If you're visiting Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, there's another temple nearby that I really recommend: Shang Tianzhu Faxi Temple — 上天竺法喜寺. Personally, I think this was one of the most beautiful temples we visited in Hangzhou. Yellow temple walls. Dark tiled roofs. Red lanterns. Trees and mountains surrounding everything. And because the temple is built upwards along the hillside, every time you climb another set of stairs, you discover another courtyard or building above you.
If you're visiting Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, there's another temple nearby that I'd definitely add to your morning: Lingshun Temple (灵顺寺) — better known as 天下第一财神庙, or the “No. 1 God of Wealth Temple.” We went here first thing in the morning, took the cable car up Beigao Peak (北高峰) before the queue got busy, visited the temple, rang the bell eight times for good wealth... …and then continued our day at Lingyin Temple. It actually makes a really nice Hangzhou temple route. 2
