The famous Chinese saying: "Heaven is above; below are Hangzhou and Suzhou", is supposed to have been coined during the Wuyue Kingdom in the time of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (AD 907-960).

King Qian, the founder of the Wuyue Kingdom, made Hangzhou his capital. The devout Buddhist monarch turned the land into a Buddhist realm and the religion flourished along the Qiantang River.

Therefore, thoughts of a warless world and peace-seeking and people-centric communities lay the foundation for Hangzhou's ideology and culture.

On first acquaintance, China's religious life seems a mystery, with ornate temples and worshippers dividing their devotion between Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.

In fact, the Chinese have traditionally treated religion as a practical feature of everyday life.

In Hangzhou, such religious life can be sampled in many ways due to the city's abundant cultural and historical sources.

Burning joss sticks in Lingyin Temple is a typical example. It is a way for local residents to pray for auspicious times in the following year.

The temple, situated to the west of Hangzhou's famous West Lake, stands at the foot of the Beigao Peak and faces the Feilai Peak across a stream.

With its many old trees, bamboo groves, and quiet and beautiful surroundings, Lingyin Temple is one of the most famous temples south of the Yangtze River, and also one of the 10 most famous ancient Buddhist temples in China.

Built by the Indian monk Huili in AD 326 during the Eastern Jin dynasty (AD 317-420), the temple was named Lingyin Temple (Temple of the Soul's Retreat) for its beautiful and serene environment, suitable for "gods to rest in seclusion".

In its prime, this temple used to be a large monastery with over 1,300 rooms and 3,000 monks.

The temple has experienced about 1,700 years of cyclical prosperity and decline, due to wars and natural calamities, until its last restoration in the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911).

The main hall in Lingyin Temple is about 34 m tall - incredibly high for a one-story building. It is home to China's largest sitting Buddha statue, 19.6 m high and carved out of 24 pieces of camphor wood, gilded with gold. The two stone pagodas in front of the hall were built in AD 960 during the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1271).

The scent of burning incense here is capable of clearing a clouded mind and making one feel calm and at peace.

On the first and fifteenth day of every Chinese lunar month, many people, both Buddhists and non-Buddhists, burn joss sticks here to invoke the blessings of the Buddha.

Joss stick burning is an everyday practice in traditional Chinese religion. Joss sticks are incense, traditionally burned before a Chinese religious image, Buddha statue, or shrine. They can also be burned in front of a door or an open window as an offering to heaven.

In Hangzhou, many locals burn the first joss sticks on the eve of the Lunar New Year, hoping that the Buddha will bless them with happiness and wealth.

When you see a worshipper in an ancient temple, praying, lighting joss sticks or shaking fortune-sticks from a canister, you can be fairly sure that they are asking the gods for such bounty as health, wealth, the birth of a son or good luck.

This year, Lingyin Temple will charge visitors who want to be the first to burn joss sticks - a symbol of good luck and fortune for the coming year - on the eve of the coming Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival.

To control the number of visitors expected to flock to the temple, only 5,000 tickets will be sold. Each ticket will cost 200 yuan.