Jing'an Temple

Jing'an Temple
Jing'an Temple
Location in West Nanjing Road in Shanghai, China
Basic information
Geographic coordinates	31°13′30″N 121°26′27″E / 31.2250000°N 121.4408333°ECoordinates: 31°13′30″N 121°26′27″E / 31.2250000°N 121.4408333°E
Affiliation	Buddhism
Country	China
Completed	247 AD

Jing'an Temple (Chinese: 静安寺; pinyin: Jìng'ān Sì; Shanghainese: Zin'ue Zy; literally: "Temple of Peace and Tranquility") is a Buddhist temple on the West Nanjing Road in Shanghai, China. Jing'an District, where it is located, is named after the temple.

History

The front gates of Jing'an Temple in Shanghai China

Buddha in the Precious Hall of the Great Hero

The temple was first built in 247 AD in the Wu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period of ancient China. Originally located beside the Suzhou Creek, it was relocated to its current site in 1216 during the Song Dynasty. The current temple was rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty but, during the Cultural Revolution, the temple was converted into a plastic factory. In 1983, it was returned to its original purpose and renovated with the Jing'An Pagoda completed in 2010.

Features

The Guanyin Hall

Three Southern-style 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 Mahavira Hall ("Precious Hall of the Great Hero"), the main hall
• 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 metric tons
• Opposite 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)
• Paintings by master painters, Chu Zhishan, Zhang Daqian and Wen Zhenming^[1]

Transportation

The temple sits on top of the Jing'an Temple Station, a major hub of the Shanghai Metro network where Line 2 and Line 7 intersect.

You can take Bus No.113, 40, 830, 824, 20, 15, 37, 21 to arrive Jing'an Temple.

There are also Shuttle Express Service provided from airports to Jing'an Temple.

Opening Time

The temple opens at 7:30AM and closes at 17:00PM.

References

1. "Tourist Attractions in Shanghai". Retrieved Apr 16, 2014.

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  The night scene of Jing'an Temple
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  Inside the temple
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  Doors of the temple
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  The Well Room
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  Walkways
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  The grounds
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  The carvings on the stairs
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  This bell was the original temple bell
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  carvings
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  The right most beam of the temple is unfinished on the top.
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  Interior
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  The windows
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  A door in Jing'an Temple
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  Inside Jing'an Temple
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  Jing'an temple inside the modern urban area
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  Inside Jing'an Temple

External links

• Media related to Jing'an Temple at Wikimedia Commons
• Article at chinadaily.com.cn
• Official Website (in Chinese)