Bo'ao Zen Temple

　　  Bo'ao Zen Temple, where the Seven Treasures Lotus Pond is a must-see. It is home to various types of lotuses including the Ohga lotus, Wufei lotus, Sino-Japanese Friendship lotus, Dongpo lotus, Hairui lotus, and Hangzhou Manyuanxiang lotus. Among them, the most precious is the Ohga lotus, which was once sent to Japan and later returned to its place of origin. It is said that around two thousand years ago, a Chinese ship sank in Japan, and in 1953, this ancient ship was excavated from seven meters underground at the Koishikawa Experiment Farm of the University of Tokyo in Chiba Prefecture. Three lotus seeds were found on the ship, and through the meticulous cultivation of the renowned botanist Dr. Ichirō Ohga, one of them sprouted new leaves the following year. This miracle of life was named the "Ohga lotus." Observing the Ohga lotus, which has endured for a thousand years, along with the diverse and graceful forms of the lotus blossoms, one can sense the enduring friendship and deep historical ties between the people of China and Japan, two nations separated only by a narrow strip of water.