Tiger Cave Mountain

Goujian (who from 496–465 BC was the king of Yue) walked these hills a long time ago. The legend goes that a tiger jumped at him, roared three times and led him to this cave — declared a holy place by Goujian — now known as Tiger Cave (老虎洞) in Wenyan (闻堰镇) near Hangzhou.

The tiger is here, alright. Many families make the trip each year, and some people put coins in its jaw — but most people just take photos.

And a super tiny passage leads to the Buddhist temple below (there’s also a conventional path, but that one is less fun).

勾践 (从公元前496-465年为越国的国王)很久以前在这些山丘徒步。一只老虎出现了,吼了三次,然后带着勾践到这个地方。他宣布了这是一个圣地,今日被称为闻堰镇的“老虎洞”。

老虎就在这里,许多家庭每年来一次,还有些人把一块硬币放在老虎的嘴巴里,不过最大部分只拍照。

老虎洞的下面有一条矮小的通道通向下面的佛教寺庙(也有一个普通的走道,可是没那么有趣)。

Latest

The Lies We Tell

The Lies We Tell

I left my hometown when I was 19. After nearly two decades in a dozen Dutch cities, Sydney and Shanghai, I’m back. I push Hasse’s stroller and see once again these streets and buildings that are old yet ever new. Everything is closer than I remember it, distances I travelled as a teenager seem now […]
October 27, 2026
Dit is ook China review

Dit is ook China review

‘Dit is ook China’ by Cindy Zhu Huijgen isn’t a perfect book. And yet it’s enjoyable, and when you turn the last page and close it, you’re — rather than feeling relieved — you’re just glad you read it, and you’re glad you’re a person who reads books. Before starting, I was a bit discouraged […]
October 26, 2026
Travel plugs

Travel plugs

In our new house, many appliances still get their power through a travel adapter. Eight years in China was long enough to not only put down roots and settle in, but also for everything we owned to end in a Chinese plug: my MacBook, the coffee machine, the rice cooker, the baby monitor. The appliances […]
September 21, 2026
Twenty-three years

Twenty-three years

In June we moved back to the Netherlands, six suitcases across 8000 kilometres, and after a brief spell at my parents’ place, we moved into our own home. This second move also involved putting down carpet, curtains, buying appliances and furniture — so that our new garage quickly filled with cardboard boxes and other packaging […]
August 29, 2026