Daxiangguo Temple | The Octagonal Glazed Hall

✨The Octagonal Glazed Hall, also known as the Arhat Hall, is situated on a bluestone base, with eight-step stone paths leading to the ground on all four sides. ✨This hall has a unique structure, consisting of inner and outer parts. The interior features an octagonal courtyard, at the center of which is a high pavilion with an octagonal wooden structure, standing on an 0.8-meter-high octagonal base. The pavilion has a double-eaved octagonal spire roof, topped with a Tibetan-style stupa. ✨At the top of the octagonal pavilion is a complex caisson ceiling, beneath which is a 0.85-meter-high Sumeru base. Atop the base is a lotus throne, which enshrines a four-faced, thousand-armed and thousand-eyed Guanyin Bodhisattva statue. The statue is 5.25 meters tall, weighs about 2000 kilograms, and was carved during the Qianlong period. It is a four-sided standing sculpture, with six large hands on each side. The top two hands hold a transformed Buddha, with fan-shaped arms and palms extending out between the ribs of the Buddha image. The south and north sides each extend out four layers, while the east and west sides extend out three layers, with each layer having 28 or 30 hands, each palm painted with an eye, totaling 1048 hands and 1048 eyes, commonly known as the 'Thousand-Handed, Thousand-Eyed Buddha,' one of the thirty-two manifestations of Guanyin Bodhisattva. ✨Such a form of Buddha statue is revered by the Esoteric Buddhism, which regards it as an incarnation of Guanyin Bodhisattva, hence also known as 'Thousand-Handed Guanyin.' Not only is the material of the statue precious, but the carving is also exquisite, a true work of art that is both miraculous and divine, making it the treasure of Daxiangguo Temple. The exterior of the Octagonal Hall is a sealed corridor, outside of which is an open cloister.