Tiantong National Forest Park

Tiantong National Forest Park

Tiantong National Forest Park is a national-level forest park.

Tiantong National Forest Park is located at the foot of Taibai Mountain in the eastern suburbs of Yinzhou District, Ningbo, 28 kilometers from downtown Ningbo, covering an area of 707 hectares. It is one of the first three national forest parks established in China. The park is renowned for its temples, forests, unique rocks, peculiar caves, sea of clouds, and sunset glow, featuring two major highlights: ancient temples and dense woodlands. It serves not only as a tourist destination but also as a base for popular science education in plant ecology.

The forest park combines beautiful natural landscapes with historical and cultural relics, forming the "Three Passes and Ten Scenic Spots of Tiantong." The Three Passes are Wansong Pass, Tieshe Pass, and Qing Pass. The Ten Scenic Spots are Deep Path Returning Pines, Phoenix Ridge Cultivated Bamboos, Exquisite Caverns Naturally Carved, Taibai Clouds Arising, Qing Pass Spraying Snow, Twin Pools Reflecting Views, Western Stream Dividing Beats, Eastern Valley Autumn Reds, Platform Spreading Moonlight, and Southern Mountain Evening Greenery.

Wansong Pass: Stretching from the foot of Shaobai Ridge to the front gate of Tiantong Temple, this pass features green pines lining the road for over ten miles. Tieshe Pass: Also known as Shaobai Ridge, it is home to the "Five Buddhas Subduing the Python," a pagoda said to have been used by the eminent monk Xinying from Tiantong Temple during the Tang Dynasty's Huichang era to suppress a venomous python. Qing Pass: A bridge by the Wangong Pool outside Tiantong Temple, famous for the view of "Qing Pass Spraying Snow."

Among the Ten Scenic Spots, Exquisite Caverns Naturally Carved is the most famous. As noted in the poem by Quan Zuwang: "Of the peaks east of the cave heaven, Taibai stands the highest; among them lies the exquisite Lingyan Rock, a small yet vast natural cavity." Entering through the stone-paved pathway on the right side of the temple and ascending the mountain steps via the stone forest gate, visitors will encounter scenic spots along the way such as Tingtao Pavilion, Linglong Cave, Linglong Rock, Jiashou Spring, Jiashou Archway, Pantuo Stone, Wuxin Cave, Feilai Peak, Bajing Platform, Shancai Cave, and Guanyin Cave—each step revealing a new view, with winding paths and rising elevation. The Exquisite Caverns Naturally Carved site boasts peculiar caves, strange rocks, perilous peaks, and exquisite craftsmanship, all appearing naturally formed. The slopes are covered in lush greenery, dense forests, and abundant vines and ferns. Climbing Feilai Peak offers a bird’s-eye view of the southeastern mountain ranges and the entire Tiantong Temple. At the end of the stone staircase, rock climbing leads to the summit of Taibai Peak, where one can gaze upon the vast mountain seascape of Tiantong National Forest Park. This area represents the most mature development of evergreen broad-leaved forest in the park and is an ideal spot for eco-tourism and science education.

Deep Path Returning Pines is the pine-lined path leading to the temple, stretching 1.5 kilometers from "Youhu Pavilion" to "Jingqian Pavilion." Towering ancient pines reaching toward the sky line the path, prompting the praise in an ancient poem: “A journey seeking shade among emerald peaks, where shaded roads twist until the sound of temple bells is heard. Arriving, one sits to listen to the mighty waves—half from the stream, half from the pines.”

The forest park is rich in cultural heritage and human history, with profound cultural significance. It houses three renowned temples: Tiantong Temple, Ashoka Temple, and Mituo Temple—an extremely rare concentration in the country. Tiantong Temple and Ashoka Temple feature majestic architecture, long histories, and numerous rare plants. They hold significant importance in China’s Buddhist community and exert considerable influence in Southeast Asia and Japan.

Tiantong Temple was built in the first year of the Yongkang era during the Western Jin Dynasty and is known as the "Buddhist Kingdom of the Southeast." It is one of the five great temples of the Zen Buddhism sect. Built against the mountain and ascending layer by layer, the temple complex is grand in scale. It includes over 20 ancient structures such as the Heavenly King Hall, Mahavira Hall, Thousand Buddha Pavilion, Imperial Calligraphy Building, Huiguang Tower, Fanming Tower, Bell Tower, Dharma Hall, Liucatang, Ordination Hall, and Arhat Hall. Originally, there were over 30 halls, towers, pavilions, residences, dormitories, and studios totaling 999 rooms; 730 rooms remain today, covering an area of more than 76,400 square meters with a built-up area of 28,800 square meters. The site houses a Song Dynasty stele by top imperial scholar Zhang Xiaoxiang, a "Thousand Monks Pot" cast during the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty, imperial edicts, jade seals, and calligraphy from Emperors Shunzhi, Kangxi, and Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty, a gold-plated Medicine Buddha statue bestowed by Emperor Shunzhi, stone carvings of arhats, and a massive bell cast in the 1930s weighing 7.5 tons and inscribed with all 81 volumes of the Avatamsaka Sutra. Tiantong Temple is an important branch of the Linji School of Buddhism and the ancestral temple of the Soto School of Japanese Zen Buddhism, which has 8 million followers. It has had a profound impact in Southeast Asia, especially Japan, and has made significant contributions to cultural exchanges between China and Japan.

Ashoka Temple is a renowned temple of the Chinese Zen Buddhism sect. Covering an area of 120,000 square meters, it has a history of over 1,700 years, with its current structures dating back to the Qing Dynasty. The temple is internationally famous for housing the sacred relic of "Shakyamuni Buddha’s True Sarira." The temple faces south, with a layout that ascends progressively from south to north. The entire complex centers around the Heavenly King Hall, Mahavira Hall, and Sarira Hall, with wings extending to the sides resembling a phoenix spreading its wings—grand and majestic. It includes over 600 halls. The temple preserves a wealth of splendid ancient culture and heritage, including architecture, painting, sculpture, gardens, calligraphy, and stone inscriptions. Notable relics include the Tang Dynasty stele "Changzhu Tian Ashoka Temple Field Stele," Su Shi’s Song Dynasty “Chen Kui Pavilion Record” stele, and the “Miaoxi Spring Inscription” stele written by top imperial scholar Zhang Jiucheng of the Song Dynasty. Ashoka Temple holds an important place in the history of cultural exchange between China and Japan. During the Tang Dynasty’s Tianbao era, after his second failed attempt to sail to Japan, Master Jianzhen stayed at Ashoka Temple, where he lectured and conducted ordination ceremonies for monks.

"Tiantong boasts a thousand layers of beauty; the forest extends for miles in depth." Tiantong Forest Park is rich in plant resources, forming unique, tall, and dense vegetation communities and forest landscapes distinctive to the Jiangnan region. It has been hailed by the chairman of the International Association for Vegetation Science as a rare "Botanical Gene Treasury of Zhejiang." Surveys have identified 968 species of seed plants across 148 families and 506 genera, 114 species of ferns across 24 families and 49 genera, and 165 species of mosses across 48 families and 93 genera. Additionally, there are 96 species of terrestrial vertebrates and over 20 types of birds. The forest park is not only world-renowned for its "canopy of giant trees" but also features eight typical forest vegetation communities. Among them, the evergreen broad-leaved forests of Schima superba and Castanopsis spp., and the deciduous broad-leaved forests of Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa and Machilus grandifolia, represent the best-developed and most typical vegetative climax communities in the northern subtropical zone, offering high ornamental and scientific research value. In September 1992, the 35th International Association for Vegetation Science Academic Conference was held in Tiantong.

Address: Tiantong Forest Farm, Yinzhou County, Jiangdong District, Ningbo City

Type: Forest

Recommended visiting time: Approximately 2 hours

Tel: 0574-8480015

Opening Hours:

08:30–16:00

Ticket

Adult Ticket for Ningbo Tiantong Forest Park — Face Value: ¥20