Lesser Putuo Island [Dali]

Lesser Putuo Island could be described as a ¡°pocket-sized island¡±. The total perimeter is slightly more than 200 meters. It was constructed by limestone. Construction began in the Ming Dynasty and underwent repair in 1982 into a pavilion style construction. It was built into a two storey building.

The first level has the Buddha image whereas the second level has Goddess of Mercy statue. It looks like a round seal and was therefore called the Sea Stamp. In Chong Zhen year of Ming Dynasty, fishermen living nearby contributed money for the pavilion construction on the island. It was called the Goddess of Mercy Pavilion because the statue of Goddess of Mercy was worshipped.

Puto is short for Putuojialue Mountain in Sanskrit, the meaning of which is little white flower or little tree mountain. Fable has it that this was the place where Goddess of Mercy leads a pious life in India. Therefore, most of the Goddess of Mercy sacred place is called Putuo Mountain according to the fable.