Jing'an Temple

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View into the front courtyard of the Jing'an Temple

Jing'an Temple (Chinese: 静安寺; pinyin: Jìng'ānsì; literally "Temple of Peace and Tranquility") is a Buddhist temple on West Nanjing Road, in Jing'an District, Shanghai, China.

1 History
2 Features include
3 Transportation
4 External links

[edit] History

The first temple was built in 247 AD, at the time of the Kingdom of Wu, during the Three Kingdoms period. Originally located beside Suzhou Creek, it was relocated to its current site in 1216 during the Song Dynasty. The current temple was rebuilt once in the Qing Dynasty. During the Cultural Revolution, it was converted into a plastics factory. It was converted back to an active temple following reconstruction in 1983, and most recently completely renovated in late 2003.

[edit] Features include

Three Southern-style main halls, each with its own courtyard, dating from the most recent reconstruction (1880):

Hall of Heavenly Kings
Hall of the Three Saints
Hall of Virtuous Works

The Precious Hall of the Great Hero, or main hall, currently under construction. When completed, it will be four to five stories tall
To the east of the main hall is the Guanyin Hall. In the center of the hall is a statue of the goddess made out of camphor wood. Standing on a lotus-shaped base, it is 6.2 meters tall and weighs 5 tons
Opposite to the hall is the Jade Buddha Hall, where a 3.8-meter jade Buddha sits in the center. It is the largest sitting jade Buddha statue in the country
Abbot's Chambers
Ming Dynasty copper bell (Hongwu Bell), weighing 3.5 tons
Stone Buddhas from the Southern and Northern Dynasties period (420-589 AD)