊記隨筆 生活點滴

In fact, not only speechless, but the incomparable and indescribable underground temple complex left us feeling disorientated, breath quickened and heart racing ! I would bet my bottom Dollar that you would not have seen any temple like Niu Shou Shan (牛首山) - Bull's Head Mountain. Having taken a soothing bowl of hot chicken soup noodles for breakfast in the nearby neighbourhood, we were ready to tackle and explore this enormous temple complex, situated about 20 KM in the southern region of Nanjing (南京); which was made a breeze by the efficient and clean metro trains. Upon entering the site on a sunny Autumn morning, we were greeted by the mesmerising vista of mist-shrouded lakes and classic arc bridges; followed by a hard slog up the thousand of steps to the Buddhist Temple and pagoda (佛頂寺) and an eventual push to reach the summit of the sacred Buddhist underground "palace" of (佛頂宮). On the way up, there were numerous photogenic spots for taking spectacular photos which be warned, might overload your camera. Once entered the "palace", we were greeted by the central presence of The Sleeping Buddha statue, the soothing lighting, gentle Buddhist chanting and comforting background music made the stay in this ground floor arena an unique, magical and tranquil experience.
Further on by going down a series of escalators, we reached the 5th floor underground where an other-worldly worshiping hall was located and I could only describe the design and construction of this hall by asking you to enjoy the accompanying photos as words alone would not suffice. In addition, the lights dimmed when a school of dedicated worshipers made their procession around the central tower, bowing and praying. Just a side note, only on six to seven designated days each year, would worshipers be allowed to go down to the 6th floor underground, where the most sacred relic of The Buddha was kept - the one and only piece of head bone belonging to The Buddha (佛頂骨舍利), found anywhere in the world, would be accessed and worshiped. We actually visited the site twice in three days, but that's another story and as if to complete this magical day, Niu Shou Shan bade us farewell by displaying a spectacular and meaningful sunset and yes, that would be yet another interesting story for our journals.