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One of the issue also need to be addressed is: I have
noticed many western toursts who came on their own have NO CLUE that there is a cave
tunnel that leads you to another world on its own. I woudl suggest the local tourism
board to improve the temple navigation or provide guided tour. The tunnel runs approx.
a couple fo ten yards, windy inside (Have been wondering all these years, where the
hell the strong wind is from...). But don't worry, it is well illuminated and as
soon as you walk out of this tunnel, you will be amazed by a specticular scene, it
is a hidden world on its own - a flat basin with an open space, four sides surrounded
by hilly cliffs !
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For those who may be new to this San Bao Dong Buddhist Cave Temple, there is a new
temple that has just been ready inside here. Simply because there is NO access into
here EXCEPT for the tiny tunnel ! Which means to say, the painstaking process of
building this entire contruction project with small load of building materials via
the tunnel you walked in and that is why it took so many years to reach its current
state of presentation. It involves sheer dedication and enoumous of effoft to make
it possible. The temple which locates itself in this limestone cliffs does provides
an all new refreshing brethtaking look of San Bao Dong now.
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The tunnel that leads you into another world on its own.
Acess to ths area is also free of charge (information for foreign tourists-only)
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The vegetation inside basin is very different. It is
a mix of tropical and hilly region species because the limestone provides little
feed to the plants.
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To the locals, you cannot detach San Bao Dong Buddhist
cave temple with the tortoise pond and a well which could aged more than 100 years.
The well was a main source of water supplies to the early settlements of Monks. The
tortoise pond was a local favourite as tortoise is synonemous with long life and
one of practice was to lay off a small tortoise after prayer inside the temple (I
was told this practice was banned now). However, many of the surviving tortoise were
claimed to be more than a century old. But I notice there are young ones that probably
resulted from reproduction rather than from spritual cause. How many are there ?
lost count, the water was not too clean to do an accessment as you can see from the
illustrating PHOT BELOW this page. Err ...
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