Puji Monastery is the oldest and most visited of Mount Putuo's three major temples, and its position at the island's centre, surrounded by lotus ponds and ancient camphor trees, makes it the most photogenic. The main gate faces south across a ceremonial pond crossed by three stone bridges; the central bridge is reserved for imperial use and ordinary visitors take the side bridges, a convention that still applies. The main hall contains a large gilded statue of Guanyin flanked by disciples, and the incense smoke from thousands of daily offerings hangs in a permanent haze.
The camphor trees in the courtyard are several hundred years old and have grown to enormous size, their roots lifting the stone paving. On festival days — especially the birthday of Guanyin in the second, sixth, and ninth lunar months — the temple fills with pilgrims kneeling and burning incense in what becomes a genuinely moving demonstration of active faith. Outside festival periods the temple is quieter and the monastery's architecture easier to appreciate without the crowd.