Stone Buddha Temple (Furong Valley / Maowutang)

Maowutang Mountain lies within Shanchuan Township, Anji County. Also known as Furong Valley (Hibiscus Valley), it nestles in a canyon ringed by layered rolling mountains. Its main peak, Luojia Mountain (Mount Potalaka), stands at an altitude of 1,169.6 meters. Inside the scenic area, cascading waterfalls spray mist like emerald rain, pools hold translucent jade-green water, and dense bamboo forests remain untouched by mortal dust, creating a pure fairyland. A visit to Furong Valley lets visitors witness a thousand-year-old meteorological wonder.

Stone Buddha Temple boasts a history of more than 1,100 years, with incense burning nonstop all year round. On the 19th day of the sixth lunar month, the birthday of Guanyin Bodhisattva, fine drizzle invariably falls across Furong Valley at noon—even amid severe drought or cloudless clear skies. Is this a divine manifestation of the Bodhisattva, or a miraculous meteorological phenomenon? As an ancient verse goes: “A mountain gains renown not by height, but by immortals dwelling within; waters grow sacred not by depth, but by dragons hidden below.”

Stone Buddha Temple sits at an elevation of 1,085.9 meters. Surrounded by overlapping green mountains that stay lush all four seasons, it boasts breathtaking natural scenery. The original gate of the temple is fully preserved intact: 2.1 meters high and 1.33 meters wide, built by stacking 15 bluestone slabs on either side. The stones bear lifelike miniature relief sculptures of two stone lions and ritual implements of the Eight Immortals, amounting to 17 carved patterns in total. The three Chinese characters “Stone Buddha Temple” are inscribed in regular script of Yan Zhenqing’s calligraphic style, each covering roughly 20 square centimeters. The stone blocks of the temple’s remnant walls have turned grey and black over centuries, with shrubs and weeds twisting out of wall cracks, transporting visitors back to remote antiquity. Above Guanyin Cave inside the temple, four intaglio characters “Purple Bamboo Spirit Mountain” are carved into the stone cliff, their faded strokes testifying to immense antiquity.

According to the Tongzhi-era Records of Anji County: “Maowutang Mountain, formerly named Stone Guanyin Mountain, stands three kilometers west of Majianong and borders Shanhe Township to the west, with an altitude of 1,085.9 meters. A Stone Guanyin Temple once stood halfway up the mountain, hence the name.” Meanwhile, the Jingshan Mountain map in the Records of Lin’an County shows Stone Buddha Temple fell under the jurisdiction of Jingshan Temple, proving it was once a branch monastery of the Jingshan Buddhist lineage.

The Records of Lin’an County also documents Guanyin Cave: “Guanyin Cave, a renowned scenic spot, is formed naturally from rock crevices at Maowutang; its hollow can hold dozens of worshippers. In the 17th year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1742), Magistrate Dong Jun of the county prayed for rain here and his plea was answered. He donated his official salary to gild and renovate the cave’s statues.” That magistrate, Dong Jun, donated funds to rebuild the cave after witnessing the miraculous rain response. If counting from this 1742 renovation, Stone Buddha Temple has a recorded history of over 260 years.

Research into the Place Names Records of Lin’an County traces the temple’s origin even earlier: in the Xinyou year of the Guanghua reign, late Tang Dynasty (901 AD), the literatus Huang Yan toured Stone Buddha Temple and left a poem: Purple mist curls around pines winding through streams;

Clouds split above crags where stone cliffs chill.

Hundreds of birds chirp amid flowers cloaking the valley;

Winding paths wind deep, clear brooks murmur soft.

Mid lotus roots rests Stone Buddha Temple,

Sweet immortal dew drips endlessly in Guanyin Cave.

Dating from this poem, the temple’s history stretches back more than a millennium. Over its long existence, Stone Buddha Temple endured countless vicissitudes of time and sustained severe damage to its cultural relics. After the three resident monks passed away one after another in the early years of New China, the temple was left unattended. During the Cultural Revolution, it suffered catastrophic destruction: the main hall was demolished, and numerous cultural relics were blown up or scattered among private households. Surviving relics today include the original temple gate, fragmentary monastery walls, and the 17 stone carvings.

In 1994, local villagers raised funds voluntarily to restore the main hall of Stone Buddha Temple and refinish the 1.15-meter white marble statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva. In 1996, the Mahavira Hall and Heavenly King Hall were reconstructed. The religious authorities of Anji County officially approved the site as a legal venue for religious activities, and in 2006, it was designated a County-Level Protected Historic Site.

Stone Buddha Temple holds profound influence among local residents from Shanghai, Yuhang, Lin’an and Xiaofeng. Tens of thousands of pilgrims climb the mountain to pay homage each year, making the temple both an official religious venue and a well-known local tourist attraction