Short Gu Sacred Site of Mount Putuo

Short Gu Sacred Site of Mount Putuo

After entering the mountain gate of the Buddhist realm of Mount Putuo, about 300 meters to the southeast (near “Enter Samadhi”), you will find Short Gu Wharf, also known as Short Gu Sacred Site or Short Gu Historical Site. In ancient times, this area was originally a beach, with a flat expanse spanning over ten meters in width and about a hundred meters in length. Small stones were scattered across it, with larger and smaller rocks of various shapes lining both sides. The rocks feature 14 inscribed carvings including “Short Gu Historical Site,” “Compassionate Ferry Across All,” “United in Righteousness,” “First Buddhist Realm,” and “Land of Bliss,” which emerge and submerge with the tides.

In ancient times, boats could not reach the shore directly at Short Gu Wharf and had to be ferried ashore using small sampans no more than ten feet long and three feet wide. In the 31st year of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty (1905), two eminent monks of Mount Putuo, Monk Liaoyu and Monk Lian, raised funds due to the inconvenience caused by the fluctuating tides that made docking difficult. They built a stone wharf 11 meters long and 8 meters wide using massive rocks. Before the construction of the passenger terminal on Mount Putuo, all visitors who came to worship, pay homage, or sightsee had to land here. After the passenger terminal was completed, this site was opened to tourists as a historical attraction.

Legend has it that there were once a young woman and her sister-in-law who vowed to make a pilgrimage to worship the Buddha. They pooled money to buy a boat to cross the Lotus Sea and visit the mountain for blessings. Just as the boat docked at the wharf, the younger woman got her period (“heavenly dew”) and, feeling unclean, was too ashamed to disembark. Her sister-in-law blamed her for having no fortune to make the sacred journey, left her in the boat, and went up the mountain to pray alone. Unexpectedly, around noon, the tide rose sharply, separating the boat from the shore. The young woman sat hungry in the boat for a long time. Just then, a village woman appeared on the shore, threw some rocks into the water, and stepped across them directly to the boat. She said she was sent by the sister-in-law with food, placed the basket in the boat, and then left. When the sister-in-law returned from worshiping, the young woman asked what had happened, but the sister-in-law was puzzled and had no idea. Suddenly, she remembered seeing the bodhisattva’s robes slightly wet when she had looked up at the lotus throne while praying, and realized what must have happened. Feeling unworthy, she quickly went back up the mountain to bow before the Goddess of Mercy. Since the sister-in-law had “shorted” her sister-in-law (blamed her) at the wharf, the docking place has since been called “Short Gu Wharf.” The rocks frequently emerging in the tides nearby are said to be the ones thrown by the bodhisattva to step on while bringing food, and thus the wharf later became known as the “Short Gu Sacred Site.”

Address: Inside the Mount Putuo Scenic Area, Zhoushan City, Putuo District (Enter the Mountain Gate of the Buddhist Realm and go about 300 meters to the southeast)

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Type: Seaside / Beach / Wharf / Historical Site

Recommended Visiting Time: 0.5–1 hour

Phone: 0580-3191919

Ticket Information:

No separate ticket required. Included in the Mount Putuo Scenic Area ticket. Mount Putuo Scenic Area Ticket Prices: Off-season (December–January) 140 RMB, Peak season (February–November) 160 RMB, 200 RMB during Spring Festival, May Day, and National Day holidays.