Lingyin Temple

Lingyin ('the soul's retreat') has drawn pilgrims for 1,600 years. Behind its formidable gates lie five golden halls, hundreds of gilded arhats, and, on the hillside, the Feilai Peak grottoes: 300 stone carvings that are some of the oldest Buddhist art in China.

Go early and on a misty morning if you can - the incense smoke and fog are the point. The vegetarian noodles in the temple canteen are a sleeper hit.