This is a nice little expedition that takes you out of the city centre a bit. The objective is a Daoist temple; it dates back to the 17th century; and it's situated on the slopes of Mingfengshan, which translates, quite delightfully, as the Hill of Singing Phoenixes. It's not actually gold... Rather, it's decorated with beautiful, highly polished, Yunnan bronze.

Bus 71, which sets sail not far from our accommodation, will take you there. We paid for the journey with the same nifty app that got us onto the metro on Saturday; the trip costs just CNY 2 (GBP 0.20 or MYR 1.20) per person per way; and it takes about 45 minutes.


The bus drops you right at the gate of the park, and after that, the only way is up...






Having reached the temple area, we were expecting to pay an entrance fee (depending on your source, the visit was going to cost CNY 25, 30, or 40). We ended up paying nothing... I did ask, and was told we didn't have to pay. I have no idea why...

Next comes the gate in the ancient wall that encloses the actual temple:








The compound is lovely, rich in detail:




Beyond the temple area, there's a whole hillside to explore. The scent of the pines is fabulous, and you can just wander along past courtyards and stately trees and tranquil ponds:













And at the bottom, we didn't have to wait long for a bus back.

All in all, a very enjoyable outing.