The halls and temple grounds are crowded with tourists and pilgrims and then in late afternoon, as we experienced at Tiantong, the gates are closed and the place returns to silence. The resident priests continue to walk about much the same as they do when there are visitors around. There seems to be nothing, not even the gathered crowds, the cell phones ring etc. that can shake the grounded stability of these ancient sites where Buddhism is being practiced, still.
Pilgrims.
You’ve triggered yet another memory from China. When we visited Yong-He-Gong, our guide, instead of just whisking my wife and me around the temple in twenty minutes flat, let us stay there all day and so I was able to do a short version of the “Pilgrimage of Returning Home.” This was very kind of her as she could have insisted we stay with the tour.
Later in the afternoon the bus picked us up to return to the hotel.
Reading your account has me virtually there with you.