Meizhou 广东省梅州市蕉岭县长潭镇Transport: Drive to Changtan Tourist Resort by car or take a bus from Meizhou Bus Station to Jiaoling

Lingguang Templea 1,000-year-old temple

Lingguang Temple is a great spot to hit up when looking for things to do in Meizhou. With babbling spring water and shrouded in fairyland-like mists, the place has become a renowned summer resort in Guangdong for its revitalizing atmosphere.

First built in 861 in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the temple is a provincial-level protected cultural relic. In front of the temple stand two stately 400-year-old cypress trees. One is dead, while the other is still living. The former stands solid and somber like a soldier, while the latter fl ourishes in dark green.

Though small in size, the temple welcomes worshipers from around the world.Tickets: 35 yuanLocation: Yanyang Town, Meixian District, Meizhou 广东省梅州市梅县区雁洋镇Transport: Drive to the destination by car

Yearning Tea Plantationa place for tea and scenery

Yearning Tea Plantation Tour-ist Attraction, the fi rst National 5A Tourism Destination in eastern Guangdong, is situated in the home-town of Ye Jianying, a well-known Chinese communist general. It’s home to over 2,000 tea plants and 14 villas.

The green stretching rows of the tea plantation is sure to win the hearts of shutterbugs. There you can check out how tea farmers pick tea leaves as well as stage countless picturesque photos. Besure to come prepared with plenty of poses in mind.Tickets: 80 yuanLocation: Changjiao Village, Yanyang Town, Meixian District, Meizhou 广东省梅州市梅县区雁洋镇长教村Transport: There are two buses at Meizhou Bus Station that go to Yanyang Town; the departure times are 6:40 and 10:30 respectively; 7 yuan per person

Other tourist sites include the Hakka Natural Village, Wuzhishi Scenic Area, Pingshan Mountain Terrace, and so forth. (Chen Xiaochun)

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Monday October 9, 2017

TEMPLE TALES

The framework of a sutra cabinet, with the shelves removed, at Longxing Temple in Zhengding, Hebei Province.

James Baquet

James Baquetjamesbaquet@gmail.com

PREVIOUSLY, I have described the use of prayer wheels in Tibetan-style temples.

These large drums, which may be located along a corridor or at the side of a building, have a prayer written on them. “Om Mani Padme Hum” — Hail the Jewel in the Lotus!

The belief is that every time a person turns one of these drums — whether laboriously, or with a fast spin — he gains the merit of having said that mantra (a set of supposedly powerful words) one time.

In addition to these large drums, you may also see a person walking around a pagoda or other building — with his or her right shoulder toward it — while holding something that looks like a children’s toy, a sort of disc on a stick, with a bead whirling around it on a string as the person spins it vigorously.

Serious devotees may also chant the prayer quietly as they walk and spin.

These small devices, too, are called “prayer wheels” in English.

But there is another, grander, practice with a similar mechanism and intention.

In some temples, sutra cabinets are mounted in such a way that they can rotate. That is, a “circle” of shelves, perhaps eight-sided, is set on a central pillar. Devotees may then enter the hall and walk around the cabinet holding a handle that causes it to turn slowly.

I have seen these on Wutai Moun-tain, in Beijing, and at Longxing Temple in Zhengding, outside of Shijiazhuang.

The idea is that for each full turn-ing, you gain as much merit as if you had chanted all the sutras in the cabinet.

Quite a feat!

Rotating Sutra Cabinets

WITH the Xinghua Expressway opened to traffi c Sept. 28, the road trip from Shenzhen to Meizhou in northeastern Guangdong Province is cut by 30 minutes, providing con-venience not only to people traveling home to Meizhou but also to tourists who plan to explore the Hakka city.

Drivers from Shenzhen to Mei-zhou can take Boluo-Shenzhen Expressway and Huizhou-Heyuan Expressway before turning to Shan-tou-Zhanjiang Expressway and Xing-hua Expressway. The trip to Meizhou is now cut by 30 to 40 minutes from the original four and a half hours to four hours.

Changtanthe Sun Moon Lake in Lingnan

Changtan, nicknamed “the Sun Moon Lake in Lingnan,” got its name for its deep-running, long and narrow current. Accompanied by lush vegetation on both sides, mostly redwood and maples, Changtan Tourist Resort presents the best view with the redwood leaves in green and red between October and November.

Rent a boat to cruise Changtan and indulge yourself in the dream-like mist-covered water. Traveling here might remind you of Wuxia Gorge though Changtan appears more delicate. The Li River in Guangxi is a go-to rafting destination, but the view at the lesser-known Changtan River is more magnifi cent.Location: Changtan Town, Jiaoling County,

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meizhou's wondrous landscapes

Meizhou, populated by the Hakka people, is not only crowned as the unoffi cial capital of Hakka cul-ture but also home to a plethora of sublime sights.

Hakka Natural Village in Meizhou is a well preserved village with distinctive Hakka-style features and a history of 500 years. File photos

Redwood leaves fl ourish in green and red in Changtan Tourist Resort between October and November.

Women pick tea leaves in Yearning Tea Plantation.