The Houan village.[Photo provided to China Daily]

The Tiantai school of Buddhism, which was mainly founded by the fourth patriarch Zhiyi (538-597 AD), spread to Korea and Japan during the Tang Dynasty and has been a major branch of Buddhism in those countries.

When Japan's then prime minister Kakuei Tanaka visited China in 1972, he asked to visit the Guoqing Temple. Tanaka was a sincere follower of the Tiantai school of Buddhism, which is also known as Tendai in Japan.

However, the temple was poorly maintained during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76). Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai ordered a revamp of the temple, renovating it with cultural relics transported all the way from the Palace Museum in Beijing.

A pair of stone lions from the Palace Museum has since guarded the entrance of Guoqing temple, and it remains a hot spot for Buddhists from Japan and Korea.

Monks at the temple farm as part of their duty, and local farmers are hired to help during the harvest season.

Also in Tiantai county are the Qiongtai Xiangu valley, the Hanshan reservoir and the Houan village, where you can spend around 100 yuan ($16.34) per day to live in the home of a local.

As you drive south, mountains pass by and you will arrive at Xianju county, which is famous for Shenxianju (home of the fairies) Mountain.