Chaozhou Travel | You must visit the first ancient temple in eastern Guangdong.

During the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, it was ordered that each state and prefecture in the country should have a Kaiyuan Temple. As a result, many Kaiyuan Temples were built or rebuilt across the country. Over a thousand years have passed, and most of these temples have disappeared, leaving only four, including Chaozhou Kaiyuan Temple. My personal favorites are five: First, the porcelain inlays on the roof ridge of the main hall; second, the Four Heavenly Kings on the roof ridge; third, the stone sutra pillars from the Tang Dynasty; fourth, the Ashoka Pagoda from the Song Dynasty; fifth, the plaque in the main hall. Porcelain inlay is a unique architectural decorative art in the Chaoshan and Minnan regions. Colorful porcelain pieces are used to cover clay sculptures, making them resistant to wind and rain, with strong contrast and bright colors. As soon as I entered the temple, I was attracted by the colorful and lively scene. The solemnity of the Buddhist temple, mixed with the secular nature of the porcelain inlays, is very characteristic of Chaoshan. There are two stone sutra pillars from the Tang Dynasty in front of the Heavenly King Hall and the Mahavira Hall in the temple, built when Kaiyuan Temple was first constructed, over 1,200 years ago.